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-scJm 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 Tamschiiann-tuy took place [in 1571] 
a great many fyn-schu appeared in the plain ; it fed on the roots 
of the plant fu-kiaS 
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 
