The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1889-12-14
bound the tooth layers together. A,


the grinding surface the pieces of dem
tine appeared to be separate, but at
the bottom they sprung from a common
base. II a tooth of the mammoth, mas
todon, Asiatic elephant and African
forms are examined, the difference is
quickly noticed. Looking down upon
the grinding edge. we see the ridge of
the Indian form. narrow and undulating
and very frequent. In the AFRICAN tooth
the ridges are less parallel, and seem
to inclose lozenge-shaped spaces. The
tooth of the mammoth shows almost
perfect parallel lines slightly waving.
while that of the mastodon is made up
Of series of cusps. The elephant has
eight teeth at time. two on each side
of each jaw, and probably about twen-
ty-four in all during lifetime. The
teeth make their appearance in the
back portions of the jaw, and move
gradually forward as they are ground
away, being pushed to the front by the
new tooth forming behind.
AO ShOtObOn 100 Ok0CO0 UdCh lIltU
the sand bank and carefully uncovered,
and, as in the case of the tusks, short
glimpse had Of its size. but the action
Of the air soon began to affect it and II
literally fell in pieces. The tusks. part
of which were preserved, were badly
decomposed and had separated into
rings and sections. The ivory had lost
its weight and was all ready to fall
apart. yet its character could not be
mistaken. Under the glass could be
seen the tubes. the bending and curve
OF which is peculiar to elephant ivory.
The tusks were lifted out with the
greatest care, but no glue being at hand
or within many miles, it was impossi-
BILE to save them, and piece not quite
two feet long, now in Berkeley Univer-
sity. and several smaller pieces at San
Juan Capistrano. are all that remain OF
these magnificent weapons.
The American elephant resembled
the mammoth to some extent in gen.
eral appearance, without the shaggy
hair. which was the Characteristic fea-
ture of the former. 1t was Southern
mammoth, and roamed the country
from Canada to Mississippi, its remains
having been found in many States, but
especially in Oregon, Texas and Cali
fornia- In viewing the skeleton of this
huge creature lying almost perfect in
the place where it originally fell. one
can hardly realize how long a time has
elapsed since it was engulfed by the
quicksand.
The American elephant appeared on
the scene in the Pliocene time OF geo.
logical history, and lived on into the
Quaternary, and l should judge that
this find dates from the last named.
The country in this immediate vicini.
ty slopes down from the Santa Ana
range of mountains, and was, prior to
their appearance, beneath the waters
OF the Pacific. On the tops of the
mountains, from three thousand to five
thousand feet above the sea, ocean
shells are found, beds of oysters, CLANS
and pectens. In one spot six miles
from where the elephant was found the
stratum crops out white and distinct
among the grasses and flowers and il
layer of clam shells six or eight feet
deep, resting on a bed of limestone
slightly crystalized. The bed is being
utilized by makers of lime and in time
will be valuable as fertilizer. In the
mass appear sharks teeth, vertebrate
of whales. fish bones and teeth, and
many of the forms which lived at this
time. The sea bottom was lifted alof,
by remarkable elevation of the crust
Then came long period during which
the great elephant grazed over the old
beach, ultimately meeting its death
Over this tons of pebble and gravel
were heaped, possibly by local drift
but in all probability by the washings
of some arroyo bed. How long this
means in years is difficult to determine
The Cenozoic time-which includes the
Quaternary and that of man-has been
estimated as representing 5000, 900 Of
years; so the elephant may have died
if he dated from the early Pliocene,
nearly 1000, 900 years ago, but in all
probability it dates from a more re
cent time.
The size of the tusks OF this Amer
lean elephant shows it to have been ar
enormous creature. and it will be o.
interest to compare it with some of the
large specimens known. General DE-
Lima brought two tusks from Mozam
bique which were almost straight. One
weighed one hundred and eighty
pounds, and the other ten pounds less
Another tusk, eight feet long, two and
one-half feet in circumference at the
base. weighed two hundred pounds; sc
that tusk of the fossil elephant mus
have weighed at least three hundred
and fifty pounds. Kolokner records .
tusk. sold at Amsterdam some years