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- 
