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Fubliftied ziPetirfiturg intheRuJ^an Language, by Order ofherlMPiRiAi. Majii tt And tranflated into ENGLISH fiy J A M E S G R I E V E, K £>. F**'. ■•'£'• . *•, GLOCESTER: ^ P R I If T E D BY R. R A I K E I FOR T. jEfFERYS, CBOCRAPHER TO HIS MAJESTY, LONDOM.l M.DCC.LXIV. f > .■•^'1 ^1. -^■' »s( * * * • ^ - ^ ^ " ^ # ,1.' y^ \'i.. *^ "IJ*** ki^>^^HHi^A;^<^^>^^ ADVERTISEMENT. C>t***^| ^-E Ruffian /^;?^«^^^ />/ ,c;>6/V/6 de On- *4 T \Si ginal of the following Jheets was written^ 1< >£ /i rtide a?id unpolijhed : other nations h.eW!^"*i**^jrf have with great care improved and re- fined their languages by giving proper encourage- ment to men of learning and genius y hut in thdit comitry literature has, on the contrary^ been ^till very lately rather difcouraged. H'M Great indulgence Jhould^ therefore^ he allowed the Author of this work : for though his manner is indi- gejledy and his flile inelegant^ abounding in digrejpons, and fome uninterefling narrations.^ which ohfcure and ^^.,c,,f„ ^i„ .„.^. 'fT'^vtial paffages j yet he has commu- A ^ nicated ADVERTISEMENT. nicateci many very ufeful remarks^ greatly contributing to the improveffient of the tradc^ S^^i^'^Ph^ ^^^ ^^^' tural hijfory^ of the country he defcribcs. In order to render this piece more regular and perfeSl^ it would have been necejfary to new model the whole \ but the gentleman^ who undertook this Tranf- lation 07ily for his amu/ement^ was frequently inter" rupted in the courfe oj the work by the neceffary duty of his profeffton^ and prevented from reviftng it before it went to the prefs by his fudden departure for Pe- ter sbourg. Having been many years abfent from England, and accuftomed to write and fpeak in fever al different languages^ he of courfe adopted their idioms^ andy confequently^ corrupted the phrafeology of his own. Thus much it is thought neceffary to fay in juflice to the Tranflator : and it mufl he confeffed he has great merit with his countrymen ; as it is entirely owing to his labours^ hajly and imperfeSl as they may feemy that we have any knowledge of this remote, un- known^ and very extraordinary country ^ fince fo fewy and it may be faid^ fcarce any Englifhman is able to read the Original* Ihis m -^- -'f^~ f^v, 'i '# ADVERTISEMENT. 7J!>is work is divided into four parts. The firjiy ii'hich is entirely Geographical, and in the Original makes eleven chapters, is here abridged, and reduced to four, as the Author had minutely defer ibcd a great number of hills and rivers which did not ferve to illuflrate the fubjeEl. But it is hoped that nothing is omitted which may anfwer that end, or which might in any way entertain the reader, or help to af certain the fituations, meafures, di/iances, and bou?idaries. Ihefecond part contains the Natural Hifiory, 7 his fart has alfo been greatly contraSied, Jrom the defign of offering to the reader nothing but what was really ufeful, curious, or entertaining ; and in order to makt it completely inflruSiive, many notes have been adjoined,^ to explain fome articles, or reconcile them with the accounts of former voyagers* Ihe third part of this work has been mofl conji- derably abridged, as in treating of the manner Sy cuftoms^ and religion of this barbarous nation^ it was loaded viith Mbfurd praSiices, idle ceremonies ^ and unaccountable fuperflitions. Sufficient examples of mU thefe have been retained A D V r R T I S E M P. N T. * * retained to pew the prccifc ft ate of aft unpolipcd^ era- dulouSi (Vid g^ofly tgnorcvit people, T'he fourth antatr.s the fir ft difcovery^ coKqueJl^ and planting 0/ Riiflian colonics in the country d/Kamtf- chatka. This part is divided into eight chapters^ g^'^^^g a relation of fever al cxpditiofjs bithhyfea and land made into tlat C9U try* It is aljo iKtcrJporfed with a great many ujeful remarks relative to the geography^ fJatural hifl'^rv^ cnjloms^ manners.^ and civil and military policy^ oj he 0'i:trv. J t lihpimje givp.x a particular account of ih forts hu'ft there by /^^ Ruffians, as well for the pro- teSiion oj the'r fcttlements, as to keep the natives in awe. THE ■■% /* % I B R R A T A. f»r Frufticofa /», igt 88, Annot, Chcereoptrylum 89, Autoris. 141, Caudacuu >S9» Line 29, Self-murd 176, 26, Dood. Append. 326. Ray Annot, Linn. i9*t Fentaphylladis fruAicofus, 219, Line I , Chamaenchododendros 219, 18, Anenonidci aao, 'S. Cboerophyllum Autorum ? Cauda acuta Self-murder Doodij Raij Syn. II. Ap- pend. 1 29 Pentaphylloides fruticola Chamcerododendron AnemoBoidei -pi. II %^ 58( 5fl( )flC ^# )0( )0( )(( 4rm " in yn^ ^i'^ )J( ¥ )0( * T II fi RUSSIAN EDITOR'S PREFACE. g^)J(5fl()J(58(2 H E R E is perhaps hardjy any know- ya WW yf^ ledge more pleafing than that which ^ 3^^ ^ arifes from accurate accounts of the k)5)0()e()((S5 variety of diftindions and diyifions di- verfifying the face of the habitable globe, wefe we only to regard it fo far as it gratifies our curiofity ; but more noble purpofes may be ftill ef- feded by fuch informations. All who are employed in the management and fuperintendency of ftates and nations ought certainly to have an exa<5l knowledge B of •^ 11 rHE RUSSIAN editor's Ml of thofe countries over which they prefide, efpecially with regard to their foil and climate; what parts are proper for agriculture, or for pafture, and what are dcfert; what rivers are navigable, or may be rendered fo; what communication there is already, or may be, made, between them ; what beafts, birds, fifhes, herbs, fruit-trees, and fhrubs are found therein, and of what ufe they Cvin be cither in diet, medicine, dying, building, or any other part of oeconomy ; the inhabited and uninhabited parts, cities, forts, ha- vens, mines, traffic, and manufadures ; the parti- cular commodities proper for home confumption, or for exportation ; their imports from other countries ; the lituation and diftances of places ; their curiofities, whether natural or artificial ; the condition of the public roads: they (liould likewife be acquainted with the cuftoms and manners of the inhabitants, their number and language, religion, antiquity, and fettle r.ent; and alfo with the circumftances of the nations bordering upon them. All which knowledge may not only be ferviceable to the people themfelves, but likewife to neighbouring nations that are con- nedted with them, either by trade or otherwife. The natural curiofity of man is not even fatisfied with this: we frequently give ourfelves a great deal of trouble in fe^rch of things that have no relation to us, efpecially if we have hitherto learned nothing, or at leaft nothing circumftantial and certain con- cerning m PREFACE. m :>■ cerning them. For thefe reafons I hope readers of every denomination will favourably receive this defcription oi Kamtfchatkay defigned both for ufe and entertain- ment. The author, if death had not prevented him, would himfelf have explained the occafion that gave him an opportunity of being informed of all thefe particulars ; and, as fuch an account may be ex- pected, I fliall endeavour to do it for him in as few words as pofTible. In the year 1733, her Imperial Majefty Anne or- dered an expedition on foot to examine the coaft of the Northern or Frozen Ocean, likewife that to the Eaft about Kamt/chatka^ and from thence to America and Japan \ and alfo at the fame time to make out a defcription of Siberia^ and particularly of Kamtf- chatka \ to obferve the lituation of the places, their natural hiftory and inhabitants, and whatever elfe might be necefiary to a full knowledge of thofe peo- ple. To this end three profefTors of the Imperial Academy of Sciences were fent along with the fea- officers, Thefe three gentlemen divided the task amonft themj one undertook to make the aftrono- mical and phyiical obfervations ; the fecond to remark whatever regarded natural hiftory ; the third to draw up a defcription of the people and country. To thefe members of the academy feveral other proper afliftants were added : thefe were fix Rtijftan ftudents, who had an opportunity to improve themfelves while B 2 they #1 m '"t^n IV 1 I 1 1 THE RUSSIAN EDITOR'S they were aflifting the profcflors, and ia time he quahficd to fill up their vacancies. The author, Stephen KrafiejitJiicoff^ one of the above-mentioned fix, was born in Mofcoiv^ and had his firft education in the Latin fchool of the convent of our Lord, where he learned the principles of rhetoric and philofophy, and excelled mofl of his fchool- fellows, both in capa- city and application to his fiudies. Though he was principally employed in the fiudy of natural philofo- phy, yet he fliewcd fuch inclination to geography and civil hifiory, that in the Year 1735 ^'^^ ^^^^ ^^'^'' ployed in thefc different enquiries at fuch places as the profefibrs themfelves did not vifit. In the year 1736 the members of ■ the academy, being at Takutskiy were informed, that the fea-officers had made but a fmall progrefs in their difcoveries, and that they would not be able to reach Kafntfchatha in feveral years ; the profefibrs therefore having many ufeful obfervations to make in Siberia^ thought proper to fend before them a perfon, on whom they could de- pend, to prepare for their reception at Kamtfchatka, To this truft Mr. Krajheninicoff was appointed, and at the fame time was furnifhed with proper inftrudions and diredions. Some accidents prevented the profefibrs from arriving at Kamtjchatka, excepting the profeflbr of aftronomy ; the others were ordered by the fenate to return to St. Peter sbourg^ and in their way to make further obfervaiions in Siberia, Thus all en- quiries 'A P R E F y^ C E. ■ ''a quires into the ftate of Kamtfchatka remained to be made entirely by Mr. Krajheninicoff, The profeiTors furniflied him with fuch afliftances as they themfelvcs had, by order of the fenate. He travelled from one end of Kamtfchatka to'the other, accompanied by a guard and proper interpreters, being allowed to ex- amine all the writings in the different forts and offices. The profeflbrs alfo, in the frequent accounts received from him, found that his ol)fervations in natural hiilory and phyfics were juft ; and in any difficulties adiflied him with their advice by letters. In the mean time, the Imperial Academy of Sci- ences, fenfible of the importance of purfuing their refcarches into the regions of Siberia^ thought proper to fend thither, in the year 1738, one of their ad- junds, George Willia7n Steller^ who met the pro- feflbrs the following year in their return at Tenejeisky, This learned and curious gentleman had a great in- clination to go to Kamtfchatka by water. His dcflre was complied with ; and the fame inftrudions were given to him that were given to Mr. Krajloeninicoff, They fent likewife along with him a painter, to de- lineate whatever might be found curious in natural hiftory. They continued together at Kamtfchatka 'till the year 1740, at which time Mr. Steller em- barked in the voyage that was made in order to dif- cover the coaft of America ; and Mr, Krafieninicoff was fent to Takutskiy which a$ fopu as th^ profefTors were i I vl THE RUSSIAN EDITOR'S were informed of, they ordered him to join them, aiid return with them to Peiersbourg in the year 174.