MAMMOTH CAVE
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MANATEE
Some specimens have been found in northern Siberia in which the flesh, skin and other soft parts were preserved. When living, the animal resembled the Indian species of elephant, but was larger. The body was covered with a dense short wool of a reddish-brown color; besides, there was a covering of hair several inches long, intermingled with long black bristles. There also was a shaggy mane. This animal became extinct just before the beginning of historic times. It belonged to the latest epoch (Pleistocene) of geological time. The tusks probably were present both in males and females. They were curved, in some cases almost into a
MAMMOTH
circle, and in the largest specimens discovered measured about 12 feet in length. The grinding surfaces of their great molar teeth were unlike those of any other elephant, having many more transverse ridges. They fed upon the shoots and cones of the fir and pine. Their geographical range was considerable. Besides those found in Siberia they were abundant in England, Central Europe and the northern part of America. Their teeth and tusks are so abundant as to supply a considerable amount of the ivory of commerce. Some of the islands on the coast of Siberia are said to be made largely of accumulations of their bones. See Ha-worth's The Mammoth and the Flood.
Mammoth Cave, The, situated in Ed-monson County, Kentucky, 85 miles southwest of Louisville. The cave is about 10 miles long, but it is said to take over 150 miles of traveling to explore its many avenues, chambers, grottoes, rivers and falls. The main cave is only four miles in length, and is from 40 to 300 feet wide and 125 feet in height. Lucy's Dome is 300 feet high. Some avenues are covered with a continuous crust of the most beautiful crystals, and there are many stalactites and stalagmites. There are several rivers or lakes connected with Green River, outside the cave, rising with the river but falling more slowly. The largest is Echo River, three fourths of a mile long and in some places over 200 feet wide. The air of the cave is pure, and the temperature always remains at about 54°. See A. S. Packard's The Cave Fauna of North America
and his Inhabitants of the Mammoth Cave.
Man, Isle of, in the Irish Sea, belonging to Great Britain. It has an area of 227 square miles, with a population 54,752, is 33! miles long and 12! broad, and covers 145,325 acres, of which nearly 100,000 are cultivated. At the southwestern end is an islet called the Calf of Man, covering 800 acres. A chain of mountains stretches from northeast to southwest. The coast scenery is bold and picturesque, especially at Spanish Head, the southern end of the island. Large quantities of lead and zinc are mined and smaller quantities of copper and iron. The tailless Manx cat is the only animal peculiar to the island. The extensive herring and cod fisheries, cattle and wheat-raising are the leading employments.
Managua (md-nd'gwd), capital of Nicaragua and the seat of government, lies in a fertile district on the southern shore of Lake Managua. Population about 30,000.
Mana'gua Lake, at the head of which the city of Leon, once the boast of Spanish America, was founded in 1523, lies 12 miles northwest of Lake Nicaragua, with which it is connected by a small stream.
Manassas (ma-nds'sds), The Battle of. See BULL RUN.
Manas'seh, the oldest son of Joseph. The tribe was given land on both sides of the Jordan. King Manasseh (B. C. 6.99-44) was a later king of Judah. He was taken into captivity, but restored.
Manatee (rnanfd-tef), an aquatic mammal, is found along both shores of the Atlantic in tropical regions and in the large rivers.
MANATEE
Three species are known, and all go under the name of sea-cows. One lives on the western coast of tropical Africa, one on the eastern coast of South America and the third on the Florida coast. The South American form is the best known; it extends to the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico, and possibly is the Florida species. It has a long body with a broad, oval tail. There are no hind limbs, but the front, flipper-like limbs are managed with much dexterity, and it was from this that it received the name of manatee. The skin is grayish in color with sparse hairs. The manatees are slow-moving, mild, inoffensive creatures, passing their whole life in the water but coming to the surface to breathe. They are not found in the high seas, like the whales, but live along the shores in bays, estuaries, lagoons and large rivers
