The Washington critic., 1889-05-06
ARE THERE LIVE MAMMorHs2


Alaska Is country Of paradoxes,"
said Mr.. Cola +. Fowler, late Of the
Alaska Fur and Commercial Company,
in answer to the question of Press re-
porter respecting his late field of opera
lions. Mr.. Fowler is stopping tenn
porarily in this city with friends He
Is en- route to his home near Boston,
which he left twelve years ago to enter
the employ of the Alaska Fur and Com.
mcrcial Company.
During your twelve years residence
in Alaska what was the most wonder
ful thing you ever saw or heard
there 2"
Mr.. Fowler smiled at this question,
and after moments hesitation said:
Two years ago last summer left
Kodiac for trip to the head waters of
the Snake River, where our travelling
agents had established trading station
at an Innuit village. The chief of this
family of Innuits was named To-lee-H-
ma, and to him was well recon.
mended. He received me Hospitality,
and ut once began negotiations for the
purchase Of big lot Of fossil ivory
which his tribe had cached near the
village. The lot weighed several thou
sand pounds, and was composed OF the
principal and inferior tusks of the nam.
moth, the remains of thousands Of
which gigantic animals are TO be found
in the beds Of interior Alaskan water
courses. subjected the ivory to a
rigid inspection, and upon two of the
largest tusks ] discovered fresh blood
traces and the remnants Of partly de-
composed flesh.
II questioned To-lee TINA, and he
| assured me that less than three months
before o party Of his young men had
encountered q drove of monsters abont
| fifty miles above where he was then en-.
camped, and had succeeded in killing
two, an old bull and COW. AT my
request he sent for the leader Of the
hunting party, young and very intel
ligent Indian, and questioned him
very closely about his adventure among
race of animals that the scientific peo-
| pie claim are extinct He told very
straightforward story and have no
reason TO doubt its truth.
| HE and his band were searching
along dry water course for ivory and
had found a considerable quantity. One
| of the bucks, who was In advance,
rushed in upon the main body one
morning with the startling intelligence
that at a spring of water about a mile
above where they then were he had
discovered the sign of several of the
big teeth. They had come down to
the spring to drink from lofty plateau
farther inland and had evidently fed in
the vicinity of the water for some time.
The chief Immediately called about
him his warriors, and the party, under
the leadership of the scout, approached
the stream.
They had nearly reached II when
their ears were suddenly saluted by a
chorus Of loud, shrill, trumpet-like calls,
and an enormous creature came crash.
ing toward them through the thiclSet,
the ground fairly trembling beneath its
ponderous footballs. With wild cries
of terror and dismay the Indians fled;
all but the chief and the scout who had
first discovered the trail of the monsters.
They were armed with large calibre
muskets and stood their ground, open
ing fire on the mammoth. A bullet
must have penetrated the creature s
brain, for il staggered forward and fell
dead, add subsequently on their way
back to their camp ground they over
hauled and killed COW big teeth,
which was evidently the mate of the
first one killed.
II asked the hunter to describe the
monster, and, taking q shasp stick, he
drew me picture OF the male animal
in the soft clay. According to his de-
scription it was at least twenty feet in
height and thirty feet in length. In
general shape II was not unlike an ele
phant, but its ears were smaller, lis
eyes bigger and its trunk longer and
more slender. Its tusks were yellowisl
white in color and six in number. -Four
Of these tusks were placed like those OF
boar, one on either side in each jaw
they were about four feet long and
came to sharp poiht. The other two
tusks he brought away.
II measured them and they were over
fifteen feet in length and weighed up
ward of 250 pounds each. They grad
ually tapered to q sharp point and
curved inward. The monsters body
was covered with long, coarse hair of Q
reddish dun color. ] took copy OF
the rude sketch made by the Indian
and you are welcome to II for reproduc
ton In the Press.
by the way, our late Governor, the
Hon. Alfred p. Swineford, has pretty
carefully investigated the matter and hi
is certain, from thorough sitting oi
native testimony, that large herds oi
these monsters are to be found on tht
high plateaus in interior Alaska, abou
the headwaters Of the Snake River