till the moment when, by the action of the wind, it arrived at the foot; at which instant we all three observed the protuberance direct itself perpendicularly towards the foot, and like an immense sack of gauze unroll itself from the extremity; when the folds of this sack disappeared, and the body of the waterspout, which was gray and transparent, fixed itself in the bottom of the foot, assumed the vertical position, and became larger in diameter. My second son, who, as well as his elder brother, possesses a very clear sight, immediately exclaimed: "See, father, how rapidly the vapours fly up through the bag." I saw, in fact, that they seemed to expand it with a kind of tension, at the same time giving it a deep indigo colour, which was communicated to the cloud. At the same instant the colour of the whole waterspout became so deep that we could distinguish no motion in its expanded part. We observed only that the whole phenomenon moved from east to west, and was destroyed on the coast of Provence. Lastly, a fourth was formed, which was destroyed in the same manner, without any such reproduction, beyond the hills of Antibes, because, their course being more oblique towards the north, they could not meet the gulph Jean, and the prolongation of their track was altogether over land. A fall of snow succeeded immediately afterwards, which was of the usual density and configuration. It lasted all the rest of the afternoon and the following night, so that on the following day there was as much snow on the ground as before. It afterwards rained for a long time, which cleared the country of the snow that had accumulated. As the impetuous wind of the preceding day continued with undiminished force through the whole night, and the other accessary circumstances were likewise present, I think there is reason to conclude that new waterspouts must have been formed in the afternoon, and perhaps

Though the velocity of this wind was nearly equal to that of the greatest storms in our seas, the waves were not proportionally deep. Two circumstances appeared to concur in producing this effect; the first, that by the form of our coast, an east wind cannot have passed over so great an extent of sea as a wind from the southwest, from which quarter our greatest storms come. This cause is constant, with regard to our local situation. The other circumstance was, that the wind did not blow obliquely downwards, but moved parallel to the surface of the sea. This supposition, which is the only one that requires proof, was confirmed, at the time of observation, by the appearance of a small Catalan vessel, which the wind of the 6th of January blew ashore near Nice. I saw her pass before my windows, driven by a force she was incapable of resisting. She did not labour much, but came to an anchor at a little distance, from which, however, the violence of the wind drove her on shore, though without considerable damage, since she was got off a few days after, and pursued her voyage. The force of this wind was seen not only in the instance of this vessel, but in a considerable number of others which were lost on the neighbouring shores.

March 19, the wind, which had begun the preceding evening, blew with a degree of impetuosity less than that of the 6th of January. The clouds were accumulated from the east towards the west; but they were much less condensed than at that time. At forty minutes after eleven in the morning, we observed two waterspouts, which moved at the same time, the one after the other. The most remarkable circumstances in these waterspouts were: 1. The

prodigious enlargement of a protuberance from the extremity of which hung a kind of spout, which was incomparably thinner; but the wonder disappears, when we reflect that the following spout, which maintained it self in the same state as those we had before observed, robbed the preceding one in some measure of its support; so that this enlargement was, as it were, a commencement of dissolution, and the thinness of it was a proof of the little intensity of electrick power then acting; a conclusion which is also confirmed by the following circumstances. 2. The incapacity in the feet of these two waterspouts to elevate their surrounding plumes. They were reversed by a force which prevented their rising in a perpendicular direction, like those of the preceding waterspouts. At the extremities of the plumes here described, as well as at the centre of the circle near the surface of the sea, there was formed a small atmosphere: but as it was not extensive, the vapours were so few that we had very little snow, which continued for about half an hour; when the weather cleared up. During the transition of these waterspouts very distant thunder was heard five or six times.

It follows, 1. That there is a real ebullition in the sea, at the place circumscribed by the foot of the waterspout. 2. That the vapours of the water which must arise, are the product of an evaporation which must separate fresh water from the salt; it being ascertained by experiment, that distillation is the only method by which seawater can be rendered completely fresh.

I can affirm, without fear of contradiction, by experience, that this foot, or atmosphere as it may be called, is nothing but the matter of clouds and mists.

What then, is the agent, it may be asked, which causes this ebullition in the sea, and raises the vapours through the waterspout to the cloud? Simply to affirm that this agent is electricity, without further proof, is

in fact to say nothing: but I should be happy to be anticipated by philophers of greater skill in this theory, and think it better to suspend my judgment than yield to the seductive pleasure of explaining every thing, by adding to the mass of errour in natural philosophy.

cause.

