Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-09-08
VOLUME XXXIII.-NUMBER AZ.
STORY OF A SKELETON.
Largest Mammoth in the World
Seen at the Fair.

remains show the animal to have been
OF extraordinary size. Very few speci-
mems OF this kind shown at the World s
Columbian Exposition attract more
general attention than the mounted
remains of a mammoth exhibited as a
sort OF center piece in the Washington
State building at the fair. 1t is no
wonder that it should attract atten-
ton, for it is the largest specimen of
the kind in the world, and the only
one complete and mounted in Amer
ica. The specimen has an interesting
history. In the spring of 1878, Mr..
Copein, a farmer living in the south
western part of Spokane county, State
OF Washington, was digging drain
through a muddy hollow, about so
feet square, when he came upon some
unusually large bones. He wisely ex-
ercised great care in digging out the
bones, and the result was that science
secured valuable prize. After the
first excitement cooled off, the high
price set on the bones declined, and
then it was that DR.. Edmund Andrews,
with the assistance of Hon. VIM.
Bross, Philip D. Armour. John Crerar,
Norman Williams, Joseph Frank, Writ
Dexter, Hamilton B. Bogue, and the
members of the Mastodon Club of Chi
cago, secured all the bones for the
Chicago Academy OF Science. The
number of bones found showed that
many animals, several OF which were
mammoths, had perished in that same
little quagmire, but go many of the
bones OF this one big specimen were
found that the academy determined
to have it mounted. A number OF
scientists volunteered for the work
and the result is most gratifying
About one.third OF the bones had to
be renewed with plaster, but even SO it
is the most perfect specimen in Amer.
ica and the second mounted specimen
known to exist in the world. Prof.
W. X. Highley, Secretary OF the Acad-
emy, has prepared brief record OF
this work, showing that 121 bones or
their fragments had been found, ag.
gregating 700 pounds in weight. The
length Of the tusks are 8 feet 10
inches; circumference OF tusk at base,
ii inches; number OF lamine of lower
teeth, 10; breadth OF lower teeth, 81
inches; length of lower teeth 10
inches; breadth of lower jaw at the
condyles, % inches; breadth of atlas,
Is inches, height of atlas, VI inches
height OF pelvis, 81 inches; breadth of
pelvis 81 inches; height of scalpula,
25 inches; length of numerous at mid
die of shaft, 19 inches. These are &C.
curate measurements OF the true bones
in the mounted skeleton. The height
OF this skeleton as it stands is Ii feet,
while that Of the famous St. Peters
burg specimen is only 9 feet 3 inches.
Speaking of the st. Petersburg speci-
men, Dana, in his manual of geology,
has the following: "This ancient ele-
phant was over twice the weight of the
largest modern species, nearly q third
larger. The body was covered with a
reddish wool and long black hair. One
of the tusks measured 124 feet in
length, it was curved nearly into q
circle, though little obliquely. Al
the mouth of the Lena one of these
animals was found at the beginning of
this century, frozen and encased in ice.
1t measured 16 feet inches in length
to the extremity of the tail, exclusive
of the tusks, and 9 feet 4 inches in
height. It retained the wool on its
hide. and was so perfectly preserved
that the flesh was eaten by the dogs"
This species is known to science as
Elephas primigenius. Other large ele-
phantine specimens are as follows:
Jumbo's skeleton. Elephas African
us, is 10 feet inches in height: War
ren's Mastodon giganteus, at Boston,
is IL feet; and the Hauser Elephas
Indicus, at the Northwestern Univer-
sity, at Evanston, ILL.,, is 10 feet 8
inches high. By allowing 2 inches for
the gristly cushion under the feet and
3 inches for the thickness of the flesh
on its back, and some few inches for
the wool and bristly name, the Wash
ington specimen would be fully IA
feet high when alive.
Elephants remains are always found
in groups, showing that the animals
either huddled together before perish
ing in droves, or would die one at a
time at the pools or river banks,
where they would 60 Tor water. Many
fragmentary specimens have been
found in the northwest and Alaska,
but the Washington specimen shown
at the Worlds Fair is the most perfect
one yet found, and it is we'll worth the
inspection of any visitor at the exposi-
ton.
THE following is reported ty a
Klamath county, (Ore.) paper from a
district school in that vicinity: When
the word husband" was put on the
blackboard none OF the children could
pronounce it, and to help them out
the teacher asked, "What would l
have if were to get married?" The