190 
FREEZING CAVERN AT ILLETZKAYA-ZASTCHITA. 
and arid external air and the formation of the ice, why is the latter lodged so 
near the southern face of the hill on which the rays of the sun (very powerful 
in this latitude) are beating for some months ? 
The observations of Pallas throw some light upon the problem. In visiting 
Illetzkaya-Zastchita, he described this mount of gypsum, and stated that the 
Kirghis inhabitants of his day were in the habit of throwing votive offerings into 
a large open fissure of great depth which formerly existed at its summit. This 
opening was, it appears, closed up before the visit of the great naturalist, though 
he fails not to record a saying current among the people, that when open, a man 
(tempted by hope of gain or from curiosity) was let down by cords and experienced 
insufferable cold beneath. The accuracy, therefore, of the account given to Pallas by 
the natives has been in great measure substantiated through the phsenomenon 
made known by a lateral opening at the base of the mount, which evidently did 
not exist at the time of his visit, for he makes no allusion to it. 
We may also state, that this author mentions similar caverns at Indersk, still 
further to the south, in which he experienced intense cold ; and far from being 
surprised like ourselves at such a phsenomenon, he simply adds, that it is one of 
usual occurrence in caves of gypsum. On this point, however, we must observe, 
that as far as our experience goes, there is no natural connection between gypsum 
in its natural state and cold, for neither the large caverns in that rock described 
by us upon the Pinega in latitude 64°, nor the caves of the Ik and Barnukova 
(pp. 15G, 165, and 173, note 2), contain ice or snow in summer. 
But to revert to our own case, has solid ice existed for ages in this mount of gyp- 
mena of the permanently frozen soil at Yakutsk, to which Admiral Wrangel and M. Baer directed atten- 
tion, have not yet been adequately inquired into. In travelling through Ustiug, in 1840, we met with 
the engineer who conducted the sinkings of the shaft and from him we learnt— 1st. That with the ex- 
ception of about sixty feet of alluvial soil, the pit, to a depth of 350 feet, was sunk through strata 
of limestone and shale with some coal— the limestone being peculiarly hard and in beds from two to 
six feet thick. 2nd. That none of the sinkings took place in the summer months on account of the 
foul air. 3rd. That when Admiral Wrangel descended the shaft, the surface being then burnt up by the 
summer sun, the thermometer below was 6° Reau. below zero. As new inquiries into this interesting 
phenomenon have been instituted by the Imperial Government, we shall merely state, that in reference 
to our case, there must be a striking difference between the climate of \ akutsk and that of the steppes 
south of Orenburg, both as to the length and heat of the summers and the intensity of winter cold. 
Yakutsk, situated in N. lat. 62*°, suffers under a winter cold of 39° 2’ cent, below zero. See the valu- 
able table of climatology published by Baron Humboldt, * Asie Centrale, vol. iii. p. 102. The eminent 
geographer states, however, that he has no sure data for Orenburg, vol. iii. p. 556. 