The second fact, which presents itself in our observations, is, that two causes unite in the formation of waterspouts, or rather two different modifications of the same When the foot appears without the waterspout; it is not the productive cause, but rather an effervescence which prevails in the sea at that place. But how many interesting questions might be asked respecting this part of the phenomenon! What cause is so powerful as to retain the foot, and keep it motionless, notwithstanding an impetuous, easterly wind, until the projection in the cloud which is to form the waterspout, shall arrive directly over it? Was the apparent bag which developed itself from the cloud, pre-existent in the projecting part? As I can make no satisfactory reply to these and other questions which might be proposed, I shall proceed to the third remarkable fact.

3. When the foot of the waterspout begins to approach the earth, its diameter contracts; its height is diminished; and its volume becomes less and less; so that the foot is reduced to nothing at the instant it touches the shore. From the attentive examination I have made, it has appeared that the foot even of the greatest waterspouts began to diminish when the depth of the sea beneath became less than the elevation of the foot itself above the surface. If this be true, as I think it is, it may be concluded that the effervescence which supplies the spout with water, and forms the surrounding vapours of the foot, extends itself in depth nearly as much as the foot itself rises above the sea, and that materials for the supply of vapour become defective in quantity in proportion to the shallowness of the water.

I WAS informed at Jakoutsk by M. Popoff, who is at the head of the company of merchants of that town, that they had discovered, upon the shores of the Frozen Sea, near the mouth of the river Lena, an animal of an extraordinary size; the flesh, skin, and hair were in good preservation, and it was supposed that the fossile production, known by the name of mammoth horns, must have belonged to some animal of this kind.

Mr. Popoff had, at the same time, the goodness to communicate a drawing and description of this animal. I thought proper to send both to the president of Petersburgh academy. The intelligence of this interesting discovery determined me to hasten my intended journey to the banks of the Lena, as far as the Frozen Sea, and I was anxious to save these precious remains, which might, perhaps, otherwise be lost. My stay at Jakoutsk, therefore, only lasted a few days. I set out on the 7th of June, 1806, provided with some indispensable letters of recommendation, some of which were addressed to the servants of the government, and others to merchants, from whom I hoped to derive some advantages. On the 16th of June I arrived in the small town of Schigarsk, and towards the end of the same month I reached Kumak-Surka. From this place I made an excursion, the express object of which was to discover the mammoth. And I shall now give a sketch of my journey.

The contrary winds, which lasted during the whole summer, retarded my departure from Kumak-Surka. This place was then inhabited by forty or fifty Toungouse families of the Batouline race. Fishing was their ordinary occupation, and the extreme activity of these people filled me with admiration. The women, old men, and even children, laboured

with indefatigable assiduity in laying up provisions for winter. The strongest went a fishing, the less robust were occupied in cleaning and drying the fish. The whole shores were covered with scaffolding, and the cabins so filled with fish that we could scarcely enter them. An innocent gayety reigned in every countenance, and all exhibited the utmost activity. The fishermen sang while casting their nets, and others were dancing the Charya, which is a dance peculiar to the country. I cannot sufficiently express the emotions of joy which I felt at the sight of these pleasing scenes.

I was convinced, while upon the spot, that the inhabitants of the north enjoy happiness, even in the midst of the frozen regions.

But what astonished me still more, was the picturesque view of the opposite side of the Lena. This river, which is one of the largest in Siberia, majestically rolls its waters through the mountainous chain of Versché-jansk. It is here, near its mouth, entirely devoid of islands, and much narrower, deeper, and more rapid, than in any place of its course. The mountains here appear in a great variety of forms. They are of a brilliant whiteness, and of a savage and horrid aspect. Sometimes they represent 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 gigantick 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.

The course of the winds having at last changed, I thought of pursuing my route, and I had my raindeer brought across the river. Next day, at daybreak, I set out, accompanied by a Toungouse chief, Ossip Shoumachoff, and by Bellkoff, a merchant of Schigansk, and attended by my huntsman, three Cossacks, and ten Toungouses.

The Toungouse chief was the first person who discovered the mammoth, and he was proprietor of the territory through which our route lay. Bellkoff, the merchant, had spent nearly his whole life on the shores of the Frozen Sea. His zeal, and the details he procured me, have the strongest claims to my gratitude. I am even indebted to him for the preservation of my life at a moment of imminent danger.

At first I found great difficulty in sitting upon a rain-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 inconvenient for want of stirrups, which are never used among the Toungouses.

