Our travellers had before seen something of Tungusian life and manners; but their admiration was excited anew by the greediness which they all displayed upon the present occasion--men, women, and children. Their hands were daubed in grease up to the wrists, and a very considerable portion of their faces was also anointed in the same way. They tore the flesh from the bones like dogs, and if a piece of meat fell upon the floor, however it might be powdered with dirt, it was carried to the mouth without scruple or inspection. The children lay down upon the floor, and, driving the dogs away, licked up the puddles of fat that were spilled in the greedy scramble. But there was withal much good nature and merriment among the party, and though the speech was often rough and the manner uncouth, good humor seemed to pervade the whole scene. After the meal was done, brandy was brought in and circulated freely among the men of the company. Some of the women contrived to get a little for themselves through the influence of their admirers. The party soon grew merry, then boisterous, and at last quarrelsome. There was some scuffling and many hard words. Late at night the revel broke up, and the party separated. It was late the next day, when Alexis and his two young companions were called by Linsk from their repose. They took an ample breakfast, and the party set forward upon their journey. For several days they proceeded without any occurrence worthy of note. At last they came to a little forest of evergreen trees, in which they found two or three small huts, but now deserted by their inhabitants. And here, as it was evening, they concluded to spend the night. Having slightly closed the door with a few pieces of bark to exclude the cold, they built a fire, and had sat down to their frugal supper of dried deer’s flesh, when the ever-watchful ear of Linsk caught certain sounds from without, which arrested his attention. He had listened but a moment, when the fragments at the door were pushed aside, and a wolf thrust his head in at the opening, and gazed intently upon the party. They were all so taken by surprise, that, for a moment, they neither spoke nor moved. It was not long, however, before Linsk arose, seized his gun, and was on the point of discharging it at the wolf, when the latter suddenly withdrew. The whole party followed him out, but what was their astonishment to see around them a pack of at least forty wolves, now ready to make a united attack upon them! It was night, and their glaring eyeballs seemed like sparks of fire, and their teeth were laid bare, as if to rend their victims in pieces. At the same time the barking, yelping, and howling of the savage animals, apparently driven to desperation by hunger, were terrific. The whole scene was indeed so unexpected and so startling, that Alexis and his two young companions immediately slunk back into the hut. Linsk followed, but at