Winter, 183 The Hand, 184 Nuts to Crack, 185 To the Black-eyed and Blue-eyed Friends of Robert Merry, 186 Winter,--a Song, 188 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by S. G. GOODRICH, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. MERRY’S MUSEUM. VOLUME II. [Illustration: Sable hunter] The Siberian Sable-Hunter. CHAPTER I. In the northern part of Asia, there is a vast country called Siberia. It is nearly destitute of mountains, and consists of a great plain, stretching out to an immense extent, and being in many parts almost as level as the sea. In some places it is barren and bare, but in others it is covered with forests. Sometimes these are of pine, cedar, hemlock, and other evergreens, and grow so thickly as to make it difficult to pass between the trees. Several great rivers cross this country, the chief of which are the Irtish and Obi, the Yenisei, and the Lena. These are almost as large as our great rivers of America. They flow from south to north, and empty themselves into a wide sea called the Arctic Ocean. Siberia is a cold and desolate region, where the summer is short, and where winter reigns about two thirds of the year. There are few towns or cities, especially in the north, and thus large portions of the country are both uncultivated and uninhabited. There are vast tracts given up to solitude, or visited only by wolves, bears, and other savage animals, or are occasionally crossed by wandering parties of Tartars, who are the chief inhabitants of the country, and who are almost as wild as our American Indians. This great country, which is more extensive than the whole of Europe, and about three times as large as the entire territory of the United States, belongs to Russia. It is under the government of the emperor of that country, who, you know, reigns over a larger portion of the earth than any other ruler.