The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-08
FROZEN SOLID FOR AGES.
New Find OF .Man1n OIL, in n Re-
markabIe State of Pre.a-un4i..,

New Find OF n MANN otI, in Re.
markable State of Prexervatfon- !
The body of a nnammotb which baa
been frozen solid In the tundr. o. q
IBERIA for many hundreds Of years was re-
Gently brought to light In the northeast
part OF that remote region, says the New
York Stln. It was one of the bes+ Dre-
served specimens of these pre- historic Ell
ephants yet discovered Refrigeration ea,,-
tlnned for centuries, had done its work
SO perfectly that the animal, without
;eouDt' as first exposed to view was a
most excellent representative of its an
cent family. It's reddish, woody hair. its
SKIN and flesh were without defect. and
IN It's stomach were found fbe 1,nfJif,eatad
remains of It's last dinner.
Inc IND was made near the settIeYnent
oL Aetv1hsk, on the. Koiima river In one
u tae coolest districts, of the world.
ASout 'ooo miles to the southwest is Verk-
noyask, which Is called the winter cold
poIe OF the Northern hemisphere. it be-
ing the coolest region known. The rns.a,,s
.7iNpeEaeuFe IN January is 56 degrees be-
~" zero r Ahrenheft, and sometimes the
n-eic0fy Iaiis as low as s. degrees below
zero They tried, years ago. to SIM, a
well at Yakutsk, west OF tbis cold ,o4a
OUT gave 1t up after they had sunk about
Ioo 1eef without any sign that they vvo,,Id
ever dlg their way below the solfdlv froz-
en- ground
Il as In this region of perpetually frozen
tuiiafa That so large quantity of mann
moth remains have been found Tho
DoHes or the mammoth are found All over
tNoEln Europe and Asia from England
20 hehrfng Strait, but 1t Is only In the
Iio1en tundra that the animal has been
found intact, just as 1t died .aeessaoo
latest
hne specimen of the complete u1amnootb
IL was thought worth while to send an
e1peoinon this summer from 81 Pefars
parg to Kolymsk to secure the animals
sheieton The party arrived at YaJ<ufSlx
on the way to that settlement or, J,,,,o "A
last. ~ "ii1 -
a snort distance north of fbe n1aca
,.tte these remains we're found are the
Iilsle ISLANDS known as the Bear Archi-
Peidso' on one of which the remains of
niatnmoehs abound to such an extent
tnat travellers have declared that tho
isiaho seems to be composed entirely of
tne bones and tusks of ramrnotI,s ~
% PROBABLE that the comparatively few
bodies found intact were those of ami
mails suddenly overwhelmed by the cav
ing IN or bank above them which then
Iroze around, enclosing them in an eff
fecttve refrigerator
ha0n
great source Of mammoth ivory. n mas
peen proved that the mammoth was cor
lelnporaneous with prehistoric man
one or these proofs was discovered IL,
Re new Siberian islands where Heden-
strem picked up an an made of a mann
moth tusk- The skeleton of the animal
can easily be produced from the homes
tnat have been fourd far across tho
northern part of the old world r,bo
of
SIDERABLE number Of perfect skeletons is
found in our museums, Is closely related
to the mammoth
very few fossil animals have sbarad
With the mammoth the distinction of
having been preserved, not only hv.their
skeletons but, in some instances. also in
thelr flesh. A number of perfect sueci
mems with flesh and covering of woef and
long halr has been found in the frozen
banks along the Lena river Latter da1y
oogs nave eaten with apparent relish the
nesh of this extinct species. One of
THESE Siberian mammoths was sixteen
ana third feet long and nine and a
third feet in height. These complete
specimens, however, are rare and tbe
news is heralded far and wide when one
OF them is found. They were probably
living later than the ice age, which.
measured by geological time was NOT
SO very long ago.
Inc annual consumption of ivory is SUP
posed to be worth $5,ee0,O00 Most of ii
comes from the elephants of Africa and
INDIA, some is supplied by the hippo
potanus and the walrus, and 4 small
amount of fossil ivory is regularly Oh
tanned from the mammoth remains Of ST.
IBERIA 1t is we'll known that the Chinese
excel In ivory carvings. considerable
amount of the ivory in which they have
worked for centuries has been obtained
from Siberia, it having been proved thar
the mammoth has furnished ivory to Chi
ma for at least seven centuries.
The reindeer sledges of Arctic dwell
ers sometimes travel on the winter sn-7v$
as far south as Urga, in Mongolia. where s
they meet the yak from Thibet and the
camel from Pekin, and exchange their.
mammoth ivory and furs for brick tea
and other commodities. Many of the tusls
are found around the mouths of the great
rivers, the careasses having. probablv
been carried down the rivers from some
more southern localities.
It must not be supposed that these
tusks and skeletons would have been pre-
served for ages if they had not been
shielded from the disintegratfng influences
of the atmosphere. They were doubtfee;.,
buried in the frozen soil for hundreds OF
years, and have come to view only within
a comparatively recent period. The drift
ing ice in the summer sometimes tears
down portions of the river ba n7-@
the ends of tusks may be seen project
Ing from the remaining waH This ivory
is apt to be in a fine state of hreserva-
ton, while the other tusss. that have
been exposed for years. may be parity
disintegrated and easily broken The
best of mammoth ivory. however. is re-
garded as inferior to modern elenhanf
fuSlS