Mastodon Tusks.

Manawatu Herald, 2 May 1899, Page 3

Mastodon Tusks.

A pair of mastodon tusks, the largest and most perfect specimens ever found, have been brought to San Francisco by the whaling-ship Bonanza. The tusks measure ioßin. in length on the outer curve, gi^in. on the inner curve, and ißin. in circumference about two feet from the base, iy^in. in the middle, and i^in. two- feet from the point. They weigh a little over 1031 b., or an aggregate of 2071 b. The weight of ordinary tusks is about i2lb a pair, and their market value from about 2s to 3s a pound, according to the size and clearness of the ivory. The commercial value of these mammoths is beyond computation owing to their rarity. They were found a few miles from Point Barrow, where the company owning the whaler maintains a supply station for its vessels and fur hunters, and two lives were sacrificed in digging them out. of the ice in which they were embedded, 16ft. below the surface. The following account of the Ihid was sent to the company by its agent at Point Barrow : " A party of natives in the Company's employ started from the station early last spring to carry supplies to some hunters who were collecting furs for the company. About ten miles from the station, while travelling over the ice, they discovered, accidentally, some foreign substance deeply embedded in one of the floes, which looked like a flaw in clear gum. They started to dig, and it took three days of axing and chiselling to reach the points of the huge tusks. Two of the natives lost their lives before the tusks were clear of the ice. One of them stepped back and fell into a crevice made by himself and his companions, one of whom jumped to his assistance, and went down into the sea never to rise, again. The others saw that they would share the same fate, and made no further attempt to rescue the two unfortunates. After they had secured their find the natives returned to the station. The joy over their success was greater than the sorrow over the death of the two companions who perished. Getting additional men, sleds, and dogs, they went back and brought their treasure to the station." The tnormous size and weight of these tusks establishes the oft-asserted theory of the immense animals which existed in those regions in prehistoric times. An animal that could comfortably carry 207 pounds' weight on its upper jaw must have been of immense bulk and strength. ......