ompanied the party from Turuhansk, and assisted in
its intercourse with the natives. The latter were peacefully inclined,
and gladly served the men who came so recently from the emperor's
dwelling place. They brought their reindeer and sledges, and guided
the explorers to the object of their search. The country in the Arctic
Circle has very little vegetation, and the drift wood that descends
the Yenesei is an important item to the few natives along the river.
The trees growing north of latitude 66 deg. are very small, and as one
nears the coast of the Frozen Ocean they disappear altogether. The
principal features of the country are the wide _tundras_, or
moss-covered plains, similar to those of North Eastern Siberia.

The scattered aboriginals are Tunguse and Samoyedes. Their chief
employment is the chase in winter, fishing in summer, and the care of
their reindeer at all seasons. Reindeer form their principal wealth,
and are emphatically the circulating medium of the country. Dr.
Schmidt told me he rode in a reindeer sledge from the river to within
a short distance of the mammoth. It was the month of June, but the
snow had not disappeared and nothing could be accomplished. A second
visit several weeks later was more successful. In the interval the
party embarked on the steamer which makes one or two journeys every
summer to the Arctic Ocean in search of fish, furs, and ivory. A
vigorous traffic is maintained during the short period that the river
remains open.

On the return from the Arctic Ocean, the season was more favorable to
mammoth-hunting. Unfortunately the remains were not perfect. The
skeleton was a good deal broken and scattered, and some parts were
altogether lacking. The chief object of the enterprise was to obtain
the stomach of the mammoth so that its contents could be analyzed. It
is known that the beast lived upon vegetable food, but no one has yet
ascertained its exact character. Some contend that the mammoth was a
native of the tropics, and his presence in the north is due to the
action of an earthquake. Others think he dwelt in the Arctic regions,
and never belonged in the tropics.

"If we had found his stomach," said the doctor, "and ascertained what
kind of trees were in it, this question would have been decided. We
could determine his residence from the character of his food."

Though making diligent search the doctor found no trace of the
stomach, and the great point is still open to dispute.