^. Mr. S teller^ in his return from Siberia^ died of a fever the i 2th of November^ i745> in the town of Toumen. When Mr. Kra/Jjeninicoff had given the Academy of Sciences a full report of all his obfervations at Kamtf- chatka, and had likewife received all Mr. Steller\ papers, it was thought proper to join thefe two works, and to commit their compilement to the perfon who had the greateft fliare in the merit of the difcovery. This is the origin of the following defcription of Kamtfchatka ; a country never yet defcribed by any author of credit, and where the manners and cufloms of the inhabitants are beyond meafure fingular and uncommon. It is to be wifhed that fuch writers as have hitherto given us accounts of ncw-difcovered countries had taken the fame pains to inform them- felves that this writer hath. The author was ad- vanced in the year 1745 to be an adjun-ft of the Academy of Sciences, and in the year 1750 was made profeflbr of botany and natural hiftory. He died in the 4 2d year of his age, when the laft flieets of his book were printing off; and was one of thofe few whom perfonal merit alone, and no advantages of birth or fortune, contributed to raife. .11 / f , ; For the better underftanding of the geographical defcriptions, it was thought proper to add two maps of 1 t PREFACE. vu of Kamtfchatka ^n6. the neighbouring countries, be- tween which and other maps of thofe countries, even fuch as the academy itfelf hath formerly publiflied, the curious reader may obferve a great difference. But the author afferts that every thing is laid down from the ftrideft inquiry, and had purpofed to fupport the authenticity of his maps, by publifhing fuch memoirs as would prove their accuracy beyond difpute. "f R 3^i;*$«*^$^^* A GENERAL € P A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KAMTSCHATKA, AND OF THE COASTS and ISLANDS adjacent to it. ft«iei»ft«!C;««)CH»»««»;l^ PART I. CHAP. I. Of KAMTSCHATKA. ^vrttji/jeC HOUGH the country called Kamtfchatka was long •^ ^ known to the geographers of former times, yet fo 3c 5t ^'"^^ ^^^^ '^^y acquainted with its fituation, that )8C)^ *.li^)eC they believf d it to be joined to Tcjfo j and this opi- nion was looked upon in thofe days as a very probable conjedture : but it has been fince found that between the two countries there is a large fea, interfperfed with many iflands. The C Rujjiain M : ill.-: hi ' le A Geographical Description of Rii/Jians could form their maps of Kamtfchatka only from con- jedurc 'till it was brought unilcr their lubjcdlion ; aiul then they could not immediately procure any accurate or fatisfadtory know- ledge of the country, for want of jx:rfons properly qualified to make the nccclTary enquiries. The two late expeditions have greatly contributeil to complete the geography of thcfe parts ; particularly the laft, in which the fca-of]icers delineated exadUy all the eaftern coafl: of Kamtfchatka as f ir as the cape of Tcbiikot/koi^ all the weftern to the Penfchinjka [^ulph, and from Ochotjkoy to the river Amur : they defcribed the iilands lying between "Japan and Kamtfchatha^ and alfo thofc wliich are between Kamtfchatka and America. At the fame time the gentlemen of the Academy undertook to determine the iituation oi Kamtfchatka by agronomical obfervations, and to remark every thing worthy of notice in the civil and natural hiftory of the country and places adjacent. In this chapter I lliall only treat of the geography of this country. That great peninfula, which makes the boundary of Afia to the north-eaf}, and ftretchcs itfelf from north to louth about 7"'' 30', is called Kamtfchatka. I place the beginning of this peninfula at the rivers Fuflala^ and Anapho^ lyi'ig in the latitude of 59° 30'. The firft: runs into the PcnfchinJJia fea, and the other to the eaftward. At thefc places the irthmus is fo narrow, that I am credibly informed the fea may in fair weather be fcen on both fides from the hills in the middle. As the country runs broader towards the north, 1 reckon this place the illhmus that joins the peninfula to the main land. The government of Kamtf- chatka extends no farther than to this place ; and all the country north of this boundary is called ZcnoJJCy and is under the go- vernment of Anadir. The fouthern part of this peninfula, which Is called Lopatka^ lies in 51'' 3' north latitude. The difference of longitude from P-etcrfoou7'g is by the beft obfervations found to be at Ochotjkoy 112^53' ¥ W-- ■-. fi J-- KAMTSCHATKA. 1 1 n- M 1, s 1 12° 53' eaft longitude, and thence to Boljlheref/loi or the Great River 14. ' 6' caih The figure of the peninfula of Kcimtfcbatlui is Ibnicwhat elliptical, being broader towards the middle, and growing narrower towards both ends. Its broadelk place rs between the mouth of the river Tcghil and the river KamtJ'chatka, Toward:; ihe fource they are joined by the river Llouki. The Etouki runs in the fame latitude with thole rivers lor 415 verlls. They call the Tea which feparates KiimtfchatLi from America the Eaftcrn Ocean. On the wellern fide lies the Pcnfchinjka fea, which begins near the fouthern point of the capo of Kamtfchatka and the Kuriljki iflands, and runs northward between the wellern coaft of Kamtfchatka and the coafl: OT Ochotjkoy more than 1000 verfts. The northern part is called the bay oi Pcn/chinjha from the river Pen/china which falls into it. The hills make one continued ridge from north to fouth through the peninfula, almoll equally dividing the country. From this ridge feveral others extend towards the fca, between which are the courles of the rivers. The(e ridges fometimes run a confiderabie way into the fea, and are called Nofs, or capes. There are more of thefe upon the caftern than the weftern coaft. All the bays between the capes are called, in general, feas ; each having its particular name, as the Olutorjky fca, Kamtfchatka fea, ^c. We ihall hereafter give our reafons for calling the whole peninfula by the name of Kamtfchatka^ though in fadt it hath in none of the different languages of the inhabitants any general appellation j but every part of the country receives its name from its inhabitants, or fomething remarkable obfe'ved in it : and even the RuJJian Coflacks underftand Kamtjchatka to be only the country lying near the river of that name ; and to the other parts pf Uws peoin'. fula they have given the following appellations : ' Kuriljki Coimtry is the fouthern part, fo named from the Kuriles that inhabit it. Cz nf 'jr J I ',1 , i: hi. ! |, h -pi r, 19 ji Geographical Description of The Coa/i extends from the Bolfcheretjkoi or Great River to the Tcghil. A'watfcha extends from the Bolfcheret/koi to fort Awatjcha. hobroxoi or Beaver ^ea is the diftridt round Kamtfchatka. Koreka, from the Koreki that inhabit it, extends from the north of the Kamtfchatka to the Teghil. Ukoi is the eaftern coafl: from the river Vkoi. Teghil is the weftern coaft from the river Teghil. Kamtfchatka is plentifully furnidied with rivers ; however they are fo little that none of them are navigable by the fmallcft vcffels, except the river Kamtfchatka^ which will carry Imall vcflds 200 vferils upwards from its mouth. Into this river it is reported that fome Ruffians were brought by fca, long before its lubjedlion to Ruffia. It is at prefent called 1 heodotojhim\ from the chief of thole people thrown a-fhorc, whofc name was Thcodot. Next to this, the moft confiderable rivers are, the Boljchaia-rekay or Great River, Aivatfcha and Teghil ; upon which the Ruffians have fet- tlements. Kamtfchatka is likevvife very well furnilhed with lakes, particularly about the river of that naine, where they are fo nu- merous that there is no paflage over land in the fummer-timc. Some of them are very large : the moft confiderable are, the lake of Nerpitche^ which is near the mouth of the Kamtfchatka ; the Kronotzkoy^ out of which runs the river Krodakighe > and the Kurilfko)\ out of which runs the river Ofernoi, The river Kamtfchatka rifes in a marfhy ground, and firfl: runs north-eaft j then inclines more to the call, and turning at once towards the fouth-weft, falls into the ocean in 56° 30' north latitude. From its fource to its mouth, in a ftrait line, is 496 verfts i but the length of its courfe, according to the exad:cft computation, is about 525 verfts ; during which it receives into it many brooks and rivers. About two verfts from its mouth, upon the right fide, are three deep bays. There are feveral forts built along the banks of this river by the Rufjiati Coflacks, to awe KAMTSCHATKA. U to the awe and keep in fubjcdion the viUl inhabitants. The Elouki may be reckoned the chief ot* all the rivers that fall into the Kamtfchatka on the left fide, and its hcad nxets that of the The 7>§-/^//runs almoft in the ume latitude with the Kamtf- chatka J and the ftrait road from tlit ^nc to the other is by the river Elouki. Some little forts and fettknicnts of the natives arc Icattered here and there upon its banks. The Boljchaia-reka, or Great River, called by the natives KeL'kJ}:a, runs cut of a lake 185 verfts to the caft from its mouth, and falls into the Pcnfchinjka fea in the latitude of 52" 45'. Its mouth is reckoned to be 555 verfts to the fouth diftant from that of the T^cghil. It is called Great upon this account, that of all the rivers that fall into the Penjch'mjka fea this is the only one which they can navigate from its mouth nearly to its fpring, and this not without ibme difliculty, on account of its rapidity and the great number of iflands. At the time of high water it is {o deep at the mouth that large veffels may enter ; for the water has been obferved to rife at full and new moon very little lefs than nine Parti feet or four Rujjian yards. It receives a multitude of rivulets; the moft confiderable of which is the Bi/lroy or Rapid River, lo called from the fwifinefs of its ftream, cauled by the many flioals and catarads. You mny go from the mouth of the Great River to that of the Biflroyy and up within 40 verfls of its head ; and from thence over a carrying place to the river Kamtf' chatka, that fprings out of the fame marfh, and runs quite to the Eaflern Ocean. And though this pafTage muft be laborious and tedious, upon account of the rapidity of the river, and the many flioats and cataradts, where every thing muft be carried by land, and which would render it impoflible to advance more than 10 verfts in a day (as 1 found in my way to Kamtfchatka in the year 1739, when the boats were carried over the marfli, about two verfts from the head of the Rapid, to Kamtjchatka) ; yet,, confidering. I> hV' ^ 1 \t i I' !li 1 'I 14 - Pnt/e^ j^. See r "I h 16 A Geographical Description 0/ as out of the Eollpile, and is (0 hot that the hand cannot bear it. After pafllng through a very woody and mountainous country, we come to the remarkable flream Krodakighe^ or the Larch- Tree P iver, which ruflies out ot tlic great ialce Kronolzkoy, m fuch a cafcade that one may walk under it : this lake is in length about 50 vcrfls, reckoned to be 40 in breadth, and is near 50 from the fea. Around it are high mountains, two of which about the fides of the upper mouth of the rivulet Kroda- kighe^ rife above the reft. Multitudes of rivulets empty them- felves into the lake Kronotzkoy^ whofe fprings are near thofe rivers which run into the Kamt/'chatka. From this place, nothing worth remarking occurs 'till we come to the Kronotzkoy Nofs ; and here begins the Beaver Sea, which extends to the Shupinjkoy. The coaft from the Kamtf- chatka to the Kronotzkoy Nofs is every where fandy ; and near the bay, called Uki?ijkaya, begin the habitations^ of the fettled Koreki; but the KanitJ'chaJalcs inhabit all the country to this place. The river Nungeen^ which falls into Nutrenoi bay, is called, by the Coflacks, Pankara, becaufe there was formerly on the fouth fide of the bay a fmall Koreki fort of the fame name ; but the inhabitants having built a fmall fort on a high hill on the northern fide of the bay, wh'ch they called Gengota^ abandoned it : this fort is furrounded with a wall of earth about a fathom high, and a yard thick, having within it a double pallifade, and on each fide are two baftions railed. It has three gates to the eaft, weft, and north. The Koreki purpofe to leave their old fort, and to remove into the new one, which they have built about the inward point of the above-mentioned bay, and cal! it Ueackang-Atenum : this was the firft place that I found fortified by the natives ; for the others were no- thing more than habitations dug in the earth, furrounded with huts, as with fo many towers without any outward forti- fications ; Vft", K A M T S C II A T K A. 17 fications } but, 011 tlie contrary, further to the