"In spite of their gigantic size and weapons, the mammoths were
frequently killed by prehistoric men. These men must have been very
brave and determined to kill these huge and terribly armed beasts,
with stone and rude wood and bone spears.
"The very word 'mammoth' is of Siberian Tartar origin, being derived
from the word 'mammoth,' the earth, on account of the beast being
found frozen in the earth. Chinese records show that they, too,
frequently discovered the frozen mammoths. The beast is probably the
same as the 'Behemoth' of the Bible.
"The bones of the mammoth when first discovered in Europe were
variously regarded as the remains of giant men and of elephants that
had been brought to Europe by the ancient Romans. Even the majority
of scientists held to this opinion until Sir Richard Owen, the great
palaeontologist, first proved that they were the remains of an extinct
animal allied to, but of different species from, the elephant.
"One of the first mammoths described by modern scientists was found
on the peninsula of Tamut, near the Lena River, in 1799. It was fully
enclosed in a mass of clear ice. It was uncovered and rotted away
in 1804."
Mr. Norman's Letter.
The following is a copy of Mr. Norman's letter:
"British Embassy, St. Petersburg,
"Dec. 24, 1904.
"Dear Sir,--Before leaving St. Petersburg, Mrs. Gough-Calthorpe, wife
of our late naval attache, asked me to send you some information
about the stuffed mammoth which is in the Zoological Museum here, as
you were interested in such things, and I promised to translate the
passage in the catalogue which refers to the animal.
"The revolution which has been raging here for the last few months
has given me so much to do I really have not had time to keep my
promise sooner. However, I now send you the translation, which, I
fear, tells disappointingly little about the mammoth, giving no
measurements nor any description of his appearance. The earlier part,
too, about the distribution of the elephant family, is doubtless also
stale news to you.
"You have, I believe, already received a photograph of him from Mrs.
Calthorpe, so you know what he looks like, but as I have seen him
very often, I may add a few details as to his personal appearance
from my own observation. He is smaller than I expected--a good deal
smaller than an elephant, but then, it is true, he was young when he
died, not full grown, I suppose. His tusks are magnificent. His
hair is very thick, abundant and long and of a fashionable dark
reddish-brown tint. Otherwise he is very like an elephant in
general build, and I should say, so far as I can judge without
being a specialist, in details also.
"I hope these few details may be of use to you. Should you want more
about the mammoth, or require information about anything else in the
museum here, I shall be very glad to do my best to satisfy you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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