Discovery of the Remains of a Mammoth . 22 1 
present immense columns which rise into the clouds, 
sometimes they resemble the ruins of ancient forts, and 
as if they were parts detached from the mutilated remains 
of grotesque and gigantic figures. 
Further off, the horizon is terminated by a chain of 
high mountains, where eternal snow and ice dart back 
the rays of the sun. 
These landscapes are of exquisite beauty; an expert 
draughtsman would look in vain for similar views in any 
other place of Siberia ; and I am not astonished that the 
picturesque situation of Kumak-Surka should become 
the object of a national song, known solely on the shores 
of the Frozen Sea. I reserve the communication of this 
curious article until I publish the detailed account of my 
journey. 
The course of the winds having at last changed, I 
thought of pursuing my route, and I had my rein-deer 
brought across the river. Next day at day-break, I set 
out accompanied by a Toungouse chief, Ossip Shouina- 
ehoff, and by Bellkoff, a merchant of Schigansk, and at- 
tended by my huntsman, three Cossacs, and ten Toun 
goiises. 
The Toungouse chief was the first person who disco- 
vered the mammoth, and he was proprietor of the territo- 
ry through which our route lay. Bellkoff* the merchant 
had spent nearly his whole life on the shores of the Fro- 
zen Sea. Bis zeal, and the details he procured me, 
have the strongest claims to my gratitude: I am even in- 
debted to him for the preservation of my life at a moment 
of imminent danger. 
At first I found great difficulty in sitting upon a rein 
deer ; for, the saddle being attached by a girth of leather 
only, it was very insecure, and often occasioned me very 
disagreeable falls. Besides, my position was very in- 
