142 Jotimeij to the Frozen Sea, and 



supposed that the fossile production, known by the name 

 of mammoth horns, must have belonged to some animal 

 of this kind. 



Mr. PopofFhad, at the same time, the goodness to com- 

 municate the drawinsi and description of this animal ; I 

 thought proper to send both to the President of the Peiers- 

 burgh Academy. The intelligence of this interesting disco- 

 very determined me to hasten my intended journey to the 

 banks of the Lena as far as the Frozen Sea, and 1 was anxious 

 to save these precious remains, which might perhaps other- 

 wise be lost. My stay at Jakoutsk, therefore, only lasted a 

 few days. 1 set out orrthe 7th of June 1806, provided with 

 some indispensable letters of recommendation, some of 

 which were addressed to the servants of the government, 

 and others to merchants, from whom I hoped to derive 

 some advantages. On the l6lh of June I arrived in the 

 small town of Schigarsk, and towards the end of the same 

 month I reached Kumak-Surka : from this place I made an 

 excursion, the express oljject of v^hich was to discover the 

 mammoth. And 1 shall now give a sketch of my journey. 



The contrary winds, which lasted during the whole sum- 

 mer, retarded my departure from Kumak-Surka; this place 

 was then inhabited by 40 or 50 Toungouse families of the 

 Batouline race. Fishing was their ordinary occupation, and 

 the extreme activity of these people filled me with admira- 

 tion : the women, old men, and even children, laboured 

 with indefatigable assiduity in laying up provisions for win- 

 ter. The strongest went a-fishing, the less robust were oc- 

 cupied in cleaning and drying the fish. The whole shores 

 were covered with scafiblding, and the cabins so filled with 

 fish that we could scarcely enter them. An innocent gaiety 

 reigned in everv countenance, and all exhibited the utmost 

 activity. The fishermen sang while casting their nets, and 

 others were dancing the Charya, which is a dance peculiar 

 to the country. I cannot sufficiently express the emotions 

 of joy which I felt at the sight of these pleasing scenes. 



I was convinced, while upon the spot, that the inhabitants 

 of the North enjoy happiness even in the midst of the 

 frozen regions. 



But 



