the Kemchik mountains and the steppe lying to the east of them, and it is still so well 

 preserved that it can be availed of, even to this day, for some distances. A similar 

 road was also observed by us between Cha-kul and the outlet of the river Kemchik. It 

 lies for great distances along the Yenisei, where it has been built from large chips of 

 stone on the abrupt mountain-sides on the western bank. These magnificent roads, 

 thus running through the country in many places, attest that these tracts were once the 

 home of a mighty and numerous people, in possession of a comparatively high culture, 

 and that these regions, wich are now so waste and desolate, were then full of life and 

 stir. The Soyote Steppe has, accordingly, not always been so isolated and forgotten as it 

 is nowadays, but was once much more favourable to human thriving. 



These facts, accordingly, leave beyond doubt that the climate, since the time when 

 these ancient people lived here, must have become much drier. But herewith has not 

 yet been proved that the climate even at this day is constantly becoming drier, or that 

 the climate should not be supposed to be stable at all in the present day. But also in 

 the vegetation here itself there are indications not to be mistaken. There are 

 phenomena here showing that also at present slow changes 

 in the vegetation are proceeding, the causes of which can 

 only be due to climatic alterations towards a drier state. 

 Changes in the I have, by the way, already mentioned that on the edge of the jirimeval forest about 



ciaractcroftlie Kushabar, the conifers, which require more moisture, are gradually disappearing. The 

 vegetation indi ^ o .; i r- o 



eating tliat tlie younger generation of the tree vegetation here especially consists of less exigent foli- 

 climate is still ferous trees; and of spruce, cedar, and silver-fir, constituting the bulk of the primeval 

 ° ' forest proper, are to be found here on the edge nearly older giants only, which must 

 have grown out during a time more favourable to these trees in point of climate. Now- 

 adays there is not growing out any more young forest of this sort here: to such an 

 extent the conditions must have altered since the time when these trees were young, 

 and among or instead of the vegetation of the coniferous forest formerly, from immemoiial 

 time, keeping the ground here alone, there now begin to invade the pioneers of the steppe 

 species, conquering the domain about the roots of the old conifers. When at length 

 also these last giants, which are still able to hold their own, must in their turn go to the 

 ground, the last vestiges of the moist taiga thereby disappear for always here. I n 

 this manner the steppe seemed now little by little to push 

 forward here into the primeval forest. 



Theloiestisbe Lastly, besides all these indications that climatic oscillations towards a drier time 



ing dried up in , . • i , , , . , »-,.., . , . , , ,, , . , 



the lowlands ^ still are takmg place, I wdl add one trait more, which the traveller through the 



and the xero Urjankai country will have occasion to note: It is the areas of drying up forest. 



plnlous steppe Qver stretches, a larger or smaller contingent of the conifers might be quite exsiccated, 



vegetation is . ^ ® & H 



inimigrating in '^^''*" their dry and naked trunks rising, while in others the exsiccation could be seen io 



'"'""■ be in a more or less advanced stage of progress; at intervals sound trees were found, 



but these were in places of this sort as a rule mostly older trees only, which are best able 



to resist the extreme conditions, while the younger generation, which was to recruit the 



Gtj 



