The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1908-03-06


worth while to reproduce 1t.
Picture to yourself an elephant
with a body covered with thick fur,
about Is feet in height and 10 IN
length, with tusks eight feet long,
thick, and curving outward at their |
ends, a stout trunk of six feet IN
length, colossal limbs of 11a feet lii
thickness, and tail, naked up to the
end, which was covered with thick
fluffy hair The animal was fat, and
we'll grown; death had overtaken MN
in the fullness of his powers. HIS
parchment-like, large, naked ears lay
turned up over his head; about the
! shoulders and the back he had SUN
hair, about a foot in length, like a
name. The long outer hair was deep
brown, and coarsely rooted. The top
Of the head looked so wild and SO
penetrated with pitch that it resem-
bled the rind of an oak tree. On the
sides it was cleaner, and under the out
err hair there appeared everywhere
wool. very soft, warm and thick, ana
of a fallow-brown color. The giant
was we'll protected against the cold.
The whole appearance of the AMI
nal was fearfully strange and wiz.
1t had not the shape of our present
elephants. AS compared with our
Indian elephants, it's head was rough,
the brain base low and narrow, but
the trunk and mouth were much
larger. The teeth were very power
full. Our elephant is an awkward AMI
NAL, but compared with this mammoth
it is an Arabian steed to a coarse
ugly dray horse. | could not divest
myself of feeling of fear as ap'
preached the head; the broken, widely
open eyes gave the animal an appear
ance of life, as though 1t might move
in a moment and destroy us with
roar. The bad smell of the body
warned us that it was time to save
what we could, and the swelling aood,
too, babe us hasten. =. But l had the
stomach separated and Brought on one
side. 1t was we'll filled, and the con-
tents instructive and we'll preserved.
The principal were young shoots or
the fir and pine; quantity of young
fir cones, also in chewed state, were
mixed with the moss
Still more recently, even as late as
1902, a complete skeleton was found
2 on the banks of the Beresovka river in
2 northeastern Siberia. The entire skin
r as we'll as the skeleton of this has
: been brought to st. Petersburg, and
| after being stuffed has been erected
: in the position in which it was found.
S Evidently the animal was browsing on
, the bank Of frozen precipice, where
: the footing was more insecure than he
r supposed While he was stetching
j out for a tempting morsel of herb
l. age the foundation gave away beneath
e him and he slid backward, landing in a
e position from which he could not ex.
tricate himself, and was there buried
by fresh avalanches from the preci-
pice and by the accumulation Of sedi-
S ment from the stream and frozen up
Z for preservation.
IS The fresh condition of these skele-
T tons in Siberia and Alaska, together
e with the occurrence of skeletons in
6 connection with flint instruments,
v gives evidence that the animal contin'
hn cd Nf
u man, so as to be for some time con-
IL temporary Of the human race on both
e continents, points to the recent ex
"a tinction Of the animal, and raises the
u very interesting question as to wha,
u causes could have led to this result
10 Evidence that man and the nam
"a moth were for a considerable time
VI contemporaries comes from various
T. quarters In Siberia II feet below the
81 surface Of a cliff which stands 13t
10 feet above the present level of TIKI
10 River Obi, skeleton of a mammoth
was found, associated with numerou!
Is flint implements, indicating the pres
10 ence of man, while the large bones O.
Ae the animal were split In the usua
AZ way of the savages for extracting tn,
d. marrow.
ol In numerous places in Europe tn
W. bones Of the animal have been .foun,
u both in the river gravel and in cave
VI associated in a similar manner will
III flint implements, while the picture o
III the mammoth carved upon piece o
st. ivory in prehistoric times found in
~ cave Of La Madeleine, Perigord
VI France, is 50 lifelike that it must hav
been made by one who was familia
with the animal. In Wisconsin on
re Of the mounds of the mound builder
Is. so perfectly represents the elephan
er that it is hardly possible to doubt tn
tie familiarity of the builders with thi
ss animal.
of
al. Law Against Bribery in China.