Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-08-16
ALASKAN MAN M OTHS.
Monster Animals Still Roaming on
American Soil.

the Alaska Fur and Commercial Com
panv, said in answer to the question Of
q Philadelphia Press reporter respect
ing his late field of operations. Mr..
Fowler is en- route TO his home near
Boston, which he left twelve years ago
10 enter the employ OF the Alaska Fur
and Commercial Company.
During all that time, up TO two
months ago, when | resigned and start
cd for home, said Mr.. Fowler, Il have
had my headquarters at kodiac, which
is the most northern station occupied
by the agents of our company.
alaska Is certainly "a country OF
! paradoXcs. You who live here in the
states look upon it as II land Of perpet-
ual ice and snow, ana yet you would be
astonished il ! tell you that | grew last
year in my garden at kodiac abundant
crops of radishes, lettuce, carrots,
onions, cauliHoWers, cabbage, peas,
turnips, pOtatoes beets, parsnips and
celery. Within five miles Of this gar
den was one Of the largest glaciers in
Alaska, and between the fertile coast
slip and the interior is reared along the
entire sea boundary II continuous
mountain OF perpetual ice aud snow. :"
During your twelve years resi-
dence in Alaska what was the most
wonderful thing you ever saw or heard
therep'
Mr. Fowler smiled at this question,
and after "A moments hesitation said
Two years ago last summer ! left
kodiac for "a trip 10 the head waters
OF the Snake river, where our travel
l i,,r -, ha1 f,h h,
station at AN lnnuit village The chief
of this family of lnnuits was named
To-lee-ti-ma, and to him | was we'll
recommended. He received me
hospitality, and | at once began ne
| gotiations for the purchase OF a big
lot of fossil ivory which his tribe had
cached aear the village. The lot
weighed several thousani pounds
and was composed of the principal
and inferior tusls of the mammoth,
the remains Of thousands Of which
gigantic animals are to be found in
the beds Of interior Alaskan water
courses. subjected the ivory To
rigid inspection, and upon two Of the
| largest tusks | discovered fresh blood
traces and the remnants Of partly de-
composed flesh.
81 questioned To-iec-ti-ma, and he
assured me that less than three
months before party Of his young
men had encountered drove OF mon
sters about fifty miles above where he
was then encamped, and had succeed
ed in killing two, an old bull and a
COW. AT my request he sent for the
leader of the hunting party, young
and very intelligent Indian, and /
questioned him closely about his adj
venture among a race OF animals that
the scientific people claim are extinct.
/ He told "A very straightforward story
and | have no reason to doubt its
| truth
"lIe and his band were searching
along dry water-course for ivory
and had found Il considerable quauti-
! ty. One OF the bucks, who was in adj
/ vance, ru shed in upon the main body
one morning with the st1rtling inteli-
geuce that at II spring OF water about
a mile above whore they then were he
/ had discovered the sign OF several
of the 'big-tceth.' They had come
down TO the spring 10 drink from a
/ lofty plateau further inland and had
evidently fed in the vicinity Of the
water for some time. The chief i'm
mediately called about him warriors,
and the party under the leadership of
/ the scout, approached the stream.
They had nearly reached it when
their ears were suddenly saluted by
chorus OF loud, shrill, trumpet-like
calls, and an enormous creature came
crashing toward them through the
thicket, the ground fairly trembling
] han =
wild cries Of terror and dismay the
/ Indians GeI, ali but the chief and the
/ scout who had first discovered the
/ trail OF the monsters. They were
armed with large caliber muskcts and
stood their ground, opening fire on the
mammoth. \ bullet must have p6ue-
tratel the creatures brain. for he stag
gered forward and fell dead, and sub
sequently on their way back 20 their
campground they over hauled and kill
cd COW 'big-teeth, which was evil
IDENTITY the mate Of the first one killed.
81 asked the hunter to describe the
monster, and taking II sharp stick he
drew me a picture of n 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 it was not unlike an
elephant. but its ears were smaller, its
eyes bigger and its trunk longer and
more slender Its tusks were yellow
ish-white in color aud six in number.
Four of these tusks were placed like
those OF boar, one on either side of
each jaw; they were about four feet
long and came to Il sharp point. The
other two tuslls he brought away.
Il measured them and they were
over fifteen feet in length and weighed
upward of 250 pounds each. They
gradually taper to sharp point and
curved inward. The monsters body
was covered with long, coarse hair of n
reddish dun color.
by the way. our late Governor,
Hon. Alfred u. Swineford. has pretty
carefully investigated the matter and
he is certain from thorough sitting OF
native testimony that large herds of
these monsters are to be found on the
high plateaus in interior Alaska about