The Osceola times., 1882-04-15
PREHISTORIC MONSTERS.
Interesting Facts Regarding the Mammoth
OF siberia.

FhrUIfIUkit MvNSlChS.
Interesting Facts Regarding the Mammoth
OF Siberia.
San francisco Alta.
Prof. Ward read a most interesting
paper on the ancient hairy mammoth,
whose height was usually about sixteen
feet, and whose length, including the
forward curve of the tusks. was 26 feet or
more. The remains OF the mammoth
are among the earliest animal remains
now found, and are noted by writers b.
G, 800, who speak OF their discovery.
Some curious mistakes occurred among
those who found the large bones of these
animals, and mistook them for antedi-
luvlan giants. Such bones brought 10
ancient Rome were believed to form
part of the skeleton Of Pallas, and are
recorded as being as high as the city
walls, when set up erect. Later at Lu-
cerne, in Switzerland, such bones were
exhibited as those of a man - feet high.
As late as February 18th, 1888. the same
thing was done in France, and also Scot
land reioiced in the skeleton of an ante
diluvian giant IA feet high. Later, the
mammoth was supposed TO be the behe-
moth OF the ancient Hebrew Scriptures.
In 1896. the bones of one were collected.
and monnted by learned professors and
ana;omists at Gotha, in Germany, who
declared it was not an elephant, but the
one they had was simply lusus nature.
II wa1 finally reserved for that great
French naturalist, George Cuvier. to dis
pei the darkness in January, 1896, when
he boldly ann ounced that all such bones
were the remains of fossil elephants, diff
fering from any now living upon earth.
They have now been found all over the
continent of Europe, in the pliocene and
post. .piocene strata. In Asia there are
vast quar- titles of such bones found on
the northern limits of the continent,
within the Arctic Circle. Siberia, along
the Yenesei and Lena rivers emptying
into the Arctic basin, the Liakow or new
Siberian Islands, and the bed of the
Arctic Ocean, crossed by the crew of the
Jeanette in their retreat TO land, all are
said to be thickly covered with bones Of
this class, nbounding in fossil ivory
Many huge masses of bones have been
piled up by freshels from rivers running
northward and emptying into the Arctic
Huge masses of this ivory are annually
shipped to England and there cut and
utilized in the arts and manufactures
The Iakouts, or natives of that part of
Siberia, formerly supposed these cnor-
nous animals to be species of huge
moles, that lived and burrowed under
ground, and because their remains were
found beneath the surface, they thought
they lived and died there. The word
mammoth is a native Yakout word,
meaning in their language-"an animal
that burrows UNDERGRADUATE the
world has adopted it as popular word.
They are most abundant in the far
North, in the tundras of Siberia, and
become less aud less frequent as the dis
tance from the Arctic basin increases.
Prof. Ward thought their long black hair
and thick skin would enable them to
exist in temperate and, perhaps a
frigid zone. A mammoth was discovered
frozen in latitude ~ degrees, near a
river, with his flesh frozen, and skin in
place. In l772, in latitude 81 degrees.
on the River Lena, a whole rhinoceros
was discovered. In 1899 Tungusean
fisherman discovered in latitude 20 de-
grees, near the mouth of the Lena, a
dark rass in block of ice, but if was
too deeply imbedded to get at it. In
1904 he returned 70 the spot and found
thu Ire block rent and tissured. The
perfect mammoth had fallen out by its
own weight. The hide was heavy, and
had over it thin but long black hairs
The Yakouts fed their dogs upon its
fresh meat, and white bears and arctic
foxes also joined in the feast. Bran hes
or the woody twigs of trees were found
undigested in its stomach, when, in 1868,
British traveller and scientist visited
the carcass. lie collected the bones,
took forty pounds Of black hair and one
side of It's hide, which ie transported
fully 1000 miles to st. Petersburg where
they were purchased by the Emperor
Alexander for 5000 roubles, and deposit.
ed in the Imperial Academy of Sciences
there. They have since been set up, and
pieces of the skin and hair have been
donated to the Paris Academy OF
Sciences, and to the Royal College OF
Surgeons in London. Prof. Ward said
there was two hypotheses entertained by
scientific men in regard TO how these
animals came here in such large num-
bers, One was the hypothesis of com
plete change f temperature by sudden
cataclysm, and the other, the gradual
depression of the land, continuing
through ages.
In Europe the mammoth seems to have
been coeval with early man. On the
tusk of mammoth found in a cave at
Dordogne. in France, is carved with a
flint implement, good likeness of a
mammoth. Their remains are found
more or less on every continent except
Australia, which many biologists con.
slider of recent formation. All our
American valleys appear to have had
their great herds Of such elephants,
which have now disappeared from our
soil. Nearly thirty different varieties
have been found. In Missouri stone
arrow head was found imbedded under
the shoulder blade Of mammoth now in
the British Museum. At Racine, Wis.
was found an ancient drawing of mas
todon, certainly drawn from life by men.
Over bushel of chewsd twlgs and succu
lent branches were taken from the
stomach of the one found in the block OF
ice at the River Lena.