MAMMOTHS AND MASTODOKS. 241 



the United States, and even as fai' as Mexico and Central 

 America. Still another species ranged from Honduras to 

 Peru. Scientists have desiafnated the first mentioned the 

 "primeval mammoth" {Elephas ])rimigenns)^ and our own 

 species the " American mammoth " {Elephas Americanus). 

 The other species is the " Andean mammoth " {Elephas 

 Andium). Like modern elephants, the mammoths proba- 

 bly delighted in water and mire, and sometimes indulged, 

 like the rhinoceros and the well-known pig, in the dirty 

 habit of "wallowing" in the mud. This instinct tempted 

 the huge creatures into treacherous bogs, in which they 

 seem sometimes to have sunk beyond recovery; for their 

 bones are frequently preserved in beds of peat, and the 

 skeleton is occasionally found in an erect position. Their 

 tusks occur in northern Russia in such abundance as to 

 supply an important part- of the ivory of commerce. It 

 is said that Siberian ivory constitutes the principal ma- 

 terial on which the Russian ivory-turner works. Alaska 

 also affords considerable supplies. 



Strange as it may seem, the mammoth, whose congener, 

 the elephant, is remarkably sensitive to cold, once abounded 

 throughout the arctic latitudes of the two worlds. More 

 than a hundred years ago not only their ivory but their 

 carcasses were known to exist in Siberia, imbedded in 

 solid ice. The first discovery was on the borders of the 

 Alaseia river, which flows into the Arctic ocean beyond 

 Indigirska. The body was still standing erect, and was 

 almost perfect. The skin remained in place, and the hair 

 and fur were still attached in spots. In 1772 the body 

 of a perfect two-horned rhinoceros, covered with hair, was 

 found preserved in frozen gravel near the Vilhoui or 



Wiljui, a tributary of the Lena, in latitude 64. The 

 16 



