Discovery of the Remains of a Mammoth. 135 



Jakoutsk, another of the length of two toises and a half, 

 and which were an archine thick near the root, and 

 weighed seven pouds. It is to be remarked, that the 

 point of the tusks on the exterior side is always more 

 or less worn down: this enables the inhabitants of the 

 Frozen- Sea to distinguish the right from the left tusk. 



The mammoth is covered with a very thick hair 

 through the whole body, and has a long mane upon its 

 neck. Even admitting that I doubted the stories of my 

 travelling companions, it is nevertheless evident that the 

 bristles of the length of an archine, which were also 

 found upon the head, the ears, and the neck of the ani- 

 mal, must necessarily have belonged either to the mane 

 or to the tail. Schoumachoff maintains that he never 

 saw any trunk belonging to the animal, but it is proba- 

 ble that it was carried off by wild beasts ; for it would 

 be inconceiveable that the mammoth could eat with so 

 small a snout, and with such enormous tusks, if we do 

 not allow it to have had a trunk. The mammoth, ac- 

 cording to these indications, would consequently belong 

 to the elephant species, and M. Blumenbach, in his sys- 

 stem, actually calls it Llephas primaevus. 



To conclude: — The mammoth in my possession is 

 quite different from that found near New- York, which, 

 from the description given in the Journal called the 

 Museum des IVundervollen, had carnivorous teeth*. 

 M. Cuvier has proved, in a most satisfactory manner, 

 that the mammoth is a particular species of antediluvian 

 animals. 



* See Philosophical Magazine, vol. xiv, p. 162, 228, 332. 



