Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-22
Hunting the Mammoth.

MORE than once complete man.
moth-skeleton. flesh. and even
hair-has been found in the perpet-
ually frozen ground of northern Siberia
not far from the ice-bound coast Of the
Arctic Ocean. Without doubt there are
many more mammoths there still, T.
be discovered in future years. in the
oldest and greatest OF cold-storage
plants. One was discovered in 1921
and the flesh was still quite fresh and
greedily devoured by the dogs of tn
explorers.
Mammoth formed steady article o:
diet among the early races which in
habited France and Spain the warmer
intervals of the great Ice Age, when
Scandinavia, northern Germany and
the British Isles were covered with =
deep blanket Of snow and ice exacti;
like that which covers Greenland a.
the present day. In those days, per-
haps thousands and thousands of years
ago. the climate of southern France ard
northern Spain was probably much Ike
that Of Labrador today. which is on
about the same parallel Of latitucs
This climate was exactly suited 20 the
woolly rhinoceroS. the hairy elephant
which We call mammoth. and the
huge herds Of bisons very similar 20
the American bisons or buHaloes which
ranged the plains Of France as they
ranged the Western prairies two or
three generations ago.
At that time the caverns along the
river valleys were inhabited by hardy
race Of hunters. who were at about the
same stage Of culture as the more back
ward Of the American sborig;nes when
Columbus landed. Like them. they
lived entirely by hunting and badly
armed though they were. managed 20
left the marks Of his claws on the
walls Of so many Of the caverns; the
rhinoceros. and last. but not least the
mammoth. They were armed with
wooden spears. long lances of hard
wood sharpened and charred. WITH
stone clubs and flint arrows. And with
these, a. peril of life and limb, they
hunted down their big game. The
spears they threw IN the manner o.
iayeiins, as the TasmaniAns did their
wooden spears when first discovered
The Tasmanians could kin kangaroo
&C 20 yards with these wooden ave
Tins.
They most likely ran down their
ueCt-LOOkcQ QGAEEy-IiC NAAQ 4AuAScS-
the bisonS. the reindeer-oy relay hunt
ing. as some Of the Indians did. per
haps originally taking the idea from
the wolf-packs But something differ
ent would have been necessary With the
mammoth. whose hide was twice as
thick as q modern elephants. So they
probably did what some OF the native
African tribes do. making pitfalls IN
the paths leading 10 the drinking
places Of their big game and flhng
them with sharp stakes Of hardwood
made still harder by FIRE. then covering
the whole with branches. earth. leaves
sod. and perhaps driving the nam
moths along the path Of danger eT
rushing down on them whccping and
yelling like modern heaters N the jun
Sies OF India Then came crash. the
believing Of the trapped and wounded
mammoth and the hunters Swarrnsa
about him with their heavy stone clubs
and gradually beat the hfe OUT Of him
I, was no hight task 20 skin hin, With
flint knives. but IL Was possible, and
then they chopped CT pieces OF the
flesh which they carried 20 their caves
and roasted Or grilled on their rrsS.
In proof Of which the ashes o. the IRE
and the eharred bones cs the mani
moth remain 70 this day.