On our route we traversed high and rugged mountains, valleys which followed the course of small rivulets, and parched and savage plains, where not a shrub was to be seen. After two days travelling, we at last approached the shores of the Frozen Sea. This place is called, by the Toungouses, Angerdam, or Terra Firma. In order to attain the mammoth, it was necessary to traverse another isthmus, called BykoffskoyMys or Tumut. This isthmus, which projects into a spacious gulf, is to the right of the mouth of the Lena, and extends, as I was informed, from southeast to northeast for about thirty or thirty five wersts.* Its name is, probably, derived from two points,

*

in the form of horns, which are at the northern extremity of this promontory. The point on the left hand, which the Russians call, by way of eminence, Bykoffskoy-Mys, on account of its great extent, forms three vast gulfs, where we find some settlements of Jakouts. The opposite point, called Maustach on account of the great quantity of floating wood found upon its shores, is one half smaller; its shore is lower, and this district is completely inhabited. The distance from one point to the other is estimated at four leagues and a half, or forty-five wersts. Small hills form the higher part of the peninsula of Tumut; the remainder is occupied by lakes, and all the low grounds are marshy.

The isthmus we have mentioned is so narrow, at some places, that the sea may be seen on both sides. The rain-deer perform a periodical transmigration every year, during which they abandon these places, in order to proceed, by the Frozen Sea, towards Borschaya and Uitjansk, and, for this purpose, they collect in large troops about autumn. In order to hunt these animals with greater prospect of succes, the Toungouses have divided the peninsula into cantons, separated by palings. They frighten the deer by loud cries, which they utter all at once, by letting dogs loose at them, and by fans which they attach to the palings, and which are agitated by the wind. The terrified rain-deer throw themselves into the water, in order to reach some neighbouring island, where they are pursued and killed by the hunters.

On the third day of our journey we pitched our tents a few hundred paces from the mammoth, upon a hillock called Kembisagashaeta, which signifies the stone with the broad side.

Schoumachoff related to me the history of the discovery of the mammoth in nearly the following terms: "The Toungouses, who are a

wandering people, seldom remain long in one place. Those who live in the forests often spend ten years, and more, in traversing the vast regions among the mountains. During this period they never visit their homes. Each family lives in an isolated state from the rest. The chief takes care of them, and knows no other society. If, after several years absence, two friends meet by chance, they then mutually communicate their adventures; the various success of their hunting; and the quantity of peltry they have acquired. After having spent some days together, and consumed the little provisions they have, they separate cheerfully; charge each other with compliments for their respective friends; and leave it to chance to bring them together again. Such is the way of life of these innocent children of nature. The Toungouses who inhabit the coast differ from the rest, in having more regularly built houses, and in assembling, at certain seasons, for fishing and hunting. In winter they inhabit cabins, built close to each other, so as to form small villages.

"It is to one of these annual excursions of the Toungouses, that we are indebted for the discovery of the mammoth. Towards the end of August, when the fishing in the Lena is over, Schoumachoff is in the habit of going along with his brothers to the peninsula of Tumut, where they employ themselves in hunting, and where the fresh fish of the sea, furnish them with wholesome and agreeable nourishment.

"In 1799, he had caused to be built for his women, some cabins upon the shores of the lake Onroul; and he himself coasted along the seashore for the purpose of searching for some mammoth horns. One day he perceived in the midst of a rock of ice an unformed block, which did not at all resemble the floating pieces of wood usually found there. In order to examine it more closely, he clambered up the rock and examin

ed this new object all around; but he could not ascertain what it was. The year following he discovered, on the same spot, the carcase of a sea cow [Trichecus Rosmarus.] He perceived at the same time that the mass he had formerly seen was free from the ice, and by the side of it he remarked two similar pieces, which he afterwards found were the feet of the mammoth. About the close of the next summer, the entire flank of the animal and one of the tusks had distinctly come out from under the ice. On his return to the shores of the lake Onroul, he communicated this extraordinary discovery to his wife and some of his friends; but their manner of regarding the subject overwhelmed him with grief. The old men related, on this occasion, that they had heard their forefathers say, that a similar monster had formerly shown itself in the same peninsula, and that the whole family of the person who discovered it had become extinct in a very short time. The mammoth, in consequence of this, was unanimously regarded as auguring a future calamity, and the Toungouse chief felt so much inquietude from it, that he fell dangerously ill; but becoming well again, his first ideas suggested to him the profit he might gain by selling the tusks of this animal, which were of an extraordinary size and beauty. He, therefore, gave orders to conceal carefully, the place where the mammoth was, and to remove all strangers from it, under various pretexts, charging, at the same time, some trusty dependants not to suffer any part of this treasure to be carried away.

"But the summer being colder, and more windy than usual, kept the mammoth sunk in the ice, which scarcely melted at all that season. At last, about the end of the fifth year afterwards, the ardent desires of Schoumachoff were happily accomplished. The ice which enclosed the mammoth being partly melted, the