s no
chance for safety except in quietly allowing himself and his dogs to be
buried in the snow, and relieving himself from his covering when the
storm is past. This, however, is not always practicable; should the
storm, or, as it is called here, "purga," overtake him in the ravine of
a mountain, such an immense quantity of snow becomes heaped upon him,
that he has no power to extricate himself from his tomb. These
accidents, however, seldom occur; for the Kamtschatkans have acquired
of necessity great foresight in meteorology, and of course never
undertake a journey when they do not consider themselves sure of the
weather.

The principal reason why the climate of Kamtschatka is inferior to that
of other places under the same latitude, is to be found in the
configuration of the country. The mountains of England, for instance,
are of a very moderate height, and broken by extensive plains; here, on
the contrary, intersected only by a few valleys of small extent, a
single chain of mountains, its broken snow-crowned summits reaching to
the clouds, and in many parts far beyond them, stretches the whole
length of the Peninsula, and is based upon its breadth.

The panorama of Kamtschatka is a confused heap of granite blocks of
various heights, thickly piled together, whose pointed, jagged forms
bear testimony to the tremendous war of elements amidst which they must
have burst from the bowels of the earth. The struggle is even now
scarcely ended, as the smoking and burning of volcanoes, and frequent
shocks of earthquake, sufficiently intimate. One of the mountains,
called Kamtschatka Mountain, rivalling in height the loftiest in the
world, often vomits forth streams of lava on the surrounding country.
These mountains with their glaciers, and volcanoes emitting columns of
fire and smoke from amidst fields of ice, afford a picturesque contrast
with the beautiful green of the valleys. The most singular and
indescribably-splendid effect is produced by the crystal rocks on the
western coast, when illuminated by the sun; their whole refulgent
surface reflecting his rays in every various tint of the most brilliant
colours, resembles the diamond mountains of fairy-land, while the
neighbouring rocks of quartz shine like masses of solid gold.

Kamtschatka is a most interesting country to the professor of the
natural sciences. Great mineral treasures will certainly be one day
discovered here; the number and diversity of its stones is s