north, there is not one fettlement of thcfe people which has not, bcfidcs its natural flrcngth of fituation, a wall to cover it. The Koreki in thofe places fay, that they tlius provide for their defence againft the incurfion of the 'Tcbukotskoi : but as tliat people have never invaded thefe place?, fome other caufe mull be lought for this precaution of the Koreki ; and we can account for it only from their apprehenfions of the CofTacks, wlio ufually travel this way. Upon the north point of a bay which receives the Kitkitanmi^ a rivulet, there is a fmall fort built on a high rock, and forti- fied by a wall of earth about 10 feet in height. Its gates are on the eaft and fouth fides. The inhabitants of it arc under the commander of the fmall fort Kccmgu^ whom the CofTicks call a Ru/JImiy he being of that extra<5tion. From this fort there is a low cape that projcds into the fea > beyond this cape there is a deep bay of about eight verfts in breadth, and equally as broad at its mouth as in the middle] but all the refl: of the bays which I have feen are narrow at their mouths. Into this bay the n\(ii Karaga enters by two mouths, and almofl meets near its head with the Lefnaya river, to which they ufually go from the Knraga. On the north fliore of the bay there ftands, on a high hill, the fmall fort Kect a Igeen, in which every hut is in- clofed with a pallflidc. Befides this fmall fort on the river Ka- ragn^ there are two other fettlements of the Koreki. Over- againll the mouth of the Karaga, 20 verfts from the fliore, is an ifland, called Karaginjkcy, the lower end of which is oppo- iite to Nia?gccf2, and the upper end to Kute cape. Koreki in- habit this illand j but thofe on the continent do not allow them to be of the fame race with thcmfclves ; and it muil be obferved, that the manners of the Karagiujkoy appear as bar- barous to the Koreki^ as thofe of the Koreki do to more D civilzed 18 A Geographical Description of m ) in civilized nations. Their number is reclioncd to be 100 men or more, bat not above 30 of thcni pay any tax, the reft, at the time of its gathering, hiding tlitmfelves in the mountains. They go to this ifland in the funimer in their httle boats j but in the winter they have no communication with it. There is httle worth notice after you pafs the above-mentioned ifland, 'till you come to the Uyulcn or Oiiitora river. Upon this river the RuJJians twice built the Olutorjkoy fort. The firft was built by a native of Jakiitjkiy called Athanafcy Petrove^ upup. the fouthern lliore, very little above the mouth of the Kalkiiia rivulet which fulls into the Ohttora from the fuuih ; and the fecond a great deal below that place under the diredion of Major Pmilufjkoy, who was fent there on account of the rebel- lious Tchiikotjkoi ; but both of them were forfaken and burnt down by the Olutorcs. The laft fort is about two days' voyage from the mouth of the OUitora. The Ativalcck cape, which extends 80 verfts into the fea, begins near the river £//>, and points towards the Govyanmy cape, TJie fea between thofc capes is called Olutorjkoy. The Pockatska rifes in the fame plain with the river Glotova^ which runs from the north-eaft into the Olntora, From the Kalkina, where was built the firft Olutorjkoy fort, to the river Pockatska^ is five days' journey with rein-deer, reckoning for each day between 30 and 40 verfts. Between the Katurka and the land oppofite to Anadir^ there projeds into the fea a rocky cape, called Kateerjkoy in 64'' 15' north latitude. The diftance from the Petropaulamkaya haven to the mouth of the Anadir^ as obferved by the ka-officers, is 19° 20' j and the fea coaft from the Kurilskaya Lopatka to the Tchukotskoi cape, north eaft, which lies in 67", is for the moft part mountainous, efpecially in thofe places where the capes projedt into the fea. Wc ijii ; 1! i r K A M T S C II A T K A. 19 8'« lA We now come to confidcr the rivers tliiit fall into the End Sea from the inoith of the Awatfcha, towards the foiith, to the Kurihkaya L'^.pat lui ; and from the Kio'ilskaya LoptUha into the Penfchimka fca to the Teghll and the Piiflaia ri\'er?. There are but few rivulets that intcrfcdl the country between the mouth of the Aivatjcha and the Lopatka. Tlie ridge of mountains, which divides Kamtjchatka^ extends to the Eaft; Sea : the declivity is fleep and craggy j and the gulphs and bays, which are formed by thefe mountains, afford a fafc harbour for veflels of any burthen in the worft weather. The Kiiriljkaya Lopatka^ which by the natives is called Ka- poore, is the fouthernmoft point of the cape of Kamtfchatka^ and divides the eaflern from the Penfch'nnka fea : it takes its name from its refemblance to a nian's ihoulder-blade. Mr. Stellcr^ who has been upon the Lopatka, fays, that the place is not more than 10 fathoms above the furface of the fea, and for that reafon is fubjecSt to great inundations, fo that for 20 vcrfts from thence no-body lives, except thofe who come there in tlic winter to catch foxes ; and when the ice is carried thither with the beavers on it, then the Kuriksy who follow this ice along the fliore, aflemblc here in great multitudes. Within three verfts from the Lopatka nothing grows except mofs; and there are neither rivers nor fprings, only a few lakes and pools. The foil confifts of two 1 tyers, the lower is ftrong, and the upper fpongy ; and its furface is full of hillocks, and ufelefs. The firft rivulet falling into the Penjchinjka fea, is called the Utatiimpit j two vcrfls from the Utatumptt, the rivulet Tapgiitpan runs into the fea, upon which flands a fmall fort called Kochimkcy ; and three vcrfts from thence is the Pitpu\\ or Ozeniaya, which runs out of a confiderable lake divided from the fea by a mountain. The RuJJians call this river Kambahi, or Flounder River, bc- caufe great numbers of flounders are caught in the mouth of it. D 2 The W* I! I ; !i'^ 11 ; lil' 20 A CF.OORAPIirCAL DESCRIPTION of Tlic Like out of which it runs, and the mountains which lie between it and the fc.i, arc called by the fame name. Near the Kdinfyiili/ifioy lake is built KamabaVmJhoy^ a linall Kuriljkoy fort. Fiom tlic Kuriljkoy lake, towards the ocean, ftrait to the Awatfchat h not above i()GirmiJn miles j but the road is cxcellively ditlicultj for you mnfl pafs over eleven high mountains, and fome of them are fo flecp that travellers arc obliged to let thcmfelves down with ropes. About this lake are fcveral remarkable mountains; particularly two, one en each fide of it, which emit fmoke, and have done lb many years ; and which Mr. Stelhr lays he faw in his journey from the Twvina to the Ozeniaya river. Though I went as far as the river Ozernaya in 1738, yet I did not fee thofe mountains, and only obferved hot fprings in two different places. Thefe fprings run within 20 vcrfls from its mouth, fome of them into the river Paujliay and others into the river Ozernaya, both of them on the fouth fide of it. The river Apanach is reckoned the boundary of the province of Kuriljkoy. It runs from under the mountain called Opaljkaya Sopka, which is 85 verfls from the fea, and excels all the reft of the mountains about the Venjchinjka fea both in height and fame j particularly on this account, that it can be feen by feaulen from both feas, and ferves them for a land-mark. The (hore from the Lopatka almoft to the Kamhalina is low. From the Kambalina to the Ozernaya is fo mountainous and fleep, that one cannot go near the fea. From the Ozernaya to the Opala it is likewife mountainous, but more upon a level. From the Opala to the Great River is an extenfive plain, fo that not one hill is to be obferved near the fea. After pafllng a great number of rivulets, all of which arife out of a range of mountains, called 11! \M KAMTSCHATKA. 21 of callcil Stamvoy ridge, wc come to tlie river Gtv/t, called by the CofTacks Vorovlkaya^ or Rogue's River, becaufc the Kamtfchadaki who live upon it were frequently concerned in infurrcdions, and ull'd to kill the tax-gatherers trc.ichcroufly. From lience vvc meet nothing worth notice 'till wc come to a Kamt fcbatkoi foit, called Tackauta^ in which travellers ulually equip themiclves for palling the ridge. Here the common road lies near a rivulet, from the hcail of which it pafles the Stanovoy ridge, 'till it defcends to the heads of the river Kccrgcna^ which falls into the Kamtfchatka. From the Kecrgcna wc pafs up the river Kamtfchatka to tlie Kamt fcbatkoi fort. The country between the little fort 'Tack'- aiita and the Stanovoy ridge is a dcfcrt of i lo verfls in extent, and from the ridge to the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort is 65, the land equally barren. The above road is very dillicult and dangerous, for a great part of it lies on the river, which, from the rapidity of its current, in many places never freezes. Travellers are obliged, therefore, in fome parts to keep clofe to the fides with great care ; for if the ice breaks nothing can five them, the rocks on the banks in feveral places being fo fleep that it is impolTiblc to get on fliore, and the river runs fo fwiftly that you are immediately driven under the ice. The ridge is paflable only in calm and fair weather, for which we are obliged to wait fometimes ten days or more j at other times it is impoflible to find the way, and we muft inevitably fall down the precipices, and be loft. The pro- pcrcft time to pafs is when no clouds are to be feen on the top of the ridge, for even the leaft cloud is a fign of a great ftorm there. To crofs over this ridge takes up a whole winter's day. The greateft danger is in palTing over the very top, which is called by the Coflacks, Greben^ or a comb. Its breadth is 30 fathoms j it is like a boat with the bottom upwards, theafcent on both fides being very i I I . I \ I •! iM V '' 1 I :' i! i 22 ^ Ceoorapiiical Description c/ very rtccp. The p.illi'c is troiiblefomc even in tlic c.ilnicll: weather, for the road falling off leaves nothing but ice : the KamfJilMuiiUcs^ therefore, in order to pafs it in Tafety, have uiuler their Ihovv-lhoes, two nails ; yet ihefc arc of fmall fervice if the wind overtakes iheni there, for they are frequently carried from one fide to the other to the great hazard of their live?, or at leafl of their limbs. Uefides which, this paillige is attended with the danger of being fmothcrcd in the fnow, the narrow path lying between high, and almofl perpendicular, mountains, from which the fnow falls in heaps upon the leaft motion. This is a danger, indeed, unavoidable in every place where the road lies in narrow and deep vallies. In mounting the ridge all muft walk, for the dogs can hardly afcend it even witli the liglit baggage ; but in defeending it is otherwife, for then they only leave a fmglc dog in the lledge : the reft arc taken out, it being impofllble to manage them all in fuch a road. Although this paflage of the ridge be fo diflicult, yet, as it is the ufual road to Kamtfchatka, one may conclude that any other paflage from fea to fea mufl: be ftill more difficult and dangerous. The coafl: from the mouth of the Great River to the river Piif- taia^ as far as the Shahacky h ooze and foft mud, {o that many vefl'els have been thrown upon it without receiving any hurt. From the Shaback the fhore begins to be bolder, though not rocky ; but from the Tulahan river it is mountainous, rocky, and dangerous to feamen. The late defcriptlons of the fliorc of the Poifchhiska fea, from the Lcfnaya to the Penjchina and to the Ochotska^ are more particular than the former : for in the year 1741 a high road was eflabliflied to Kamtfchatka with pofl-houfes at proper ftations ; yet, with regard to the diftances of places, they are not much more accurate j fince there were no agronomical obfer- vations * :sfe KAMTSCHATKA. 