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Living mastodon in Borneo in 1926?

Dickydevo

Dickydevo

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I have a story from the Dutch newspaper Indische Courant March 31st 1926 about a living mastodon found in the jungle near Persigan,at the foot of the Belajan mountains in Borneo. The young animal was then shipped on the SS De Weert ,"leaving for Soerabaia on the 28th."

Does anyone know more?


DickyDevo
 
Any chance you can post the article? I should be able to read it.
 
Xanatic* said:
Any chance you can post the article? I should be able to read it.
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A scanned version of the 31 March 1926 newspaper can be accessed at:

http://www.delpher.nl

Tip: Search for "Indische Courant" (in quotes), then sort by date. The mastodon bit appears on the front page.

Here's the full URL displayed when I got to the page in question:

http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/vi...&resultsidentifier=ddd:010277947:mpeg21:a0024

I manually transcribed (apologies for any typos ... ) the focal text (alleged telegram content), plus some preceding and following text, as follows (in Dutch):

In hoeverre het bovengenoemden Javaanschen zoöloog gelukt is nadere gegevens te verzamelen, welke een verklaring van de merkwaardige dierkundige gesteldheid van Borneo naderbij brengen, is ons niet bekend, doch wel vestigen wij de bijzondere aandacht onzer lezers op de belangrijke ontdekking van den heer Sastrowidirdjo, blijkens het hieronder afgedrukte telegram van den resident der Zuider- and Ooster-afd. van Borneo aan het Zoologisch Museum te Buitenzorg, naar men ons heden seint:

Zoöloog Sastrowidirdjo achtergelaten door expeditie Buys ving in oerwoud nabij Persigan voet Belajangebergte levend exemplaar jonge mastodon beschouwd als sedert eeuwen uitgestorven diersoort. Dier ingescheept Bandjermasin op S. S. De Weert, vertrekkende 28 dezer Soerabaiawaarts.

Nader vernemen wij, dat van het Zoölogisch Laboratorium te Buitenzorg hierheen zijn vertrokken de zoölgen Jhr. Van Heurn en dr. Van der Goot om maatregelen in overleg met den heer Sastrowidirdjo te nemen betreffende het verdere vervoer van het merkwaardige beest. Het is not niet zeker of de mastodon met de boot verder gaat tot Batavia en vandaar per trein naar Buitenzorg wordt vervoerd, dan wel, dat het beest van Soerbaia overland naar Buitenzorg wordt getransporteerd.

Van de K. P. M. vernamen wij, dat de De Weert Donderdag a s. om 8 uur's morgens te Tandjong-Perak verwacht wordt. De agent verzocht ons uitdrukkelijk te willen mededeelen, dat het publiek niet aan boord zal worden toegelaten, ten einde ongewenscht gedrang om de looi van het woeste beest te voorkomen, maar dat van de kade voldoende gelegenheid bestaat om den mastodon te bekijken, waarvan de kooi op het voorste kuildek geplaatst is.
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For what it's worth, here's what Google Translate regurgitated on the excerpt I'd transcribed:

To what extent those mentioned above Javanese zoologist has managed to collect more detailed data, which is a statement of the extraordinary zoologist condition of Borneo bring forward, is not known to us, but do we draw the attention of our readers to the important discovery of Mr. Sastrowidirdjo attested below the printed telegram from the resident of South- and Eastern-dept. Borneo at the Zoological Museum in Bogor, it transmits to us today:

"Zoologist Sastrowidirdjo abandoned by expedition Buys caught in jungle near Persigan foot Belajangebergte considered live specimen young mastodon as for centuries extinct species. Animal boarded Bandjermasin S. S. De Weert, leaving 28 of these Soerabaiawaarts."

Further, we find that of the Zoological Laboratory at Buitenzorg are here left the zoölgen Jhr. Of Heurn and dr. Van der Goot to take steps, in consultation with Mr. Sastrowidirdjo on the further transport of the strange beast. It is not not sure if the mastodon continue by boat to Batavia and from there by train to Buitenzorg transported, or that the beast of Soerbaia land is conveyed to Buitenzorg.

Of the K. P. M. we learned that De Weert Thursday a s. at 8 o'clock in the morning expecting to Tandjong-Perak is. The agent asked us explicitly to impart that will not board admitted the public, so as undesirable compromise to avoid the tanning of the ferocious beast, but that there is sufficient opportunity to the wharf to see the mastodon, the cage is placed on the front well deck.
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There was a Captain D. W. Buys (sometimes cited as Buijs) who conducted survey expeditions into the Borneo interior circa 1925 onward. He (and / or his work) is credited with providing the basis for setting boundaries in the central area of the island.

I can't find anything at all on the alleged zoologist Sastrowidirdjo.

One more note ... _Indische Courant_ was apparently known for publishing tabloid-style sensationalistic stories based on no more than gossip and rumor. In addition, the newspaper was involved in running skirmishes with the authorities during the mid-1920's because it resisted and decried press constraints imposed in response to a perceived communist threat.
 
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Thanks very much for this information,I shall be publishing more about this story in my Flying Snake magazine #11.
EnolaGaia said:
There was a Captain D. W. Buys (sometimes cited as Buijs) who conducted survey expeditions into the Borneo interior circa 1925 onward. He (and / or his work) is credited with providing the basis for setting boundaries in the central area of the island.

I can't find anything at all on the alleged zoologist Sastrowidirdjo.

One more note ... _Indische Courant_ was apparently known for publishing tabloid-style sensationalistic stories based on no more than gossip and rumor. In addition, the newspaper was involved in running skirmishes with the authorities during the mid-1920's because it resisted and decried press constraints imposed in response to a perceived communist threat.
Click to expand...
his
 
As so often on the whole cryptozoological scene: an initially arresting and fascinating story, which turns out to look actually greatly like unsubstantiated hype and nonsense. The cynically-inclined are apt to find as a recurring theme here: the wondrous beast being embarked on a ship heading for civilisation -- this being an unfailing plot-cliché and giveaway – it guarantees that nothing more is ever heard of said beast.


Re stuff possibly being generally “in the air” at a particular time: I recall reading about what have been seemingly only vague tales and rumours, heard in Alaska roughly in the same period (mid-1920s) -- the time of the start of aviation in the Alaskan back-country: of some of the first bush pilots there, supposedly reporting seeing below them, live mastodons / mammoths “doing their thing”. For all that seems generally known, never confirmed by serious science.
 
It could have just been a large Asian elephant. I recall outsized Asian elephants being mistaken for stegodonts a few years back due to them having unusual skull shapes.
 
lordmongrove said:
It could have just been a large Asian elephant. I recall outsized Asian elephants being mistaken for stegodonts a few years back due to them having unusual skull shapes.
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Another possibility is that it was simply a young Borneo elephant (aka Borneo pygmy elephant) - descendant of gift elephants set free in the wild by the Sultan of Sulu in the 18th century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borneo_elephant
 
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