184 
THE TERTIARY AGE, AND 
designate by the name of Mammoth , while natu- 
ralists call it JElephas primigenius. The circum- 
stance that they abound in the frozen drift of the 
great northern plain of Asia, and are occasionally 
exposed in consequence of the wearing of the 
large rivers traversing Siberia, has led to the su- 
perstition among the Tongouses, that the Mam- 
moths live under ground, and die whenever, on 
coming to the surface, the sunlight falls upon 
them. 
Mammoth, the Elephas primigenius. 
Had this been the only creature of the kind 
found so far from the countries to which ele- 
phants are now exclusively confined, it might 
have been believed that some strange accident 
had brought it to the spot where it was buried. 
But it was not long before similar remains were 
