40 
SAItYTSCllEW's TRAVELS. 
at the mouth of the river Ujandina, inhabited by two citizens* 
with whom I left our old man, to his no-small satisfaction. 
The town of Saschiwersk, lying on the right bank of the In- 
digerka, is newly erected, having formerly been nothing more than 
a commissariat. Every thing therefore at present is in its infancy; 
but it has already its court of judicature and the necessary ap¬ 
purtenances. It consists of a church, and thirty wooden houses. 
The marshy hilly country in which it is situated, the barrenness 
of the soil, and the want of every necessary, render it a gloomy 
residence ; and when to this is added the exorbitant price of pro¬ 
visions, it becomes insupportable. Whatever is not procured 
from Jakutsk at the proper season, is not to be had for money. 
We continued three days at Saschiwersk, and were entertained 
by the counsellor Sampsonow, bailiff of the town, and by judge 
Banner* with so much cordiality and kindness, that I should 
charge myself with ingratitude were I to pass it over in silence. 
They furnished us likewise with provisions by the way, which 
we could not have procured at any rate without their aid* a favour 
not to be estimated by any pecuniary calculation. 
Mr. Banner informed us, that on a mountain situated opposite 
to the town on the other side the river, there were fine crystals. 
At the desire of Mr. Merk, therefore, we repaired thither, but 
found only some small ones, owing probably to the quantity of 
snow that had fallen. He shewed us, however, a remarkable 
breach in the declivity of this steep mountain. Immediately 
after our return from thence, Mr. Billings made his appearance 
at Saschiwersk, which retarded our departure for another day. 
We set off on the 22d of October, and for the first days 
were continually crossing the brooks which run into the lndigerka, 
or passing over hilly countries covered with small larch-trees. 
On the 6th day, at the distance of 120 versts from the town* 
we got among lofty open mountains, running in a chain from 
south-east to north-west, and separating the rivers that fall into 
the lndigerka from those that flow into the Jana. 
We now followed the course of the river Russkaja Rossocha, 
upwards, which intersects these lofty mountains, and is bordered 
on both sides by steep crags that have the appearance of walls—* 
a majestic spectacle! the banks of the river seeming to be one 
perpetual street of lofty buildings. 
The passage along this river is, however, never perfectly safe. 
In winter, violent storms or whirlwinds sometimes bury the tra¬ 
vellers in snow; and in summer they are in danger of being 
drowned by a sudden swell of the water. These mountains are 
inhabited by foxes and wild sheep in abundance. One which 
we had the good fortune to kill, afforded us many pleasant meals: 
its flesh was peculiarly tender and delicious, or at least: seemed 
