The American Museum Of Natural History


1907 Pleistocene of Alaska

The expedition was undertaken by L.S. Quackenbush, accompied by Mr. Grant. They collected a number of mammoth and bison bones, at various places along the Buckland river, also one terminal phalanx of a horse, half of a skull of a small bear, part of the skull of an Ovis, and the back of the skull, with horn cores, of Scaphoceros tyrelli. In Nome, Alaska the team found a few mammoth tusks and teeth, and a very large pair of bison horn core with the horns still on and in fair condition. Quackenbush recanted a number of tales of mastodons, including this one in his letter to Prof. Osborn. "In the winter of 1899 he [E.W. Graham] was looking at a magazine which contained the illustration of an elephant. And Indian who was with Graham saw the picture and told Graham he knew where there was one of these animals frozen in the ice. Toward spring the Indian took Graham to the spot and showed him a large dark mass in clear blue ice which, the Indian said, was a large animal which ad been partly exposed several years before, and was covered with very long hair. At the time Graham was there no part of the animal was exposed and Graham frankly admits that he can not [sic] state definitely that the dark object was not a large rock, though he says [it appeared] to be a "mastodon" in a sitting position. Graham says the Indian was perfectly reliable and believes he was telling a straight story. Graham is busy taking care of mining claims, fifty miles from here, and refused to accompany me, under any consideration, to the spot, which is 300 miles or more up the Koynkuk River. No one else knows the place and it is now too late in the season to go up there, and have any time to hunt for it, on such indefinite information as Graham gave me. I have telephoned to Mr. Grant, who is now in the Kougarok, and he agrees with me that I can use my time to the best advantage in examining Eschsecholtz Bay and Buckland River."

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See also 1907 Annual Report

Field Letters