23 arc rations made, nnr tlic dillances mcafurcd : nor are there any hopes of its bcin^ foon done, as travelling in thofc parts is very dangerous ; the wild Koreki oppofing the Ru/Jian government, and frujiicntly committing murders upon Imall parties that pafs that way ; and though Ihmctimcs they appear friendly, yet tra- vellers arc always obliged to be fo much upon their guard againfl: the deceit and cruelty of fuch a barbarous race, that they have no time to make accurate furvcys. Beyond the Ptilhiia is the river lalouka i 50 verfts from which is the river Pcnfchimi^ re- markable for giving name to the Vcnfchiujka fea. Thirty verfts from the fea is built a Imall fort, called AcUanJkoy^ from the river Acklan^ which falls from the right fide into the river Penfchina. Here fome Rufjinn Coffacks live for the difpatch of the port, and to bring into fubjcdion the Koreki that refufe to pay taxes. The firrt houfe was built there in the year 1679, fince which certain foldiers were fent there to gather the taxes ; but after- wards, on account of the great diflance and danger of the place, it was abandoned. This fpot has been made remarkable by the murder of two commiffiries, with a party of Coflacks, many years ago, who conveyed the tribute from Kamtjchatka to the Aii- adirjk fort. From the river Talouka to the mouth of the Penfchina the fea coall: lies north-eaft ; thence it turns fouth-wefl as far as the rivulet Goguhvi ; after which the coafl turns to the eaft, 'till we approach the river Qchotjka : the interval between which laft and the Penfchina is watered with fevcral rivulets that run into the Penfchiiijka fea, for whofe names we refer to the map. The Ciichtai river falls into the Ochotjka very near the fea : between them is a confidcrable bay, in which vefl'els may anchor. The river Cuchtai is particularly remarkable for its port, and for the great quantities of Larch trees, and other forts of wood fit for building vcflcis for navigation, which grow on its banks, and which are not found in fo great plenty along the river Ochotjka, The river li' 1' ti !i 17 I' ') ' t 1 24 ^Geographical Description cf river Ochotjka Ivas three mouths ; the New moutli, ilic Okl mouth, nnd the hiilg'nijkasa q\\x.-\cX. The New mouth is di v, except at the time of a r/cat inun- diUion ; and qscw tlicn vcfllls c.innot enter it. T'lie prefent Ocboffkoy fort is buih between the New and Old momli^, almoft upon tlie beach ; an 1 the former, wliich is now called the old fort, was fix verlls from tlie fea. Tills place is called Ocboffkoy port, and commonly L^;/w ; and has under its jurifdidion all Kamtfcbatka, and the coafl: of the Fcnjcb'nnka fea to the frontiers of Cbina. For which reafon the tax-gatherers are all fent out from hence ; and the tax, when gathered, is immediately brought from all other places hither, wlicrc it is firft appraiicd, and then fent into 'Jiikutzk. Formerly the Ocbotskoy fort was poorly in- habited, and under the jiuirdifiion of Jakntski, but it is nuich inereafed fincc the Riijjians have made this the port for their paflage by (ax to Kamtfcbatha. This place is better built than any of the other forts, the houfes being good and regular, p.u'ticularly thofe belonging to the go- vernment, in which the otiicers of the Kamtfcbatha expeditions refided. In my time there was neither u church nor a forti- fication, but they were building both. Ihough the country be as barren as Kamtjcbatka^ yet its inhabitants are better fur- niHied with every thing, becaufe goods and provifions brought from Jakutskl are fold here cheaper by one half. Though plenty of corn is brought l:ere, yet no frelh meat is to be got, except wild fowl and vcnifon, and that feldom. Fi(h in this place is almoll: as plenty as in Kamtjcbatka, except the Cbavcccba, which they bring hither from thence. The greateft want in tliis place is that of good paflurage near them ; therefore the inhabitants cannot breed cattle. They have tried many times to keep them upon the river ^xv, but with great lo and the particular diftances ^re here adjoined. Firft '81 \ it;' \ V ' 'A ill • 111 K A M T S C H A T K A. 2? Firrt road from the Bolfcheretskoi fort, by the Penfchlnjky fca. vcrfls fathoms From the Boljchcretskoi office to the Zaecmha, or the eftate of Mr. Trapcznicoff\ — — From thence to the river Utkciy — From thence to the Kiechchiek^ to the Aka~ hcejhevo^ - — — From thence to the Ncmtick — From thence to the Kole — — . — From thence to the Vorov/kaya — From thence to the Brcivmka — — - From thence to the Kompucovoy — From thence to the Krootohorova From thence to the Ob /ukomina, to the fettlement of Tarein, ' — From thence to the Ohlukominjkoy ridge From thence to the upper Kamtjchatkoi fort 4S6 50 Second road from the BoJfchentskoi fort, by the Eailern Sea. 2 ICO 21 200 42 250 25 22 51 24 n 36 24 no 65 From the Bolfcheretskoi fort to the fmall fort Op a chin — 44 From thence to Nachikin ^—^ — 74 From thence to the Awatfcha and the Fara- tunka — — — 63 From the Paratimka to the Petropaulaujkaya From thence to the rivulet Calahturka — 6 From thence to the fort Nalachcca — ^ 34 In all from Bolfcheretskoi to the fmall fort Na o o o o o '•1 if J r j '1 i:'^ \i From i:i '■ t m if',; '.il :i!-'/ ; 5© A Geographical Description of From the river Nalachcca they in fix days arrive at the upper fort. Third roid from the Bolfchcretshi fort, by the R.ipid River, verfls fiUhoms From the BoJjchcretdoi fort, up along the Great River, to the Opachin fmall fort — — From thence to the upper ford — ^ From tlience to the fettlemcnt oi Ahanichcvo From thence to the fettlemcnt of Ganaline From thence to the head of the Kiimtfchatka From thence to the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort In all from the Bol/cheretshi to the upper Kamtfcbatkoi fort — — — — 44 33 22 33 41 69 242 !> i In all the plices exprefled in the tables the travellers take up lodgings at night, except where the diftance is only five or fix verfls. Notwithtlanding the great diftance between the Obliih^ minjkoy and the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort, in good weather they travel it in three days, lying two nights in defert places. There are other roads from the Bolfcberetskoi to the upper fort, both from the Pcnfchlnfka fea and from the Eaftern ; for every river there that falls into either of thofe feas has a paflage to Kamtjcbatha : but, as nobody except the Kamtjcbadales^ and fometimes the Collacks, in great neceflity, travel them, it was not thought material to defcribe them ; nor can one well afccrtain the diftances by their journeys. They go from the Bolfcberetskoi to the lower Kamtfchatkoi fort, either through the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort, or by the coafl of the Eaftern Sea. From the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort the way is along the river Kamtfchatka^ except where the river makes great windings. i': ! i 't. KAMTSCHATKA. 3^ windings. The dirtance from the upper to the lower Kamtf- chatkoi fort is laid down in the following table. From the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort to the river Keerge/ia — — — From thence to the fmall fort Maflmrin From thence to the fmall fort Nachikin — From thence to Golka • — From thence to the fmall fort 'Talecheva From thence to the UJl^ky — From thence to the Kreivky *— From thence to the Krejlee ■ From thence to the Gorboon — From thence to the Harchin — — From thence to the Camenoy fmall fort From thence to the Cavanackey — From thence to the Kamack • ' From thence to the Hapick — From thence to the Scbockev — — From thence to the Oboohoffs fettlement From thence to the lower Kamtjchatkoi fort, to the church of St. Nicholas^ • In all from the upper to the lower fort — And from the Bolfcheretskoi — — vcrfls fathoms 24 32 87 33 26 16 25 25 26 250 II 27 16 6 8 250 9 17 250 7 250 397 833 50 1230 50 The other road from the Bolfcheretskoi to the lower Kamtf- chatkoi fort being meafured only to the Nalacheva fort, it cannot exadlly be known which is the neareft way j but one may imagine that there is not much difference between them, Thft { ,H < ;1 i-'<\ 4 m m I !i^ . i i,i!i; ill' • ii.i J! ill' * I t 3fa -^ Geographical Description o/* The chief places on that road where they ufually lodge at night arc the fmall forts of Opacbin^ JSachiekiek, and the Tarein ; the haven of Pf/ivand Ptw/, which was formerly called the fmall fort Aiiftin j the Ojlro'vemiya river, Supanova^ and the Chazma j upon all which rivers there are Kamtjchatkoi habitations. From the Cbnzma to the river KavHJ'chatka the road lies over defolatc mountains } and they come upon the river jult by the village Oboohoffs, fcven vcrfls and a half above the lower Kamtj- chatkoi fort, lodging but one night in a defert place. From the lower Kamtjchatkoi fort to the northern parts two roads are made, the one is by the Elouki^ to its head ; and from thence over a ridge to the head of the river Tcghil^ along which they go quite to the fea j and from thence, not fir off from the fea, to the rivers Lcjhaya and Podkargirnaya. In a moderate way of travelling, when there is no hindrance from bad weather, they go from the lower Kvutjchatkoi fort to the lower Tegbil/koy fmall fort, called Shipin, in i o days. By the fecond road they may travel in the f;ime manner to the river Karaga in ten days, whofe head is near the river Lejhaya. From the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort to the Teghil the common road is by the river Elouki : firfl:, over the ridge to Ohlukominjkoy fort, and from thence north by the Fenfchimky fea j and another road is by the river Krcjlovaya to the Harhoojbva. By the firft road they may reach Teghil in lo daysj but they very often lodge the tenth night on the road, not fo much on account of the diftance as the badnefs of the roads, and the very mountainous places over the Utkolotskoy cape. The fecond road requires ii or 12 days. The paflagc along the Elouki to the Ttghil is the iongeft of all, for that requires above 1 4 days' journey. From the Bolj'cheretskoi fort fouthward to the Kurihkaya Lo- patka the ufual pafiage is nme days. The diftance from the Boljcherctskoi •■.,j! k", .. ,t ..■ ii»*Sf •,(■• d.m^ .»- ,«^.<«^M<> Hi U i>.m — T-^ ^-rik- ;'i 1 1 i' 11 u It -m' ! ) M OJ" ^ll •1 'Ji ■ . ' 1. H. * 1, 1 1 ij L 1 m KAMTSCHATKA. 33 Bolfchcretskoi {Qxi ioihc Kttrihkaya Lopatka is 210 vcrfts 300 fathoms, which fpace may be ealily travelled, even in four days ; but the Coflacks of thofc places have a cuftom of ftopping at any fmall fort, under pretence of fome bufmcfs there, though their moft probable motive is to rcfrefli their dogs. At a middling rate I have travelled in three days from the Kamtf'^ cbatkoi to the BolJ'cberetskoi, which is near 1 50 verfts. From the Bolfcheretshi fort to the mouth of the Great River — — — From the mouth, along the fea-(horc, to the river Opala From thence to the KoJI^uhochiek — - From thence to the Tavina — — . From thence to the river Ozernaya — From thence to the Kafnbalina — From thence to the Lopatka — In all from the Bolfcheretikoi to the Kiirihkaya Lopatka "~~'. , ' vcrfts fathoms 33 S5 18 ^5 ^5 36 300 27 210 300 CHAP. III. Of the KURILSKI ISLANDS. UNDER the name of Kurilski iflands are underftood all thofe iflands which extend from the Kiirihkaya Lopatka, or the fouthern end of Katntfchatka^ in a row fouth-weft quite to yapan. They derive their names from the inhabitants of thofe iflands which lie neareft to Kamtfchatka, who are called by F the .'li' i m . *• ' " "", ! H'ii! I !-!'! t (I E ij » ■ ■ i:i !l II i- / « . 1;, I:' 34 ji Geographical Description of the natives Ku/lif and by the Rujians Kuriles. The exa .ff,' 'ir lilt'; I ! i 1i Ijl': *6 A GeoO RAPI! I C A L DESCRIPTION of violent north winds which blow here frequently ; and wc find that places lying farther north arc more fruitful, ns about the Tchtikotfkoi Nofs, w here they are covered from thcfe winds. It is likcwilc obfcrvcd, that the fifh enter the rivers in America earlier than in Kamtfcbatka. Great plenty of fifh have been fccn there on th.e 20th of '^july^ nt which time in Kcimtfchatka they only begi/i to appear. There are a fort of rafberrics of a very extraordinary fizc and fine tafte; bcfides honeyfuckles, cran- berries, blackberries, and bilberries in great plenty : as alfo feals, fea- beavers, whales, dog-fifli, marmotta-minor, red and black foxes which arc not fo wild as in other places, j^er- Iiaps bccaule they are leldom hunted, ; .