618 FEOZEN MAMMOTH IN SIBERIA. 



probably reaching- below the channel of the river. At a depth of 1.7 

 meters in this pit I found ice similar to that of the upper part of the 

 ice wall. 



About 100 meters north and even lower than the mammoth's g-rave 

 there is an ice cliff covered l)v a layer of earth 2^ meters thick and 

 structurally identical with the upper wall. The exposed ice is brown- 

 ish earthy in color and contains numerous air bubbles, some of them 

 elongate, averaging 2 to 5 millimeters in length; others spherical, 

 averaging 1^ to 2 millimeters in diameter. Among the bubbles, 

 which are often connected, there are thin laj-ers of sand or cla}^ that 

 in places form small lumps. Deeper down in the cliff the ice becomes 

 more solid and transparent, in some places entirel}^ white and brittle. 

 After remaining exposed to the air even for a short time this ice again 

 assumes a 'yellowish-brown color and then looks like the old ice. The 

 ice, on the other hand, which is formed from melted ice and snow is 

 always transparent, white, and hard, and on account of the longer 

 vertical air l)ubbles, which attain a length of over 20 millimeters, 

 assumes a streaked appearance. 



That the ice wall was formed from snow I regard as unlikely, 

 because the entire mountain faces directly east, and throughout sum- 

 mer is su])jected to the sun's rays to such an extent that a considerable 

 portion of the snow must have been melted by these rays as well as 

 by the heated mass of stones of the neighboring mountain crest. Do 

 we not see here before us primitive or, as Baron Toll puts it, stone ice, 

 which resulted from the previous glacial period? 



It is difficult to presume here the formation of a glacier valley that 

 could have attained a height of 50 meters, for sucli a damiuing of the 

 water as would cause the formation of a valley can not be admitted 

 when the depth of the Berezovka is taken into consideration. 



September 18. — To-day we moved fi'om the tents into the new 

 winter house, built under my instructions in the woods, in a place pro- 

 tected from the northern winds. Toward evening we succeeded in 

 establishing ourselves and felt quite comfortable, supping near the 

 fireplace in a well- warmed room. 



September 19. — In several pits in the earth I found well-preserved 

 parts of Betula nana, which no longer grows upon elevated places, 

 though in well-protected spots one occasionally finds stems about as 

 thick as a man's arm. 



The timber asssigned for the building of a house over the mammoth 

 is already cut and prepared and we can commence putting it up as 

 soon as our fellow-travelers arrive. 



Despite the fact that the mannnoth is in a frozen condition, the 

 stench emitted is very disagreeal)le. 



Sejptemher W. — At the exact hour of my prediction Mr. Pfizenmeyer 

 arrived this afternoon with the rest of the transport equipment. To 



