The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1909-08-06
Mysteries Of. Mature.
By G. Frederick Wright, A. NJ. IL. p,
HUGE MAMM0THS

HUGE MAMM0THS
The mammoth is an extinct species
Of elephant which was formerly
spread all over Europe, northern Asia,
and North America n far south as,
Mexico. In size he was somewhat
larger than the elephant. Whereas
Jumbo stood II feet high. the nam
moth skeleton recently set up In the.
museum of the Chicago Academy Of
Sciences stands 13 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 13 feet and ten inches, and
would weigh 200 pounds apiece. The
mammoth had a trunk like suits Of
hair-the largest consisting of rough,
black bristles 18 inches in length,
the next coat of close-set hair from
nine to ten inches long, and under
meath all a soft, reddish wool, about
i've inches long, forming a 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
trail and southern Africa. The Ash
attic species, however, differ in many
respects from the African. The Afri-
can elephant has much larger ears
than the Asiatic; SO that they COM
uletely cover the shoulder when
thrown back, sometimes being three
and one-half feet wide. It's teeth are
also different from those of the Ash.
attic species, and it's 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, it seems to have
spread outward to the limits of the
northern hemisphere In the later
Tertiary period a species is found fos-
sill 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.
or 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 mammoth tusks, weigh
ing from 40 to 100 pounds each, max
ing total of 200 tons, were entered
at the London docks. Up to the pres
ent time the ivory hunters in northern
Siberia come back heavily laden with
this valuable material, and it 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
that, as the sun thaws them out on
exposure, the air is tainted with the
odor Of decaying flesh.
Z
The remains of the mammoth are
found chiefly in post-glacial deposits.
They occur in the post-glacial river
gravels all over the north temperate
zone, and beneath: the deposits of
loess (Which are connected with the
close Of the glacial period) III the Mis-
souri, valley. But the situation in
which they most frequently occur is
in peat bogs, where they seem to
have been mired soon after the glacial
period, and slowly enveloped with the
accommodating vegetable and earthly de-
posits. Usually the bones are con-
siderably scattered, so that a good
deal of digging has to be done to get
all the parts. In Siberia they are
found in complete preservation in the
ice and frozen soil that cover the
northern portion of that vast area.
In 1903 Mr.. Adams found an entire
carcass SO perfectly preserved that
the flesh when thawed out was eager.
ly devoured by wolves and bears. This
skeleton, with portions of the skin
and ligaments, is now mounted in the
museum of st. Petersburg. It is nine
feet high and 16 feet long.
In 1916 young Russian engineer
named Benkendorf saw one of these
huge animals just as it was uncov-
cred in the frozen bank Of the Indi-
ev3~l ~ r.. 81