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r next detached the skin of the side on which the animal had lain, which was well 
c preserved. This skin was of such extraordinary weight that ten persons found 
f great difficulty in transporting it to the shore. After this I dug the ground 
f in different places to ascertain whether any of its bones were buried, but 
f principally to collect all the hairs * which the white bears had trod into the 
f ground while devouring the flesh. Although this was difficult from the want of 
f proper instruments, I succeeded in collecting more than a poud (36 pounds) 
f of hair. In a few days the work was completed, and I found myself in posses- 
f sion of a treasure which amply recompensed me for the fatigues and dangers of 
f the journey, and the considerable expenses of the enterprize. 
f The place where I found the Mammoth is about 60 paces distant from 
f the shore, and nearly 100 paces from the escarpment of the ice from which it 
f had fallen. This escarpment occupies exactly the middle between the two 
r points of the Peninsula, and is three wersts long, (two miles), and in the place 
^ where the Mammoth was found, this rock has a perpendicular elevation of 30 or 
f 40 toises. Its substance is a clear pure ice ; it inclines towards the sea ; its top 
f is covered with a layer of moss and friable earth, half an archine (14 inches) in 
f thickness. During the heat of the month of July a part of this crust is melted, 
f but the rest remains frozen. Curiosity induced me to ascend two other hills at 
‘ some distance from the sea; they were of the same substance and less covered 
f w ith moss. In various places w ere seen enormous pieces of wood of all the 
c kinds produced in Siberia; and also Mammoth’s horns in great numbers 
f appeared between the hollows of the rocks; they all were of astonishing 
* freshness. 
r How all these things could become collected there, is a question 
f as curious as it is difficult to resolve. The inhabitants of the coast call this 
c kind of wood Adamschina, and distinguish it from the floating pieces of 
f wood which are brought down by the large rivers to the ocean, and collect in 
f masses on the shores of the frozen sea. The latter are called Noacliina. I 
f have seen, when the ice melts, large lumps of earth detached from the hills, 
s mix with the water, and form thick muddy torrents which roll slowly towards 
e the sea. This earth forms wedges which fill up the spaces between the blocks 
* of ice. 
* On the arrival ©f the skin at Petersburg!! it was totally devoid of hair. 