-- j .'■ ,n' ,•• - * • Among the known birds have been obferved magpies, crows, fea-gulls, water-cranes, fwans, ducks, quails, plovers, Greenland pigeons, and fowls called northern ducks ; and among the un- known, ten kinds diftinguifliable from any fpccies of European fowl. The natives there, who are as wild as the Korcki and the Tchukotskoi^ are plump, broad (houldered, ftrong boned, of a middle fize, with ftreight and black hair which hangs loofe. Their faces arc fwarthyand flat, their nofes fomewhat pointed but very broad, with black eyes, thick lips, fmall beards, and (hort necks. • Their fliirts, which come lower than the knee, are girded about tlieir bellies with leather firings j and their breeches and trowfersare made of the Ikins of feals dyed with alder, and are like thofe of the Kamtfchat dales. To their girdles they hang iron knives in cafes, like thofe worn by the RitJJian boors. Their hats are made of grafs, as thofe of the Kamtjchatdaksy without tops, in the fhapes of umbrellos, dyed with green and red colours, with falcons* feathers before, or with grafs that is combed out, which looks like the plumage that the Americans ufe about Brazil. They feed on fiih, fea animals, and the fvveet herb, which they prepare KAMTSCHATKA. 47 prepare as the Kamtfc hat dales do ; bcfidcs they ufc the dry bark of the poplar and pine trees, which is eaten as food, not only here and in Kamt/chatka^ but in all Siberia^ and fome parts of Rujjia, even as far as the province of Viatka, efpccially in times of fcarcity ; they ufc likewifc fca-grafs laid up in heaps, which looks like, and is as tough as, leather thongs. Wine and tobacco they know not, which ferves as a real proof of their having had hitherto no communication with the Eitropenm. They efteem it a particular ornament to make holes on their fliccs in different parts, in which they place various ftoncs and bones ; others wear in their noftrils feathers about two inches long ; fome wenr bones of the fame fort in their under lips, and others upon the forehead. The people who live on the iflands near the Tchu- kotjkoi Nofs!, and who have a communication with the Tfchiiktf- chi^ arc certainly of the fame race, for among them it is always efteemed as an ornament to wear bones. The late major Paulutjkoy having had once a (kirmifli with the TfchuktJ'chi ^ found among the dead two men of this country, under whofe nofcs were placed two teeth of the fea-horfc, in lioies made for that purpofe ; for which reafon the natives call thofe iflanders Zoobatie^ or large teethed j and, as the prifoners reported, they did not come there to aflift them, but to fee their manner of fighting with the RuJJians. ' It may be concluded from this, that the I'fchuktfchi and they have the fame language, or, at leaft, that there is fuch a near refcmblance between their languages, as to enable them to con- verfe together without an interpreter. The language of the TjchuktJ'chi is derived from that of the Koreki^ and differ from it in dialed: only ; the Koreki therefore can converfe with them without ditBculty. And Mr. Stei/ers faying, that not one of our interpreters could underfland the American language, might arlfc from the great difference in the dialed, or from the parti- cular pronunciation, which is obfcrved, not only between the wild ■r4 *>-i I :■ I 1 .' ■ t. ''J • il ' .i t'l' l":^ 'J 48 j4 Geographical Description of wild natives of Kamtfchatka^ but alfo between the Europeans in different provinces. There is fcarce one fort in Kamtfchatkn which does not differ in language from that of another j and thofe forts of fome hundred verfls' diltance hardly underftand one an- other. The Americans and the Kamtfchadales agree in the fol- lowing things : FirfV, their features are alike. Secondly, the Ame- ricans prepare the fweet herb in the fame manner as the Kamtf- chadales do, which has never been obierved any where elfe. Thirdly, they both ufe wood in ftriking fire. Fourthly, it has been obferved, from many inftances, that their hatchets arc made of ftone or bone j and Mr. S teller thinks, not without reafon, that the Americans had formerly a communication with the people of Kamtfchatka. Fifthly, their wearing apparel and hats are the fame. And, fixthly, they dye the fkins of beafts with alder, as the Kamtjchatdales do : from whence it appears probable, that they are of the fame race. Thefe particulars may help to anfwer the queflion, Whence was America peo- pled ? for though we lliould grant, that America and Afa were never joined, yet thefe two parts of the globe lie fo near each other, that the impoffibility of the inhabitants of Afa going over to America^ (efpecially as the number of iflands lying between them made the paffage more eafy) cannot be maintained. Their arms are the bow and arrow j but what fort of bows we cannot tell, for our people faw none of them. Their arrows indeed are longer than thofe of the Kamt/chadaleSy but refemble intirely thofe ufed by the lungujki and TartarSy which our people found were dyed of a black colour, and fcraped fmooth. The Americans ufe boats made of fkins, as the Koreki and the Tjchuktfhi do. Their boats are 1 2 feet long and two broad, the head and flern (harp, and the bottom flat. The infide is made of poles joined at both ends, which are kept extended by a proper piece of wood ; and the fkins fewed round feem to be thofe of feals dyed of a cherry colour : the feat is round, two TT?^ K A M T S C H A T K A. 4'; two yards from the flern, and fewed about with guts, which, with the help of leather thongs laced round the edges, can be drawn together and opened like a purfe. The America}! fitting in this place ft retches out his legs, and draws the ikin tight about his body. Thefe boats will live in the moft ftormy fea, though they are fo light that they may be carried with one hand. When the Americans fee any ft rangers they row towards them, making a long fpeech j but whether this be Ibme conjuration, or a ceremony at receiving them, we cannot certainly fay; for both the one and the other is in ufe among the Kuriles : but, before they approach them, they paint their cheeks with a black pencil, and ftop their noftrils with grafs. They feem to receive ftrangers very kindly, converfe in a friendly manner, with their eyes fixed upon them, treat them with great civility, and make them prefents of whales' fat, and of thofe pencils with which they daub their own cheeks, not doubting but fuch things are as acceptable to others as to themfelves. It is very fafe failing in thofe parts in the fpring and fummer j but in the autumn fo dangerous, that there is not a day on which they dare venture out for fear of perifliing j the winds and ftorms being fo violent, that the Rujians^ who have ufed the fea for forty years, declare they have never feen any thing equal to them. The following are looked upon here as figns of the land being near : When many different forts of fea-cabbage appear floating on the fea ; when they obferve that fort of grafs of which cloaks, carpets, and little bags are made at Kamtfcbatka^ for it grows only upon the fea fliore; and when fea-gullsand fea animals, fuch as feals and the like, appear in great numbers ; for though, the feals have an opening in their hearts, called the Foramen ova- le^ and a paffage called DuSiiis arterioj'us botalli^ which are both open, and therefore can keep under water for a long time, and K may iill m I I. \;.i : I l!!|i, 'ill •I 50 yf Geographical Description of may go far from the fliore without danger, as they can find pro- per food at a great depth; yet, notwithftanding all this, they fcldom go out above ten miles to fea. But the moft certain fign of the land being near, is, when they fee Kamtfchatkoi beavers, which feed only upon lobfters and crabs, and, by the formation -jf their hearts, cannot continue under water above two minutes. We muft yet mention fome iflands, which lie near to Kamtf- chatka, though not in a flrait line with thofc above defcribed, but north of them, particularly Bering^ ifland, which is now fa well known to the Kamtfchatkoi inhabitants, that many go thi- ther for the trade of fea beavers and other animals. This ifland extends between i^'^ and 60*^ of latitude from the fouth-eafl to the north-weft. Its north-eaft end, which lies almoft diredtly oppofite to the mouth of the river Kamtfchatka^ is about two degrees from the eaftern ftiore of Kamtfchatka^ and its fouth-eaft point is about three degrees from the Kromtjkoy Nofs. The length of this ifland is 165 verfts, but its breadth is unequal, being from the fouth-eaft point to the fteep and unpafliible cliff, which lies fourteen verfts from the point, between three and four verfts in breadth j from this to the Seepticha bay about five verfts ; from the Seepucba bay to the Beaver cliff, fix verfts > and thence to the fmall river Kitova, five verfts. Farther on it grows broader and broader ; and its greateft breadth is oppofite to the northern cape, where it is twenty-three verfts. One may fay in general, that there is fo little proportion between the length and breadth of this ifland, that our author doubts whether its equal is to be found in any other part of the world j at leaft, he has neither read nor heard of fuch j and he fays alfo, that the iflandr, which he faw near jimerica, and the whole range of them towards the eaft, have nearly fuch proportions. I :■!.: V i » This KAMTSCHATKA. 5^ This ifland conliils of one rocky ridge divided by many vallics lying north and fouth j and the mountains are lo high that, in fair weather, they may be perceived ahnoft in the middle of the paflage between the ifland and Kamtfchatka. The natives of Kamtfchatka were of opinion for many years, that over-af 'nft the mouth of the Kamtfchatka there ought to be land j becaufe there was always the appearance of a fog or mift there, let the horizon be ever fo bright. The higheil moun- tains here are not higher than two verfts perpendicular j the tops are covered for the thicknefs of half a foot with a common yel- low clay J but below are hard yellow rocks. The Stanovoy ridge is hard and entire ; and the mountains upon the fides are feparated by vallies, through which run fmall rivers on both fides of the ifland. It is obfervable in this ifland, that the mouths of all the rivers lie either to the fouth or to the north, and from their fprings they either run fouth-eaft or north- weft. There are no plains near the principal ridge, except the fea- fliore, and even there are little mountains of half a verft, or a verfl^, in circumference. Such hills are obferved near every rivulet, with this difference, that the flatter the capes are towards the fea, the larger are the plains behind. The very fame thing is alfo obferved in the vallies : if they lie between high mountains, they are lefs, and the rivulets in them alfo fmaller ; but in thofe vallies which are between low mountains, it is otherwife. On the Stan- ovoy or principal ridge, wherever the mountains are fteep and full of cliffs, there are always found lakes half a verft, or a verft, from the fea-ftiore, which run by fmall outlets into the fea. The mountains confift of one hard blue ftonc^ but where they are parallel with the fea, there the capes are made up of a ftrong greyilh clean ftone, fit for polifliing. This circumftance the author efteems worthy of obfervation, becaufe he imagines the ftone might obtain this change from the fea-water. m H2 In ■ »i <[ ,4':' li IJ 'i ;» ill '■ y' i'l Is If' Its'! 'J f I'll ' pill 1 tl :■ ! r- ( li- 52 .