The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-12-18
"A Lively MaStOdOn.

In conversation with gentleman,
formerly of Denver. who came out this
that the existence of living mastodons
near the headwaters Of White river
was not the mere fabrications of the
Northern furriers, says the Alaska News,
published at Juneau. but that the Stick
Indians had positively told him that not
later than five years ago such animals
had been seen by them. One of the
in that unknown section he came across
an immense track, sunk to a depth of
several inches in the moss, and from the
@ n &c ssnd Indian ma %2hrfsa it 5
an elephants track, and was larger
it, the Indian followed up this curious
trail, which to all appearances was very
fresh, and tracked from one immense
stride to the other for a distance of some
miles. he came in full view of his game.
And what game! The hunter gave one
pursued by the evil one. These Indians
as a class are the bravest of hunters,
and. with no other weapon than the
spear. will attack and Stay the st. Elias
grizzly. But the immense proportions
of this new kind Of game both startled
and filed the hunter. brave as he was,
with great fear. and he imagined his
flight. He described it as being larger
than Harper's 1.-THE post trader's) store,
with great shining yellowish tusks and a
mouth large enough to swallow him at a
single gulD. He said the animal was
undoubtedly the same as were the huge
bones scattered all over that section If
such all animal is now in existence, and
there is no reason to doubt the veracity
of the Indian. as other Indians. and also
Mr.. Harper, had confirmed it. they in
habit section of very high altitude and
one but rarely visited by human beings,
and these only Indians. We also have
no reason to doubt the Indians tale, for
at no very recent period the Yukon conn,
try was inhabited by these animals. and
hundreds of their massive skeletons
found strewn along the creeks are the
silent but truthful witnesses.
The Significance of Leaves.
The purpose and condition of the life
of the tree are revealed in no small meas
ure by its leaves.
The needle of the pine enables the tree
to withstand hurricane Oh a mountain
top, vet its slender figure is perfectly
adapted to the task of gathering light
and air for the trees life.
Not less plainly does the diversity of
character in leaf reveal the diversity
of tree life itself. No two leaves are ex-
actly alike: no two trees are exactly
alike. There are specific as we'll as gen
eric differences which are strongly
marked. One tree leads a rugged, wild,
and struggling life: another an easy, lux
urious life. The rough and fuzzy leaf of
the slippery elm, the silky leaf of the
beech, the shiny leaf of the gray birch,
these are all widely different; but there
are also distinct differences between the
leaves of the several kinds of birches,
elms and naples.
/ Still, there are puzzling similarities,
and one is often compelled to study mi
mute details in order to make sure of /,
particular species The catalpa leaf is
mentioned as that having the simplest
form. It is without divisions, and has
an entire and unbroken edge. The mag
nolia leaf, which is oval, might as well
have been taken as the type; and there
are others equally simple. The most
complex form of leaf is exemplifcd i'll
that of the horse-chestnut. =.
A very interesting exercise may be had
i'll tracing the differences in the shapes
of the leaves of trees of the same family.
as of the oaks. where we have the
rounded lobed red oak leaf. and the obo-
vate, evergreen leaf of the live oak, with
numerous transitional and derivative
shapes. In the naples, too, the typical
three-lobed, deeply indented leaf branches
out into a great diversity Of forms, all
easily referable. however, to the print
tive one, the peculiarities of which are
dependent upon the depth, the number,
and the minuteness of the notchings,-
Appleton's Popular Science. -