THE MAMMOTH 187 



the bones are entombed in a wet and cold, 

 often icy, soil, the bones and tusks are almost 

 as perfectly preserved as though they had been 

 deposited but a score of years ago, while re- 

 mains so situated that they have been sub- 

 jected to varying conditions of dryness and 

 moisture are always in a fragmentary state. 

 As previously noted, several more or less entire 

 carcasses of the mammoth have been discov- 

 ered in Siberia, only to be lost ; and, while no 

 entire animal has so far been found in Alaska, 

 some day one may yet come to light. That 

 there is some possibility of this is shown by the 

 discovery, recorded by Mr. Dall, of the partial 

 skeleton of a mammoth in the bank of the 

 Yukon with some of the fat still present, and 

 although this had been partially converted into 

 adipocere, it was fresh enough to be used by 

 the natives for greasing, not their boots, but 

 their boats. And up to the present time this 

 is the nearest approach to finding a live mam- 

 moth in Alaska. 



As to why the mammoth became extinct, 

 we know absolutely nothing, although various 

 theories, some much more ingenious than plaus- 



