Arizona republican., 1907-05-26

that all hunting or driving would be
absolutely impossible.
Gently but firmly the herd was driv-
en- nearer and nearer the village and
closer and closer to the hill on which
the snow was piled by nature. ready
for the avalanche. When the braves
approached the lodges with the herd
running In advance. the squaws were
out ready to render assistance.
The animals by dint of great care
were finally got in such position that
they were surrounded on three sides.
and on the fourth side was the snow
piled hillside. Then the squaws be-
gan to beat tomtoms, the dogs We're
prodded into barking. the braves YELL
ed their hunting cry and even the
children helped contribute to the noise
by raising their shrill voices.
There could be but one result. The
suddenly frightened, maddened herd
made a wild dash for liberty only to
find the terrible noise on every side
but one. Out across the fatal hillside
they dashed in a body.
The weight OF the herd was enough
W StN SlioN lliONi Tie Silut
started, grew from the size of a horse
TO that of an elephant. from the size
OF an elephant to that Of a house, from
the size of n house to that OF u cathe-
dral In less time than it takes to tell
of il.
And where was the herd? The gil
gantic weight OF the snow had swept
them eff their feet and buried them in
the heart OF the gigantic snow pile
where life soon left them. All that re-
manned was a vast snow pile in whose
heart a herd OF moose or caribou were
frozen solidly. When the village need
ed meat, all the braves had to do was
to dig into the center of this pile TIL
frozen carcass was reached. and
there was meat for all. One such drive
was enough to supply the tribe a whole
winter. and the enormous bulk of the
snow. the cool repository beneath the
shadow of the cliff. and the naturally
backward summer. was such that the
meat could be preserved until late into
the summer as fresh as on the day on
which the kill was made.
Simple as this plan of natural re-
frigeration sounds, it was generally
most difficult of execution. Some
times the drivers of the herd through
q misjudgment would approach too
close and the frightened herd would
make a dash for liberty and escape.
Other times the animals weight was
not sufficient to start the avalanche
and in consequence they escaped
Sometimes the event was varigated by
the animals being driven over cliff
on whose top hung great masses OF
snow. which effectually buried and
preserved them. Frequently two and
three trips would have to be made by
the tribes and two OF three herds
would get away. before the winters
supply could be obtained
Carmack states that he has eaten OF
meat preserved in this fashion five and
q half months after the kill. and IL was
as fresh as when first caught. BY this
method whole herds were wiped out
young and old. and game grew con-
siderably scarcer after few years
of this unsportsmanlike hunting.
1t has been suggested that the great
preserved mammoth in the heart OF
the glacier which will be exhibited at
the Alaska Yukon Pacific exposition
may have been similarly shared by the
prehistoric men of fifty or hundred
thousand years ago; but scientists
think that this is hardly likely. The
chances are rather that the animal
was caught by some upheavel: and be-
fore the flesh had an opportunity TO
decay the water flowed over 1t and
froze solidly
on Hunker creek, Klondike. there Is
one spot where. mixed with icy gravel.
the remains of some forty or fifty
mammoths have been found. These
howere were very indifferently pre-
served. in some cases a jaw bone or
a few teeth being the only remaining
relic of the great animal. The fact OF
these animals all being found together
seems to indicate that they died IN
some gigantic upheaval. or that they
killed each other in some mighty bat
tie of the past. Little. however. Is
known. as yet. but 1t is expected that
when the great animal in the Nome
glacier Is dug out. preserved and
brought to Seattle and erected on the
grounds OF the 19e? exposition, science
will be able to learn more of these ami
mails than ever before.
-O-
POPULAR.