The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-08-29

s,,;ra+ions and expirations like the sigh of
= smith. bellows. One turn, then anoth-
or he heard a heavy startling snort, and
1he-e, in the half-hght of the cave, stand
ing full before him, alive, chewing the cud,
and waving its proboscis to and fro, with
a slow, gentle, majestic motion, he saw
a mammoth ! al did not know then"
said Iheriton, "what | have since been
told. that Siberia was an old habitat OF
these animals, and that some of the best
scientific judges are uncertain whether 10
look upon the remains found upon the
shores of the Arctic Ocean as FOSSIL ahi
mails or as the remnants OF WdhueAiiS
herds, caught and perishIng III the sIoFnhs'
/ individuals of which may stln exist under
favorable circumstances. without Intend
/ inn II 7 have solved that doubt"
/ 7,heriton describes the mammoth as be-
/ ;uc n very imposing looking animal, Gov
] cred with reddish brown wool and long
black hair. During his stay in the valley,
he was close to five of them, all of which
were nearly of size, being about twelve
feet high, eighteen feet long, with tusks
projecting about four feet, and being eight
10 ten feet long counting the curve. The
skin which was bare on the surface of the
ears, on the knees and rump was of mouse
color, and seemed very thick. The ami
NAL was nocturnal in its habits, frequent
ing caves or forest depths by day, and
leeulllS at nlSilJ OF early AneT-
iton thinks there might be some fifteen or
twenty of these monsters in the valley alto
gether, but that all these are aged, and
that very few are born nowadays At any
rate, he saw none that had the least ap-
pearanoe of being young. They were very
peaceable animals, torpid and sluggish
as old oxen, never disturbing Cheriton,
nor indeed, taking much notice of him.
Batchmatchnik found a small cave which
] lao oil Nv he Of 10
ular rock, and i'll which he was compare
I lively free from the incursiOns of wild
| animals. In a recess of this cave he built
! his fire, which he never suffered to go out
( again during the whole course of his stay
in the valley, which continued the whole
winter and until April as near as he could
! guess the time. In all his stay there, su
sheltered was the valley, ard SO permanent
/ the warmth that seemed to be nursed there
/ by radiation, that the lake was never frozen
/ over, nor was there any more than an inch or
/ two of snow, and no frOStS sufficiently bit
! ter TO destroy the succulence of the grasses.
/ These were fed by repeated rains, constant
! dewS, and frequent mists. The valley
swarmed with animal life, while, the
winter progresses, the waters of the lake
were literally covered with wild FOWL
Birds of prey fed upon them in numbers,
while the foxes, lynxes, gluttons, and VOL
verines preyed upon the herds of deer and
smaller tribes.
Batchmatchnik explored the valley thor
oughly during his stay there-a stay which
was entirely enforced from the fact that
J he could not, after repeated endeavOrs,
make his way out of the valley through
/ the ranges to the eastward, and to go back
! by the pass through which he had entered
/ would have been simply lost labor and los.
| time. In the course of his explorations he
encountered many animals indigenous to
| the valley, which he thinks are not known
I elsewhere, except in the shape of fossil re-
I mains. Among these was a species of
! horse, a wild and beautiful creature that
/ went in drOves, and ran with lightning like
/ speed. These horses were small, pure white
in color, with long, black name and tail
! they were covered, however rather with
! fleece than hair, and in running, looked as
much like lambs as horses. The lake was
! full of fish of many species, but was inhab-
| tied by a monster of which Cheriton was
! in constant dread, a sort of sausophidian,
| which he described as being thirty feet
long, and armed with scales and horrible
fangs. This monster-he never saw but
the one-was master of the lake, and lived
by devouring the animals which came by
night to It's brink to drink. Cheriton gives
a graphic and exciting description of a
contest which he witnessed one morning
at early dawn between this crocodile-ser-
peut and one of the mastOdOns. The bat.
tie, which lasted more than an hour, ended
in the discontinue of the mammoth, which
could hardly limp away, after having been
CONSTRUCTED in the serpent's folds. Doubt
less, in respect of these and similar discov-
cries, CheritOn's book, when it appears,
| will be one of the most interesting nara
tives of adventure ever published. But il
| reads like hoax.