And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms.[1]
Since the printing of the Book of Mormon, apologists tried to explain this verse in a number of ways[3]. Some suggest that cureloms and cumoms were llamas and alpacas--useful animals that were naturally found in America. Some have even suggest that tapirs could have been mistaken for horses.
But assuming that the Book of Mormon was a 19th century creation, how can we explain this verse? Horses and asses are easy enough as the history of those animals' existence in America might have been overlooked, but what about elephants, cureloms, and cumoms?
At the time the Book of Mormon was first printed, paleontology was in its infancy. The word itself was only invented in 1822, and On the Origin of Species wouldn't be published for almost 30 years. There was still much debate on whether extinction was even possible.
Still many fossil bones were being found and examined. A large ground sloth called "Megatherium" was discovered in 1788. In 1797, in a letter to the American Philosophical Society, Thomas Jefferson described some bones he had received theorizing that they came from a lion-like beast, calling the creature "Megalonyx" (later found to be another giant sloth). Mammoths and mastodons were being described in the scientific literature as early as 1796. Could some of these animals be the inspiration for the aforementioned curleoms and cumoms? Orson Pratt seemed to think so. In the Journal of Discourses, he suggested that cumoms were mammoths[2].
Early church leaders loved paleontology. Orson Pratt mentions mammoths when talking about the Jaredites [3]. Early paleontologists exploring the west often stopped in Salt Lake City and talked with Brigham Young, who was very interested in what they had to say.
"Brigham Young questioned [them] about [their] horse fossils, explaining that the Latter-day Saints' foes had used mention of prehistoric North American horses in the Book of Mormon as evidence that it was not divine revelation. 'So it seems that while most theologians were regarding the developments of science with fear and trembling, ... the chiefs of the Mormon religion are prepared to hail the discoveries of paleontology as an aid in establishing their peculiar beliefs.'"[4]
Unfortunately, as we've come to understand paleontology better, these fossils have become highly unlikely to be Book of Mormon animals. Most of the animals mentioned above (including the prehistoric horses) died out long before the Jaredites would have arrived (most around 10,000 BC).
As for the names "Curelom" and "Cumom", it's anyone's guess as to why those particular ones were chosen. They both end in an "um" sound, as does Megatherium, but that's probably a bit of a stretch.
[1] Ether 9:19
[2] Journal of Discourses (12:420)
[3] I found a random YouTube comment that suggested Uintatherium (extinct 37 million years ago) or Paraceratherium (extinct 23 million years ago).
[4] The Bonehunters' Revenge Wallace, p.92
