Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1909-09-03

Inc mammoth Is an extinct species
OF elephant which was formerly
spread all over Europe, northern Asia,
and North America as far south as
Mexico. In size he was somewhat
larger than the elephant Whereas
Jumbo stood IL feet high, the nam.
moth skeleton recently set up in the
museum of the Chicago Academy OF
sciences stands Is feet as mounted.
which would make him about IA feet
high when alive. The tusks Of the
mammoth were enormous. Those CT
one recently found in Texas, and now
mounted In the American Museum of
Natural History in New York city,
measure IL feet and ten inches, and
would weigh 200 pounds apiece. The
mammoth had trunk like suits of
hair-the largest consisting OF rough.
black bristles Is inches in length,
the next coat OF close-set hair from
nine to ten inches long, and under
meath all soft, reddish wool. about
nve inches long. forming covering
which would shed water, and enable
the animal to stand any amount Of
arctic cold.
At the present time the elephant
Is limited to southern Asia and to CEN
tral and southern Africa. The Ash.
attic species, however, differ In many
respects from the African. The Afri-
can elephant has much larger ears
tnan the Asiatic; SO that they COM
thrown back, sometimes being three
and one-half feet wide. It's teeth are
also different from those of the Ash
attic species, and its tusks heavier.
But In both cases the tusks are much
smaller than are those Of the nam.
moth.
The elephant first appears in the
Middle Tertiary deposits of northern
India. From that center, still occu.
pied by the species, II seems to have
spread outward to the limits OF the
, northern hemisphere. In the later
Tertiary period a species Is found fos-
sil throughout Europe, while still later
the species known as the mammoth,
or, In technical terms, elephas prim.
igenius, was. as already said, spread
In great numbers over northern Asia
and North America as far south as the
Gulf OF Mexico, and all over Europe
north of the Mediterranean. In these
regions he survived the glacial peri.
cd. and fingered until some time aft
'er the advent of man.
In Siberia the mammoth wandered
down the valley of all the large riv.
'ers running into the Arctic Ocean.
where so many of them left their car
casses that for centuries their tusks
have formed a most important ex-
port to the ivory markets of the
world. During the years 1928 as
many as 2,770 MANN 9th tusks, weigh.
Ing from 140 to 100 pounds each, max.
ing total of 200 tons, were entered
at the London docks Up to the pres
emit time the ivory hunters in northern
Siberia come back heavily laden with
this valuable material, and II forms a
constant means of barter with China.
The long string OF camels which carry
tea from China across the Desert OF
Cobb to Siberia return laden In no
small degree with fresh mammoth
tusks, brought up from the mouth of
the Yenisei, the Lena and the Indi-
girka river
One of the most remarkable facts
concerning the distribution of the
mammoth is brought to light In the
discovery of their skeletons in great
numbers upon the New Siberian is
lands, far out beyond the mouth Of
the Lena river and of similar discov-
cries on the Pribilof islands In Boring
Sea- On the shores OF Alaska north
of the Yukon river the bones of the
mammoth are very numerous in the
frozen soil. So fresh are the remains