// Geographical Description of In many places of the ifland the beach is fo narrow, that it is hardly poffible to pafs it at high water ; and in two places there is no pafTage at all : one of thefe is near the fouth-eall, and the other near the north -weft point of the illand. It is remarkable, that wherever there is a bay on one fide of the ifland, on the other, directly oppofite to it, is a cape J and where the iliore on one fide is flat and fandy, on the other it is rocky and torn. Where the turning is fliarp, either to one fide or the other, there the iliore is cliffy and ftony about a vcrft or two from the turning. The mountains nearer the Stanovoy ridge are rather the fteepeft. There are many cracks which were occafioned at different times by earthquakes ; and it has been obferved, that in the higheft mountains fomething fticks out like kernels, erding as cones j which, though they feem to be of the f^mie fubftancc with the mountain itfelf, yet are fomewhat fofter and clearer, and have a particular figure. Such kernels are found on the mountains of Bayial, and on the ifland Okhon. Mr. Steller received from Anadirjk ftones of a green colour fomewhat re- fembling thefe kernels, and was informed that they were taken from the top of the mountains ; and that whenever they are broken off, others grow in their places. It is thought that thefe ftones are formed by fome internal motion of the earth, particularly by its preffure towards the center ; from whence thefe kernels may be reckoned a fpecies of chryftal, or the pureft ftony matter, which is firft preffed from the center in a liquid ftate, and afterwards hardened by the external air. On the north-eaft fide of the above-mentioned ifland is no haven, even for the fmalleft veffel, except one place which is in breadth 80 fathoms, where a veflel may anchor in calm weather. There are ftioals that lie off as far as four or five verfts from the fliore, which are laid with ftones as if done by defign, and on which you may walk at low water to the deep places without wetting your feet. North KAMTSCHATKA. 51 North of the haven is a large bay, in which are fuch ftones and pillars as are found on the fliore. The fouth- weft fide of the ifland is quite different ; for though the fliore is rocky and more torn, yet in two places there is a paflTage for flat- bottomed boats, not only to that, but even into the lakes. The flrft place is 50, and the fecond is 115, verfts from the fouth- eafl: point of the illand. This laft is eafily known from the fea, for the land turns there from north to wefl ; and in the very cape runs a river, which, though fmall, is the largeft: in that ifland, and the depth of it at high water is (even feet. It runs out of a great lake, which is a verfl and a half from its mouth j and as the river is deeper when they have pafl!ed the bar, the failing to the lake in fmall vefiels is very eafy and fafe. The principal mark by which they can know this river is an ifland fevcn vcrfl:s round, and it lies feven verfls fouth from the mouth of it. The fhore from thence to the wefl, for five verfts, is fandy and low, and there are no rocks. From the high mountains of this ifland are to be icen the following places : in the fouth, two ifxands ; one of them in circumference feven verfts, as was fair before ; and the other is in the fouth- wefl, oppoflte to the very point of Bering's ifland, and at the diflance of 14 verfts. It confifts of two high and fplit rocks, about three verfts in circumference. From the very north- weft point of Bering's ifland, in clear weather, are feen moun- tains covered witii fnow ; and the diftance of them from thence may be reckoned about 100 or 140 verfts. Thefe mountains were taken by the author for a cape of the main-land of America^ for the following reafons : firft, becaufe the mountains, as he judged by their diftance, were higher than thofe of the ifland : fecondly, becaufe within the fame diftance on the eaft from the ifland there were plainly obferved fuch other white mountains; from the height and direction of which, all were of opinion that it m / • ill I' |! ).|;il i Ilk I r I' i I 1| ' ■i! i IS'-! 1 :, I ^ 1,11; 54 y^ Geographical Description oJ it was the main land of America. From the fouth-eafk point of Bering's ifland they faw lying fouth-eaft fome other iflands, but not fo plainly j and their fituation was thought to be between Bering's ifland and the continent. It has been obfcrved, that above the mouth of the river Kamtjchatka^ towards the weft and fouth-weft, in clear weather, there is always a fog ; and from that, in fome meafure, it was known that Bering's ifland was not far from the country of Kamtfchatka. To the north part of Bering's ifland there is another, in length from 8o to loo vcrfts. The channel betwixt thefe iflands, towards the north- weft, is about 2o vcrfts, and towards the fouth-eaft, about forty. Near the points of both are many rocks and pillars in the fca. The weather differs from that of Kamtfchatka only in being more fevere and fliarp ; for the ifland has no cover from any point, and is narrow and without wood. The wind is fo ftrong in the low and narrow vallies that a man can hardly keep his feet, and it was obferved to be Ingheft in the months of February and April^ when it blowed from tlie fouth-eaft and the, north- weft ; when from the former, the weather was clear and tolerable, and, when from the latter, it continued clear, but was very cold. The higheft tides were in the beginning of February, when the wind was north-weft J and in the middle of May, from the great rains and the melting of the fnow, another flood happened ; yet both thefe floods were moderate, compared to thofe which, undoubt- edly, have been formerly in thofe iflands j for thirty fathoms higher than the fea-mark, lie wood and whole flccletons of fea animals, which have been left by die fea ; and it is probable that in the year 1737, the flood was as great here as at Kamtjcbatka. Earthquakes happen frequently. The greateft here, which laftcd exadly fix minutes, was felt in the beginning of February, when the wind was wefternly j a great n n K A M T S C II A T K A. 55 great noife, which preceded the (hock, was heard under g/ound, attended with a whiftling wind, which went from fouth to north. The water here is remarkable for its llghtnefs and purity j and its medicinal virtues have been experienced by the fick. Every valley has its rivulet, and the number of them all is above fixty. By reafon of the great declivity of the vallies they are very rapid j and, near the fea, divide themfelves into many ftreams. '\\ i.^1 ,ik •r: '4 fe ■ THE mM ! i'=f'« m •• 'i^ Ii' li ! 1^1 P »■.:'■..!! M r I? n ■■ '■. J I f''M ■inl ! . .«i' ! ? 1 ■ ;■ |;! I ■ .i'l gg^ ;^^uQg;a9ac:p00O0G'QC0OQ0Q00QQQ^SQC>_g^ THE NATURAL HISTORY OF KAMTSCHATKA. itmvi»M m ! mk\%wm y ^^ PART II. CHAP. I. Of the %0\U 38Cj*^39C P O N • the banks of the river Kamtfchatka is found ?| U |j plenty of roots and berries, which in fome meafure }e(k.ji()eC fupply the want of corn. There is alfo wood fuffi- cient not only for building houfes, but even for fhip-building ; and Mr. Steller is of opinion, that near the head of this river, both fummer and winter corn would grow as well as in any other places in the fame latitude, the foil being deep and rich ; and though fnow falls in very great quantities, yet it thaws early enough, and the fpring is not fo rainy, nor have they fuch damps, there as in many other places. Several tryalsoffum- mer-corn have been adlually made both in the upper and lower OJirog * of Kamtfchatka j in which both barley and oats have fucceeded. At the monaftery of our Lord of Jakutjki^ they have • OJ}rog is a little town fortified with paliifades, where the Ruffian Co/Tacks, and other inhabitants live. I feveral . 'I J '11 '■..I A II I II 1. I, ;i[ i'l t '.'! \I It •■ ( ;' 'I'l i ■ ! Ij I . ' 'i ' 1. , .li 1 •1, • 58 T/v Natural History of fcveral years pad fown fcvcn or eight poods -f of barley, which yielded a crop not only fiifticicnt tor groats and meal for their own ufe, but even enouL;h to fiipply their neighbours, though they are obliged to plough their land with men. All garden ihiff thrives not alike j the moft fucculcnt produce only leaves and llalks. Cabbage and Ictticc never grow to any liead, and the peas continue in flower until late in the harvefl: witliout yielding lb much as pods j but garden roots which are full of iuice, fuch ns turnips and radiflies, grow very well. Thefe tryals, however, were only made upon the banks of the Great River and Awatjiba. Such things as require a hot foil, grow very well every where, but flill bert upon the Kamt/chatka. Upon the Great River I never faw any turnips larger than three or four inches diameter j but upon the Kamtfchatka^ I have feen them four or five times as big. The grafs grows here fo high, and is fo full of fap that one fcarcely fees any thing like it in all the empire of RuJJia ; near the river and lakes, and in the opening of the woods, it rifes to above the height of a man, and fo fait that it may fometimes be mowed thrice in a fummer j fo that few places can be more proper for breeding of cattle ; and although the blades are thick and high, and make but a coarfe fort of hay, yet the cattle are large and 'at, and give plenty of milk both fummer and winter, which I attributed to the richnefs of the foil and the fpring rains. The grafs continues full of juice, even to the beginning of v/inter, which being condenfed by the cold prevents the grafs from turning hard during that feafon. As the grafs is fo high and thick, a great deal of hay may be made upon a fmall fpot ; and the cattle can find food in the fields all the winter. The places where the grafs thus grows are never fo much covered with fnow as the bogs and fwamps, and for this reafon it is difficult to travel over them in the winter. I A pood is a RuJJlm weight of 40 lb, In K A M T S C H A T K A. 5) In other |>laces lying upon the Hallcrn Ocean, cither to the N. or S. of Kdrntfcluitka^ there is no land lit for cuUure ; io^ all that is near the fliore is cither fanily, ftony, or hogi^y, and the banks arc lb narrow, that if the gronnd was g'^iod, y^t theie is not enough for agriculture ; and there are hut very little hrpis of the land about the Pcnfch'injk.i {k:\ anlwcrinci; better, cfpceially for winter-corn, it being all marlhy and b.)ggy. At foine di!