200 EXTINCT MONSTERS. 



before Christ] is called also fyn-schu, or yn-schu, that is to say, 

 * the mouse that hides itself.' It always lives in subterranean 

 caverns; it resembles a mouse, but is of the size of a buffalo or 

 ox. It has no tail ; its colour is dark ; it is very strong, and 

 excavates caverns in places full of rocks and forests." Another 

 writer says, "The fyn-schu haunts obscure and unfrequented 

 places. It dies as soon as it is exposed to the rays of the sun or 

 moon ; its feet are short in proportion to its size, which causes it 

 to walk badly. Its tail is a Chinese ell in length. Its eyes are 

 small, and its neck short. It is very stupid and sluggish. When 

 the inundations of the river Tamschuann-tuy took place [in 1571] 

 a great many fyn-schu appeared in the plain ; it fed on the roots 

 of the plant fu-kia" 



An old Russian traveller, who, in 1692, was sent by Peter the 

 Great as ambassador to the Emperor of China, mentions the 

 discovery of the heads and legs of Mammoths in frozen soil. 

 After referring to these discoveries, he says, " Concerning this 

 animal there are very different reports. The heathens of Jakutsk, 

 Tungus, and Ostiaks say that they continually, or at least, by 

 reason of the very hard frosts, mostly live underground, where 

 they go backwards and forwards ; to confirm which they tell us 

 that they have often seen the earth heaved up when one of these 

 beasts was upon the march, and, after he passed, the place sink 

 in, and thereby make a deep pit. They further believe that if 

 this animal comes so near to the surface of the frozen earth as to 

 smell the air, he immediately dies, which they say is the reason 

 that several of them are found dead on the high banks of the 

 river, where they unawares came out of the ground. This is the 

 opinion of the infidels concerning these beasts, which are never 

 seen. But the old Siberian Russians affirm that the Mammoth is 

 very like the elephant, with this difference only, that the teeth of 

 the former are firmer, and not so straight as those of the latter. . . . 

 By all I could gather from the heathens, no person ever saw one 

 of these beasts alive, or can give any account of its shape; so 



