ON THE RANGE OF THE MAMMOTH. 
281 
object, which rose and sank through the disturbed waters. I had 
already remarked it, but not given it any attention, considering 
it only drift wood. Now we all hastened to the spot on the 
shore, had the boat drawn near, and waited until the mysterious 
thing should again show itself. Our patience was tried, but at 
last, a black, horrible, giant-like mass was thrust out of the 
water, and we beheld a colossal elephant’s head, armed with 
mighty tusks, with its long trunk moving in the water, in an 
unearthly manner, as though seeking for something lost therein. 
Breathless with astonishment, I beheld the monster hardly 
twelve feet from me, with his half-open eyes yet showing the 
whites. It was still in good preservation. 
“ ‘ A Mammoth ! a mammoth ! ’ broke out the Tschernomori, 
and I shouted, ^ Here, quickly ! chains and ropes ! ’ I will go 
over our preparations for securing the giant animal, whose body 
the water was trying to tear from us. As the animal again 
sank, w'e waited for an opportunity to throw the ropes over his 
neck. This was only accomplished after many efforts. For the 
rest we had no cause for anxiety, for after examining the ground 
I satisfied myself that the hind legs of the Mammoth still stuck 
in the earth, and that the waters would work for us to unloosen 
them. We therefore fastened a rope round his neck, threw a 
chain round his tusks that were eight feet long, drove a stake 
into the ground about twenty feet from the shore, and made 
chain and rope fast to it. The day went by quicker than I 
thought for, but still the time seemed long before the animal 
was secured, as it was only after the lapse of twenty-four hours 
that the waters had loosened it. But the position of the animal 
was interesting to me ; it was standing in the earth, and not 
lying on its side or back as a dead animal naturally would, in- 
dicating, by this, the manner of its destruction. The soft peat 
or marsh land, on which he stepped thousands of years ago, 
gave way under the weight of the giant, and he sank as he stood 
on it, feet foremost, incapable of saving himself ; and a severe 
frost came, and turned him into ice and the moor which had 
buried him; the latter, however grew and flourished, every sum- 
mer renewing itself ; possibly the neighbouring stream had 
heaped over the dead body, plants and sand. Grod only knows 
what causes had worked for its preservation ; now, however, the 
stream had brought it once more to the light of day, and I, an 
ephemera of life compared with this primeval giant, was sent 
here by heaven just at the right time to welcome him. You 
can imagine how I jumped for joy. 
“ During our evening meal, our posts announced strangers, a 
troop of Jakuti came on their fast, shaggy horses : they were our 
appointed people, and were very joyful at sight of us. Our 
company was augmented by them to about fifty persons. On 