- tance from the fea are found woody places which are drv ar.l Iiigh, and appear not improper for corn ; but the fnow which falls in the beginning of the harvcft before the earth is frozcr., and lies generally deep upon thefe places 'til! the middle of Mcv:^ both prevents the fowing of the fummer-corn, and deflroys the winter-corn ; and, becaufe at the thawing of the earth the corn would be blalled by the evening frofls, it is impotlible to low any before the middle of 'Ifunc ; after which time to Augujl arc con- tinual rains, fo that lumctimcs the fun is not leen for i'ourteen days together : this would caufe the corn to grow very high and full of juice; but, for want of warm and dry weather, it would never ripen. Notwithflanding, Mr. Stcllcr thinks, that if the ground was properly prepared, oats and barley might ripen there; but this is much to be doubted, until, at leaft, further tryal can be made ; for I have myfelf feveral times fown barley upon the Great River, and it grew well in thicknefs, height, and flrength of blade 'till the beginning of Auga/i, when, jull: as the ear was putting forth, all of it was dellroycd by the froft. All thefe barren places, not only near the rcnfchinjka fea, but even within the land, appear to be compofcd of earth brought from other parts. This one may difcovei by the different flrata, and perceive how they have encreafed yearly on the banks of the rivers, which arc high, and on the cliffs that are bare. 1 have feen hanging out of the earth, trees which are not to be found in that country, more than itstvi feet deep under the furface. Hence it may be concluded, that all thefe barren, boggy places, where at I 2 prefent •If !' "I t ,1 I I, 11 ; ' ' "I; ■. I I " hi: ■ m Ill 'v 6o TZ't* Natural History of picfcnt arc no woods, but only lluubs, and ftuntcd fallows, and birclic?, were formerly covered witb water, which lias dccrealcd by degrees here, as it has upon the north-cailcrn coall. Below the earth lies a bed of pure ice, extremely hard ; and under that a foft waterilh clay, with gravel ; this continues from the (ca up to the very mountains, and will fuflkiently account for the barrennefs of thefe parts. But, though the land is not every where fit for agriculture, yet fomc places upon th river Kamt/- ibcitka (which have been already mentioned) and along the BiJ}roy river, arc fuflkienl to furnilh with corn, not only the in- habitants, but alfo the neighbouring parts. It is however to be feared, that the burning of the woods, in order to clear the lands, may drive away the fables, who have a particular aver- fion to fmoke : this happened upon the river Lcna^ formerly the bcfl hunting country, but now deferted by thefe animals. The fcarcity of wood is a great inconvenience, both the RuJJmns and natives being obliged to fetch it twenty or thirty verfts with great trouble and lofs of time, for the neceflary ufes of boiling their fait and curing their fifh : and it is very difficult to bring it down in floats, becaufe the current is rapid and fo fhallow, that they can bring only two little bundles on each fide of a fmall fifliing-boat ; otherwife they would obftrudl themfelves in the management of their boat, and thereby run the rifk of being driven upon the rocks, fand-banks, and trunks of trees, where not only their boat and wood, but frequently the people themfelves are lofl. Sometimes the fcarcity of wood is fupplied by fuch as is thrown up by the fea, which the inhabitants gather upon the fliore } but this wood that has been foaked in the water, although they are at great pains to dry it, never burns clear, but fmothers away with a continual fmoke very hurtful to the eyes. At the diflance of 30 or 40 verfls from the fea, and near the heads of the rivers, grow birch-trees, alder, and poplar; of which the people build their houfes and make their boats. But this KAMTSCHATKA. 6i this they bring down with great dilKculty, ufing the method above mtn clonal : (or which reafon a very poor lioufc will cofl here joo rubles and more, and a fmall lilliing-boat five rubles. In otlicr places, where the hills arc nearer the Ihorc, and the water-carriage calier, wood for firing and building is n\uch cheaper. Upon the Bijlroy river, which falls into the Great River below the Bolfcherefjkoi OJlrog^ grows the beft wood that u in thcfc parts ; even the birch-trees are fo large, that captain Spanhcrg built a Hoop with their wood, In which he made fcveral dillant voyages to lea. It is very remarkable, that when this vcffel was launched fhe lay as deep in the water as a vcflel full loaded ; and it was believed, that flic never would be fit to go to Tea, but that the fmalleft loading would fink her. But, when flie was laden, rtie drew very little more water, and few vefiels failed better or lighter, or could go nearer the wind : the reafon of which may be, that as this wood has not fo much rofin, it fucked a greater quantity of water at firf^, but fo foon as its parts were once filled, it then fucked very little more. There is great plenty of wood upon the eaftern coaft of Kamtf- chatka } from the hills down to the very fliore grow very fine birch and alder trees. Beyond the river Jonpanoba, and towards its head, begin the woods which continue to the Kamtfcbatka, Lo- patka^ and along the river Kamtfcbatka to the mouth of the river Ehttki. Up the river, almoil: to its head, grow likewife pines, but not large enough for buildings. About the neck of land which joins the peninfula of Kamtjchatka to the continent, the wood begins again to fail. The changes of the weather and air are commonly in the fol- lowing order : harvefl and winter make up more than one half of the year ; and the fpring and fummer cannot be reckoned above 'M\ ! i' lii^i -;• .ill. ! 1:' .i ,ti; ■'ii': ;!'.■ .- 11 5. li ! ii nl/t'^ liii.i -1.' h if 62 Th' Natural History 0/ above four months : the trees commonly begin to bud about the end oi Jmu', and fomc of them to lofc their leaves in the month of Aiiguft. The winter is moderate and conllant, fo that there arc neitiicr fuch fcvere frofls nor fudden thaws as in Jakufffci. The mer- cury in de V Jflc's thermometer was between 160 and 180 degrees. From the fevere frofls tiiat we had two years following in the montii of ^January ^ it fell to 205 degrees. The month of 'Ja- fiuary is always their coldeft month ; and at that time the mercury was between 171 and 200 degrees. The fpring weather is plealanter than the fummer ; when, although it fometimes rains, yet now and then there are fine clear davs. The fnow lies to the end of May^ which with us is reckoned the lall fpring month. The I'ummer is for the moft part very dKiigreeable weather, rainy and cold * ; the reafon of which is the continual damps from the neighbouring mountains being covered with fhow that never melts. It frequently happens, that for a week or two the fun does not appear : and during all the time that I was there we had never one whole week of fliir weather, never one day fo clear but the mornings were foggy j and there fell, as it were, a fmall drizzling rain, which continued 'till twelve o'clock. From this moiil air and the neighbouring hills it is fo cold, that one can never be without warm cloathing. I never obferved either violent rains or loud thunder j for the rains are fmall, and the thunder refembles fome rumbling noife under the eiirth. The lightning is alfo very weak. In the OJlrog upon the Great River, where the air is warmer, the mercury in the thermometer changed from 130 to 146 degrees ; and by an extraordinary heat, that happened two dif- ferent years in the month of July, it rofe 1 1 8 degrees. * This is to be undcrftood of the country about the Great River and the Ptnfchi»Jka Tea ; in other places the fummer is tolerable, as will be mentioned hereafter. The K A M T S C H A T K A. The inconflancy of the fummer weather not only occafiona the iinfruitfulnefs of the land, but is likevvife a great hindrance to the people in preparing their fiHi agaiijft the winter; fo that, although there is vaft plenty of fifli, they are not able to prepare fo much as to prevent a fcarcity before the winter is over ; nor can they prcferve one fifli out of ten which they hang up to dry, the continual wet breeding worms which confume it; i'o that the filh which the dogs and bears catch themfclves and lay up, fells very dear in the fpring. In the more dirtant places from the fea, and efpecially about the upper KamtJ'chatka OJlrog^ the weather is very different ; \t being fine and clear from the month of April to the middle of 'June. The rains begin after the fummer folfticc, and continue to the end oi Augujl. Deep fnows flill in the winter; but high winds feldom happen, and, when they do, are but of fliort conti- nuance : and although there does not, perhaps, fall more fnow than upon the GreatRiver, yet it is deeper, as it lies lighter. The harveft weather is generally agreeable and clear, except at the end of September, when florms frequently happen. The rivers r.re generally frozen over in the beginning of A^(Jivw3cT ; for their fwift current prevents their freezing in moderate frolls. Upon the PenJ'chinJlia fea the winds are generally in the fpring fouth- fouth-eaft and fouth-wefl: ; in the fummer, wefl ; in the autumn, north and north-eaft ; in the winter before the folftlcc, uncertain ; but after that, to the month of March, the north-eaft and eaft winds prevail. From thcfe winds the fpring and fummer, before the folllice, are generally thick and heavy ; but the weather in the months o^ September^ OBober, February, and March, is more agreeable, and is the time for trade and long journies. In No- vember, December, and January, there is little clear good weather, but heavy fnows and great drifts, which in Siberia they call Pourgami. The eaft and ibuth-eaft winds blow long and moft vio- lently, fometimesfor two days together, and with fuch vehemence, that I , ^Ci-A i': II ^■|ii: i4i:.{i;; 64 Tbe Natural History of that a man cannot ftand upon his feet. Thefe winds, which generally rage the three laft-mentioned months, bring a great quantity of ice upon the fliore of the Lopatka and Awachinjkaya bay, with a multitude of fea-beavers : about this time, therefore, is their bell: feafon for catching thefe animals. The north winds, cither in fummer or winter, bring agreeable clear weather ; but the fouth and fouth-weft winds in fummer are attended with rain, and in winter with fnow. And although the cold is not fo great, yet the air is always heavy and thick, and at fea generally attended with great fogs, as our people, who went upon the American and Japan expedition, experienced : therefore failing in fuch weather is as dangerous as living upon the land is difa- greeable ; and this agreement of the weather of Kamtfchatka with what is found far out at fea is to be attributed not only to neighbouring countries, but likewife to the great and extenlive Southern Ocean. Hence the northern parts of Kamtfchatka^ that are flickered from the fouth wind, are both more fertile and enjoy a better climate ; and the nearer one comes to the Lopatka the moifler and thicker is the air in fummer, and the w inds more violent and of longer duration in winter. It frequently happens, that about the Great River the \^eather is very calm and agree- able, while at the Lopatka the inhabitants cannot ftir out of their huts } becaufe it is a narrow point of land, and expofed to every wind, except in the bay. All along the Pe,:JcbinJka lea, the more northernly any place lies, the lefs rain have they in fummer and wind in winter. The winds and vNeather about the mouth of the Kamtfchatka river, and near to the upper O/lrog^ are very changeable. From the eaft and fouth-eaft they have as violent florms as about the Penfchinjka fea ; but yet, compared with this, the weather is more frequently fair than rainy. The dif- ference between the eaftern and weftern parts of Kamtfchatka is plainly to be feen in travelling from the head of the Biflroy river : for towards the Penfchinjka lea the air appears always thick and hazy, a •M ti ill' : KAMTSCHATKA. 