The Lamar register., 1895-10-26

pect. whicn Mr.. Hughes recognized at
once as the tusk of some pre-glaciai
ivory bearing animal.
With this knowledge he concluded
that the mystery of the ivory mine
was solved. upon the theory that the
natives had despolled the body OF some
mammoth; yet the reasoning was not
satisfactory. because OF the great guam
tlty Of ivory in their possession. which
could not have been furnished with a
hundred tusks. Then again. the natives
said that within their remembrance
and according to tradition the tribe had
always bartered ivory for women and
flsh with other tribes.
Mr.. Hughes thought so constantly on
the subject that he became eager to
solve the mystery. and. seeing his
eagerness and gathering from his talk
some idea of the real value OF ivory. the
natives themselves yielded to his de-
sire to make the trip. Fully week was
spent In making the preparations for
the journey
IL was late In the year when the par
ty set out, Mr. Hughes acting as chief,
and an aged man. who said he had
made part of the journey, as guide. For
two weeks the party pursued their
journey. during which time they passed
within the Arctic circle. II was dan
gerous to an extreme. They had peril
GUS encounters with wild animals and
made difficult crossings Of streams.
riffs and hummoeks In the ice and
snow.
They finally reached the spot. which
was at the foot OF a mountain. which
Mr.. Hughes thinks was about twenty
ave miles from the Yukon river. in a
direct route The whole party suffered
from exposure. particularly Mr..
Hughes. who was threatened with re-
turn OF his cid complaint
After dividing the party into small
bands at this spot two days were spent
In searching for the deposit II was an
ally discovered by the old guide. who.
wi. Mr. Hughes. had mounted upon a
big hummock OF snow to take a survey
OF the surroundings directly in front OF
them. by a large square depression.
-Hai-kwa-sur' CThere Il is) cried the
guide. The descent was quickly made.
and II was found that the artificial hole
was now filed with snow. packed as
hard and solid as ice. The work OF
clearing out the place occupied several
days. and then a marvellous sight was
spread before them.
Hundreds and thousands OF tusks,
white and cleaning with frost. were to
be seen scattered through the skele-
tons OF gigantic beasts. A closer inspec-
ton showed the remains were those OF
the old mammoths. and 1t was easy to
immagine that all were standing on the
former battle-ground OF these innocent
beasts. This was evidenced by the fact
that In some Instances the tusks OF the
animals would be found buried in the
skeletons of each other.
Mr.. Hughes estimates that there
must have been several tons of ivory
in sight. and BY digging around the
edges OF the excavation It was seen that
the bodies were evidently scattered
over a large plain. He tried to find a
perfect skeleton. but failed. some OF the
bones being either broken or missing
from each The party took considerable
ivory back with them. and Mr.. Hughes
disposed of his share very advantage
,usly upon a return to civilization.
Mr.. Hughes win not. he says. for
business reasons. go more in detail over
his adventure. He has some excellent
samples of the ivory made up in the
form OF ornaments, which he has ex-