38 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 
The breaking up of the ice in 1915 was exceptionally gentle and early. By 
the middle of June the usual spring freshet, following the break-up, had so 
far subsided that I thought it feasible to make another attempt to revisit the 
fossil places examined the previous fall and to extend my explorations to the 
elevated silt beds reported to be on the Big Anyui River. 
This time I hired a “ carbass,” one of the light fishing boats of the natives, 
and set out on June 17, 1915, accompanied by the photographer of the party. 
All the elevated fossil banks on the Little Anyui were overhauled once more 
carefully with the exception of the last two that had yielded no fossil material 
before and were not likely to do so now. This time only a few scattered 
insignificant fossil remains could be found. All these places were practically 
as bare as | had stripped them the previous fall. The reason is evidently this: 
All these silt ridges were freezing fast when | left them late in September, 
Fic. 51.—Tundra beach near Chaun Bay. Fossils found here, August. 1915. 
1914. The power of the sun, still feeble, had not yet been able to thaw them, 
nor had the water, running only such short time again, been able to undermine 
them. Therefore, no recent slides had occurred and no new fossil remains 
had been brought to light. 
We hurried downstream again, entered—by the same connecting slough 
mentioned above—the Big Anyui and went up river. In general appearance 
this river is practically an exact counterpart of the Little Anyui. 
Approximately 60 versts above the mouth of the Big Anyui a first elevated 
silt ridge, two versts in length and about 80 feet high, was encountered on the 
left river bank. Fifteen versts farther on a second one of the same dimensions 
appeared on the same side. And finally, another 15 versts beyond and facing 
the river likewise on the left bank, a third silt ridge of about the same height 
but only half the length was met with. The general appearance of these 
frozen bluffs did not in any way differ from that of similar places on the 
Little Anyui described above. 
