The ivory used in England and America is mostly from the African elephant; but in Russia much of it comes from the tusks of mammoths, described in chapter fourth. These elephantine monsters existed in great numbers in former days; and in some localities, their tusks are found in great abundance. When the first explorers examined the New Siberian Islands, they found mammoth tusks projecting from the sand in many places; and in others the tundra seemed to be fairly made up of them.
The best localities are at the mouth of the Lena and other Arctic rivers and the Liakhoff and New Siberian Islands.
The mammoth tusks are much more curved than those of existing elephants, and much heavier, weighing as much as three hundred and twenty pounds a pair. Some are preserved as perfectly as if the animal had but recently died, while many more are ruined by the weather; but to-day, even after years of collecting, the supply may be said to not only equal the demand, but to be practically inexhaustible.
As a rule, the mammoth ivory is too dry and brittle for fine work, and is said to turn yellow. Fine tusks bring large prices. One recently offered to the Oxford Museum was valued at five hundred dollars; and about ten years ago, over one thousand were sent to London for sale, weighing from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty pounds each. The best of these found a ready market; but, as a rule, mammoth ivory is not esteemed.
Westendorp has investigated this ivory, and finds that about fourteen per cent is good; seventeen per cent could be used in some way; fifty-four was bad; and fifteen per cent utterly useless. He considered about 1s. 6d. per pound a fair price.
The life of the ivory-hunter of the North is equally as dangerous as that of the South, as the tusks, as a rule, are found only in the most desolate places; yet there is an element of excitement about it far greater than that which is experienced in shooting the African elephant. It is true that the great mammoth is dead; but yet the possibility of finding the carcass of one of these monsters in the flesh, and clothed with hair, has been sufficient incentive to keep many hunters in the field.
In the chapter on the mammoth, some of the most remarkable discoveries have been referred to. The ivory-hunters have for years found vast quantities of tusks at the New Siberian Islands, which lie to the north and east of the Lena delta.
The first mammoth tusk was brought to England by Josias Logan in 1611, and was obtained in the region of the Petchora. It is estimated that about one hundred pairs are yearly offered for sale; and, according to Nordenskiöld, the tusks of at least twenty thousand mammoths have been collected since Siberia was first investigated.