&&0 Journey to the Frozen Sea, and 
46th of June I arrived in the small town of Schigarsk, 
and towards the end of the same month I reached Kumak- 
Burka : from this place I made an excursion, the express 
object of which was to discover the mammoth. And I 
shall now give a sketch of my journey. 
The contrary winds, which lasted during the whole 
summer, retarded my departure from Kumak-Surka; this 
place was then inhabited by forty or fifty Toungouse 
families of the Batouline race. Fishing was their ordi- 
nary occupation, and the extreme activity of these peo„ 
pie filled me with admiration : the women, old men, and 
even children, laboured with indefatigable assiduity in 
laying up provisions for winter. The strongest went 
a-fishing, the less robust were occupied in cleaning and 
drying the fish. The whole shores were covered with 
scaffolding, and the cabins so filled with fish that we 
could scarcely enter them. An innocent gaiety reigned 
in every countenance, and ail exhibited the utmost acti- 
vity. The fishermen sang while easting their nets, and 
others were dancing the Charya, which is a dance pecu- 
liar to the country. I cannot sufficiently express the 
emotions of joy which I felt at the sight of these pleasing 
scenes. 
I was convinced, while upon the spot, that the inhabi- 
tants of the North enjoy happiness even in the midst of 
the frozen regions. 
But what astonished me still more, was the picturesque 
view of the opposite side of the Lena. This river, which 
is one of the largest in Siberia, majestically rolls its wa- 
ters through the mountainous chain of Verschejansk: it 
is here, near its mouth, entirely devoid of islands, and 
much narrower, deeper, and more rapid than in any 
place of its course. The fnountains here appear in a 
great variety of forms ; they are of a brilliant whiteness, 
and of a savage and horrid aspect ; sometimes they re- 
