1818. LIEUTENANT KOTZEBUE. S6\ 



the Tartarian Sea ;* these teeth they conchided 

 to have fallen out of the mass of ice as its surface 

 melted, though no other part of the animal w as dis- 

 covered by them. There was, however, a most 

 oppressive and offensive smell of animal matter, 

 not unlike that of burnt bones, so that it was 

 almost impossible to remain near those parts of 

 the face of the mountain where the water was 

 trickling down. By the gradual slope of the side 

 of this enormous ice-berg which faced the interior 

 they were able to ascend to its summit, and to make 

 a collection of the plants that were growing upon 

 it. The stratum of soil which covered it was not 

 deep, and the Lieutenant describes it as being of a 

 calcareous nature. The slip of land at the foot of 

 the mountain was probably formed of the soil and 

 plants which had fallen down from the summit as 

 the ice melted, and which, in fact, while there, 

 they had the opportunity of observing to fall. 



Besides this mountain of ice, there was no ap- 

 pearance of ice or snow on the land or the water 

 in this part of America, and the weather was 

 exceedingly clear and mild, and even warm ; but 

 on the opposite coast of Asia the weather at the 

 same time was cold, and the atmosphere almost 

 constantly loaded with fogs. There was in fact 



* Lieutenant Kotzebue called them mammoths' teeth (mas- 

 todontes); but from a drawing made by the naturalist they were 

 evidently the teeth of elephants: which is the more extraordinary, 

 as being the first remains of this quadruped found in the New world. 



