146 
ELEPHANT OF THE LENA. 
safely, which was done with particular attention. 
I had the satisfaction to find the other scapula, 
which had remained not far off. I next detached 
the skin of the side on which the animal had lain, 
which was well preserved. This skin was of 
such extraordinary weight, that ten persons found 
great difficulty in transporting it to the shore. 
After this I dug the ground in different places to 
ascertain whether any of its bones were buried, 
but principally to collect all the hairs # which the 
white bears had trod into the ground while 
devouring the flesh. Although this was difficult 
from the want of proper instruments, I succeeded 
in collecting more than a pood (thirty-six pounds) 
of hair. In a few days the work was completed, 
and I found myself in possession of a treasure 
which amply recompensed me for the fatigues 
and dangers of the journey, and the considerable 
expenses of the enterprise. 
“ The place where I found the Mammoth is 
about sixty paces distant from the shore, and 
nearly one hundred paces from the escarpment of 
the ice from which it had fallen. This escarp- 
ment occupies exactly the middle between the 
two points of the Peninsula, and is three wersts 
long, (two miles,) and in the place where the 
Mammoth was found, this rock has a perpendi- 
cular elevation of thirty or forty toises. Its sub- 
* On the arrival of the skin at Petcrsburgh, it was 
totally devoid of hair. 
