Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-01-08
BURIED 5000 YEARS.
A Mammoth Exhume in Siberia Al
most Intact.

Some eighteen months ago the gov
ernor of Yakutsk informed the lmper-
ial Scientific academy of St Peters
burg of an unusual interesting dis
covery in Siberia. A Cossack had
learned from the natives that a gi-
gantc animal with huge tusks had
been found imbedded in the ice on the
Beresovska tributary Of the kolyma
river about 200 miles from Svedin-
Kolymsk. From the description given
it seemed probable that the animal
was a mammoth, and DR.. Otto Herr,
director of the museum, and Herr
Psitzemayer, naturalist, were author
lied to procede to the spot and bring
it to st. Petersburg in as good condi-
ton as was possible under the cir
cumstances. The animal is now in
the Russian capital, where it is be-
ing preserved and set up. Special in
terest attaches to it, as it is the most
complete specimen ever yet obtained.
Althugh in y. Herz's opinion it is
5000 years old, the skeleton is in
W onderful good preservation, as is al
so the hairy covering of the skin.
Messrs. Herr and Psitzemeyer sue
ceeded in carrying out their mission
successfully, but not without many
difficulties
Last summer they travelled to va
kutsk, and then their troubles COM
menced. From that point to where
the mammoth had been found was a
distance of 1000 miles, which had to
be traversed on horseback. The
country was an extremely difficult one !;
mosquitoes swarmed and in the dan
gerous swamps it happened more than
once that Cossack and his horse dis
appeared without leaving trace be-
hind them At length in the autumn
the party reached their destination,
and found, to their satisfaction, the
huge beast, resting in almost hOr-
izontal position. Probably it had
stumbled when grazing and fallen into
a crevasse. The forelegs, especially the
left one, were much bent which show
ed that when attempting to recover
itself the animals body had proven
too heavy. the hind legs slipped un-
derneath it, and it became frozen
fast. Thus the beast perished, and
has ever since lain undisturbed be-
meath the layer of earth which in the
course of ages formed above the ice,
until at length the warmth of the sun
exposed it to the light. 1t was neces-
sary to remove the remains before
the advent of spring, otherwise it
would have been too late.
Wild animals had already begun to
tear at the flesh, and to preserve the
remains on the spot was impossible,
as a body which has lain for SO long
in the ice decomposes with greater
rapidity when exposed to the air. 1t
was therefore determined to divide
it into several parts, forwarding each
in a frozen state and putting them to-
gether afterwards. A hut with
stove in it was constructed over the
mammoth, and as the ice gradually
melted the portion thus relased was
removed and duly prepared for tran
sit The entire process of excavation
occupied two months, during which
time the open air temperature was
fifty degrees Celsius. The legs and
feet resembled those Of an elephant,
except that the latter has three toes,
the mammoth five. The hair is Of a
brownish yellow color, and is so long
and thick that it's owner could hardly
have felt the cold in any tempreture,
however low The skin is from
twenty to tWenty-three millimeters
thick, and underneath it there is a
layer of fat nine millimeters thick.
Blood was found in the body, and in
the mouth there were the remains OF
food on which the marks of the teeth
were impressed. The contents Of the
tN
a fresh state In spite of the great
difficulties of the journey, all the var
ious portions were conveyed without
injury or loss to st. Petersburg, and
now constitute unique trophy.-Lon
-