New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-17
A COLOSSAL ANIMAL.


,novvssop wINcsFLL GREATLY IMPRESSED WITH
rrs sIzF-msToRY OF THE MAMMOTH AND TIE
MAsTODON.
% me gdftor Of The Trf0uHe.
srp. Almost every one is aware that the mammoth
was a ouadruped of huge dimensions. The name
has been transferred TO other objects OF extra
ordinary magnitude. The mammoth is generaIV
understood to have been ON elephant-ike creature,
possessing the majestic mien and Donderous tre"u
of the living prObOscidians Oh ATTIC" anu
India. Bnt no one could fail to stand aghast
with amazement at the sight Of the mammoth OF
,nanmoths. which Professor Henry A. Ward has
inst reproduced at his Natural Science EstaDllsh-
ment in Rochester, NJ Y. Menageries have made us
all familiar with the bulky and graeeless grandeur
of the modern elephants. We have seen IN Amer
lea number of mounted skeletons OF the extinct
mastodon, while the bones and teeth OF thls ele-
nhantipe predecessor Of man have ALLEN under the
observation of almost every child. But nobody had
adequately conceived the astonishing magnitude 10
which the old mammoth of Europe, Asia aud Amer
,ea sometimes attained. In Professor Wards estaD-
Isbment the monster now stands restored In all his
pristine character.
AZ The visitor enters the door Of the building
vbicb has been erected for the accommodation OF
tbis aptediluvian dark mountain of flesh rises be-
fore him. He bad gagged his apprehension to the
familiar bulk of the elephant but here his eye must
be lifted to a higher altitude; his whole thought
nnst swell to take in the idea Of the towering form
which looms above him and frowns darkiy and
severely down upon him. The monsters brow rises
like some old granite dome weather-beaten ana dark
ened by the lapse of geologic ages. Two Wlnulhg
streams of ivory descend like glaciers from the base
of the dome while the corrugated and betting pro-
boscis swells between them like the embattled
crest which divides two Alpine glacier-tOrrents
n dc and mountain
which these are the accessories. Serene and
yootionless as Mont Blanc, this majestic
form stands awaiting our wonder and adOra-
ton No astOnishment discOncerts 1t; no
exclamatiOns stir a feature. Unlike tho DUMB
mountain however, this form seems in mood OF
contemplation. All this dark and towering mass Is
conscious There are eyes which open on us, and
take coSnizance Of our movements. There are ears
which take IN the sounds of our voice. This erea-
ture cOntemplates us; he throws spell over US;
he has us in his power
The mammoth aye the mammoth of mammoths!
With long breath, after this suspense of amaze
ment we extricae ourselves from his spell, and NEE
his oyerpowering stare with the force of Intelligent
will He is but beast--let us analyze the sources
of his power over us. He stands sixteen
feet in height His extreme length is twenty-six
feet and the distance between the tips
of his tusks is fourteen feet. His body
ia thirty feet in circumference close to the skin.
The sole of his foot is three feet in diameter His
tusks are fourteen feet long and foot in diane
Ger at the base Between his short post-like fore
legs a man can stand upright with his hat on with
out touching the animals body. The whole exte-
nor is clothed with dark shaggy hair, quite unlike
modern elephants and under the throat it attains
length of twelve to fifteen inches. There is gal
lery in this building and the monsters eye is nearly
on level with it, We ascend to the gallery to OBJ
tain more commanding position, and there ex-
perience sensible relief in finding this formidable
creature partially beneath us.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF TBE SPECIMEN.
But this may be all pure fabricaton-in concep-
ton as well as in construetion-like the Trojan
Horse or the bronze statue Of Bavaria" at Munich.
whose hollow head VIII receive six men and women
at once. What evidence have we that such beast
AZ this ever livedi Aye, there's the important
point. Now 1 have examined this question. have
some personal knowledge and have received some
reliable testimony First let me give little his
tory of this Wardian mammoth.