146 ELEPHANT OF THE LENA. 



safely, which was done with particular attention. 

 I had the satisfaction to find the other scapula, 

 which had remained not far off. I next detached 

 the skin of the side on which the animal had lain, 

 which was well preserved. This skin was of 

 such extraordinary weight, that ten persons found 

 great difficulty in transporting it to the shore. 

 After this I dug the ground in different places to 

 ascertain whether any of its bones were buried, 

 but principally to collect all the hairs* which the 

 white bears had trod into the ground while 

 devouring the flesh. Although this was difficult 

 from the want of proper instruments, I succeeded 

 in collecting more than a pood (thirty-six pounds) 

 of hair. In a few days the work was completed, 

 and I found myself in possession of a treasure 

 which amply recompensed me for the fatigues 

 and dangers of the journey, and the considerable 

 expenses of the enterprise. 



" The place where I found the Mammoth is 

 about sixty paces distant from the shore, and 

 nearly one hundred paces from the escarpment of 

 the ice from which it had fallen. This escarp- 

 ment occupies exactly the middle between the 

 two points of the Peninsula, and is three wersts 

 long, (two miles,) and in the place where the 

 Mammoth was found, this rock has a perpendi- 

 cular elevation of thirty or forty toises. Its sub- 



* On the arrival of the skin at Petersburg!!, it was 

 totally devoid of hair. 



