- of ice had drifted into the forests, and when the water 
1020 Recent Literature. [October 
feet aground. “These sudden falls in the level of the water wee 
no doubt caused by the breaking up of the ice lower down the 
river, which dammed it up, until the accumulated pressure from 
behind became irresistible. Some idea of what this pressure mut 
have been may be realized by the fact that a part of the rivers 
thousand miles long, beginning with a width of two miles, and 
ending with a width of six miles, covered over with three feet of 
ice, upon which was lying six feet of snow, was broken up atthe 
rate of a hundred miles a day. Many obstacles would causea 
temporary stoppage in the break-up of the ice; a sudden bend 
the river, a group of islands or a narrower place where the it 
5 
twenty miles an hour. The battle of the Yen-e-say raged r 
about a fortnight, during which the Koo-ray-i-ka alternately r 
and fell. Thousands of acres of ice were marched around W 
stream for some hours, then the tide turned, and they we 
marched back again. This great annual battle between Brees 
and winter is the great event of the year in these regions, i 
rising of the Nile in Egypt. * * * This sudden cueg E 
the short space of a fortnight, from mid-winter to mid-summ 
scarcely, by courtesy, be called spring. It isa revolution 
ture, and on a scale so imposing, that the most prosaic 0° l 
cannot witness it without feeling its sublimity” ae 
e ice was still straggling down stream, while Oe ae 
was flooded for miles on each side of the river; hundreds 0 
frozen blocks would probably be stranded among the trees? 
gradually melt on the ground a few days later. It was 
ing to see the quantity of wood that was floating down,” 
all came. In many cases the banks were undermined u 
eight feet; in some places they had fallen in, an 
ing upon them were hanging down in the water. 
nothing but sand and éarth; the river evidently wi 
year, and carries an immense quantity of mud d sai 
Among modern travelers Nordenskiöld has given ©% ri 
ble information regarding the tundras, but he pe 
the seashore. Here are two pictures of these vast ra 
the treeless portions of Siberia. “ I went as tu 
ascertain what bird-life was to be found on the tma 
climbed up the steep bank, and found ourselves ™ å 
