The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-02
MILLIONS IN THE ICE.
Antediluvinn Beasts with Ivory
TusISs Locked I'm the Frozen North.

From the New York Journal.
Wealth is waiting for the man who
shall have the courage to essay a certain
bold exploit. 1t is not gold. nor silver, nor
precious gems, but ivory-the finest ivory
in the world Mines OF II exist, in which
are stored quantities of this valuable SUBJ
stance we'll nigh inexhaustible. This "a no
IDLE tale designed to inflame the imagina-
ton. 1t is cold fact. resting upon indis-
putable authority. Let the most advent
urous spirit take advantage OF the forma-
ton which is given by the famous Lieut..
Schuetze, who was sent by the United
States government to bring back to this
country the bodies of De Long and his
companions after the Jeanette disaster.
These Inflated men, IL will be remembered.
persisted of starvation and cold in the
Lena delta The Lena rises in Eastern
Siberia and flows northward to the Arc
tic ocean. To the northeast of its mouth
there Is group Of islands known as New
Siberia. II is on these islands that the
The Lena, however, has not one. but
many mouths. It's delta covers an area
OF 1900 square miles. This frozen region
was thoroughly explored by Lieut.
Schueltze In his search for the bodies
Later he visited them again, bringing
several thousand dollars worth ~ eslffs
secured their confidence, and they smoke
70 him OF many things which they never
/
They even told him about the ivory mines
and showed him some tusks
Ihey are mammoth tusks. The fvory
mines are deposits of the tusls OF NAM
moths that lived in that region thousands
OF years ago. All over Northern Siberia
Inese nuge animals roamed in vast herds
me. me cllnnte az that time was COMPARE
lively mild. But there came n slidden
change. Fierce winter swept over 4ha
iand-a winter permanent and destined
never again to resign its sway The
mammoths sought shelter I'm the vaIta,yq
where they huddled together until. over,
whemed by snowdrifts. they lay down to
dle beneath heecy avalanches which were
nnally transformed into solid ice This
ice, composing glaciers, was swept through
gorges toward the Arctic ocean. carrying
the buried creatures
Thus buried in ice, the mamnotbs vera
likely TO be preserved for an indefinite
period. Such, in fact, was the result
and 70 this day II occasionally happens
that the thawing of mass of ice by the
short summers sun reveals the caI,casa
or one OF the gigantic beasts, its meat
still fresh enough to be fed TO dogs. Such
thing occurred in the Imperial museum
at st. Petersburg. The animal was a small
one, comparatively speaking, being ONLY
nine feet. high and sixteen feet long.
When the Siberian natives had como
TO know Mr.. Schuetze well thew told
him about the ivory deposits in New ST.
IBERIA. The islands of the group, they
sald, were quilt on mammoth bones.''
Subsequent observation by the lieutenant
confirmed this statement
Mammoth ivory, be it understood. in
more highly. valued than any other kind.
1t Is worth 81 pound in the crude. This
tusk OF big fellow will measure four
teen feet in length, and will weigh four
times as much as the tusk of a large ele-
plant. The market demand for ivory IL
now supplied to a great extent from ST.
IBERIA. The mammoth tusks are carried
enormous distances overland to reach the
nearest railways. This kind OF ivory is
known as fossil ivory, though that Is
misnomer.