65 IS hazy, the clouds heavy, and always dark ; while Kamtfchatha appears like another world, wl.ere the lund lies higher, and the air is clear and ferene. The fnow lies always deeper upon the Lopatka than upon the northern Ude of Kamtfchatka j fo that, if it be twelve feet in depth about the Lopatka^ upon the Awcitfcba and the Great River it is not fo deep by one third, and at the fame time lies lighter and more equal, by reafon that the winds are not fo high there. About Tegkil and Karaga the fnow is fcldom deeper than a foot and a half : hence the reafon appears why the Kamtjchadaks do not keep rein -deer as well as the Koreki, but depend upon the fifli for their nourifliment, which upon the north-eaft and north-wefl coaft from the Great River is fo fcarce, that unlefs thefc barbarous creatures could digeft every thing they can get down, they would not be able to fupport life; for, though throughout the country of Kamtfchatka there would be food enough for rein-deer, yet the depth of the fnow renders it impofTiblc to maintain a number of them j and what rein-deers we had occafion for in the expedition were never kept here in the winter, the depth of the fnow making it hard for them to dig down to their food. 1 he force of the fun refleded from the fnow In the fpring is fo great, that the inhabitants are as tawny as Indians j nay, they have their eyes fpoiled and blinded thereby ; therefore the natives generally wear covers pierced with fmall holes, or nets of black hair, to leflen the number of rays which would otherwife fall upon their eyes. This i occafioned by the great winds, which drive the fnow io clofe together that it is almofl: as hard and folid as ice, and will not allow the rays of the fun to penetrate, but refledls them with greater force cnon the very delicate and fenfible nerves of the retina than they are able to bear. Mr. Stellcr fays, that necelTity forced him to find out a remedy for the pain and inflammation of the eyes, which generally gave relief \\\ fix K hours' ■I i 9: 3 ill! I 111 66 T&e Natural History of hours' time. It was the white of an egg, with fome camphire ;ind fugar, which he rubbed 'till it foamed upon a pewter plate, then tied it in a handkerchief, and bound it upon the forehead. Tliis he found to fucceed in every inflammation of the eyes. It liails frequently both in fummer and harveft ; but I never iiwv the hail bigger than peafc. It fcldom lightens but f.c the fummci lolllice. The thunder is alfo but feldom heard, and then fccms to be at a great dilliance. VVc have no inftance of any one killed by thunder : the natives fay, indeed, that before the arrival of the RiiJJians they had a great thunder, and fome were killed by it } but this is to be queftioned, fince for fo long a time we have had no inftanccs of it. As to fogs, it is impoffible that there fliould be greater any where than at Kamtfchatka j and it is to be queftioned whether deeper fnows fall any where betu^een l^ and 52 degrees north latitude than here, from the melting of which the rivers fwell fo much as to overflow their banks, and the earth in the fpring is entirely covered with water. The cold in winter is mofl intenfe about the Great River and i\\<:.A-ujatfcba ; but in the lower Kamtfcbatkoi Oftrog it is much wa'mer than in any other place of Siberia in the fame latitude. The greateft inconveniency arifes from the violent winds and florms, concerning which the following remarks may not be im- proper. Before a great wind, which generally comes from the eaft, the air is always thick and dark ; but, as I had not a ther- mometer, I cannot be certain if it is warmer then than at other times. The eaft winds coming from the Lopatka, where are burning moun'uuns and warm fprings, I imagine that they not only arife from the narrownefs of the land, but alfo from fubterraneous fires and v:.pours. With regard to other advantages or difadvantages of this country, one may fay in general, that its greateft riches confift in plenty of good furs and fifli, and its greateft inconveniences in the want of iron and fiilt. The firft they are fupplied with from other |! '■mm\ .l:|;ri(» KAMTSCHATKA. 67 other places, and the fecond by boiling fea water into flilt j but the troublefome diftant carriage of the iron, and the boiling of the fait, are attended with fuch expence and difficulty, that they are both fold at a moft intolerable price. One cannot buy a common ax under two rubles, and a pound of fait cofts four rubles. CHAP. II. 0///;^ VOLCANO'S or BURNING MOUNTAINS. Ti^IERE are three burning mountains in Kamtfcbatka^ the Awiichinjk\\ the 'Tuibatchinjk)\ and the Kamtf- chatka. The Awachinjky mountain ftands upon the north fide of the bay of Awatjcha^ at a good diftan- ^ indeed, but its bottoai reaches to the very bay ; and all the high mountains, near one half of their height, are made up, as it were, of rows of hills fet one upon another, and the top they call the Shat/e^ or tent, which is always naked, but the lower parts are generally covered with wood. Thefe mountains for many years throw out a continual fmoke, but flame only at times. The moft terrible fire hap- pened, as the Kamtjchadaks fay, in the fummer of the year 1737; but this lafted no longer than 24 hours, and con- cluded by throwing out a vaft cloud of afhes, which covered the adjacent parts the depth of a verflioke *. i'-l Ml » A verlhoke is the tV of ^^ Rujfuxn atJbia, which contains 27 inches. K2 After 6S lie Natural History of M 1? m '';...i After this, in Awatfcha and the iflands near the Kuriljkaya Lopatka they felt a terrible earthquake and motion of the waters, which was obferved in the following manner. The earthquake began ab')ut three o'clock in the morning the 6th of Of- tQbci\ xyij, and continued about a quarter of an hour, and many of the Kamtfchatkoi huts and tents were overturned. At the fame time the fea was driven upon the Hiore, and rofe about 2 feet ; immediately after all the water was carried back to a great diftance from the ihore, and then it returned again higher than before, and afterwards retired fo far that one could not fee it from the fliorc. At that time, in the pafllige between the firll: and fecond of the Kuriljki iflands, they obferved cluflers of rocks in the bottom of the fea that had never been i^^w before, altliough they formerly had great earthquakes and extra- ordinary agitations of the fea. A quarter of an hour after this the earthquake returned with mod terrible waves, and the fea overflowed the fliore 2co feet high, which, as formerly, imme- diately retired. This rolling motion continued for a long time, the fea frequently approaching the fliore and departing from it. Before every earthquake a great, heavy, rumbling noife was heard from this overflowing of the fea. The inhabitants were all ruined, and many of them miferably loft their lives. In feveral places the meadows, little hills, and fields, were turned into falt- water lakes. This was not fo violent upon tiie Penjcbinjka fea as upon the Eaflern Ocean ; and the people about the Great River fufl"ered very little. At this time we failed from Ochotjka to the mouth of the Great River j and when we came Oii Ihore the 14th of QSlobet-y the earthquake was flill perceptible, which was famctimes fo flrong that we could not fl:and upon our feet j and this continued to the fpring of the year 1738 : however, it was more upon the Ktiriljkaya Lopatka and the coaft of the Eaflern Ocean than in thofe places that were more remote fiom the fea. The • m ya rs. i' KAMTSCHATKA. 69 The Coflacks of the great river, who were then upon the Kiiriljki iflands, told me, that upon the beginning of the earth- quake they ran with the natives up to the tops of the mountains^ and left all their goods, which were deftroyed, as well as the habitations of the Kuriles. The Tidbatchin/ky mountain ftands upon that neck of land which lies between the rivers Kamtjchatka and 'Tulbatcbik : it has fmoked for many years. In the beginning of the year 1739, for the firll time, it threw out a ball of fire which fet the woods on fire. After this fire-ball arofe a thick cloud, which incrcafing gradually at laft fell down and covered the fnow 50 verfts round with aflies. I was going at this very time from the upper to the lower Kamtfcbatkoi fort, and was obliged to wait a new fall of fnow, as we could not travel upon this footy matter. Nothing extraordinary happened upon this conflagration, except fome fmall fliocks of an earthquake, which were felt both before and after. The great fliock was about the middle of December^ which I felt when I went to the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort from the Great River. Wc were then not far from th^Hrepta, or- Ogidminfky ridge. When we flopped about noon, the difmal found in the v/oods that wc heard at firfl: feemed as an ap- proaching rtorm } but our kettles being thrown from the fire, and we ourfelves rocked in our fledges, v/e were foon convinced of our miitake. This earthquake had only three vibrations, which fucceeded each other at about a minute's diflance. The mountain of Kamtjchatka is higher, not only than the two laft mentioned, but than any other mountain in that part. Two thirds of its height are made up of rows of hills, as I mentioned^ of the Aivachinjky ; the Shatfe^ or top, making alone one third of its height. The circuit round the bottom of the mountain is near 300 verfts. The Shat/e, or top, is very fteep on every fide, and has feveral deep openings lengthways : the very fummit turns rl 1^ »■ ftp -::8|:l 70 The Natural History of m ill; 11 m ;1 I ^H ■I turn:; gniiliully broadcll from the filling in of tlie eartli Into the jnoutli of the Inirnino; gulph. It is fo hii^h, that in a dear day it is to be li-'cn from tlic upper Kinntfciatkoi fort, uiiich is about ^covcrlh ; .■.nclonc cannot ke other mountains, the Inlbdtcb'nijky for inllancc, ahiiouuh tliey arc much nearer. Before a llorm the funimit nppeaih furrouncled with three girdles ; the higiicil leems in brcadih about the iburth part of the lieight of the mountain, from whence arifes a continual thick fmoke. The inhabitants fay, that it throws our alhea twice or thrice yearly, and fometimes in fuch quantiiies, that for 300 verl\s around the earth is covered with them the depth of a veri];oke, I'rom the year 1727 to i-;! the inhabitants obferved that it burnt almofl without interruption, but they were not under lucii apprehenfions as in the iall conriaG;ration in tiic year j-;-'. This terrible conria- gration begun tile 25th of ^r/j/tv/z/'^v, an.i lallcLl one week with iuch violence, that to the people w!io were filhing at iea near the mountain it appeared one rcd-liot rock, and th.c tlamcs, which buril tiirough feveral opening-^ fometimes ihcwcd like rivers of Hre witli a (hocking nolle. Within the mountain were heard thunderings, crackling and blowing like the Ifrongell bel- lows, which (hook all the neighbourins; country : the niirhts were the moil terrible. This conflagration ended as ufual, with throwing out a valt quantity of cinders and afhe-, of wh'ich how- ever litde fell upon tlie land, the whole cloud being almoll carried by the wind to the fea. It throws out porous llones and glafs of different colours, which are frequently found in the brook Bo!ikoiJt\ which rifes out of this mountain. The 2^d of O^ohcr followiiig at the lower Komtfchatkoi fort happeneil Iuch a violent earthquake, that mofl of tlie houfes and llove^ were thrown down, the bells of the churches rang, and the new church, which was built of thick balks of larch wood, was (o much fliaken that th.e joinings of the balks were all loolened. Some (liocks were felt at times until the fpring of the year 173S ; however IgQ^e^ 1/ ^ ■ 'I; f y//' I' /j ////////// f n(>f//f/a/// /f/mf^{) * /l////fAii'///f//vf ) f y/r Ja //'{'/■ t A' {r////,i(/Mt/i/f V/'(f/'f i ^ :-4 j; i! 1, 1,. if It |l ! ^ \ t '■'!:;i„i ,<:. II' 70 Tl'c Natural History of turn:; criailiiallv broadcil from the fillinrr in of the earth Into the mouth of the Inirniivi; ji;ulph. it is lb hif/H/a//f /////////) f yi////f/.U'//////v/ \ ) f y///' roz/u/'f A'/f////.i(VUfm//f /'(f/'f { -^ iwrn^f uffj . IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 M \25 III U. 1 ,.6 '>. .,. '' fliotographic Sciences Corporatioii 23 WBT MAIN STMIT WiBSTH.N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 ** V 4^ f '^ \ ifi.n, W%r> 1 1: f,i -^itm^' .^'■.? ■ V*«4f- t "^ 1 KAMTSCHATKA. 71 however the agitation of the waters was lefs than what had been formerly obfcrvea. The earthquakes are faid to be more violent near a mountain that burns, than near one that has left off burning, or is not quite kindled. Bcfidcs thefe mountains, I heard of two other gulphs where fmoke arifes : one is called 'Joupanojky ; the other, She^elitcbe j but there arc feveral places farther north than the river Kamtjchatka : fome of which emit fmoke, and fomc fire : and there are in the Kuriljki iflands, one upon the Paro- mujir^ and another upon the Alaide -^ concerning which Mr. iitellcr oblcrves, that it is only one hill which burns, not -a whole ridge J all thefe mountains have outwardly the fame appearance, and it is, therefore, probable that their contents are much the fame j that from the external appearance, one may judge of their internal contents, and of their aptnefs to take fire and burn ; and that in all thefe which have fmoked or burned formerly, but have been extinguiflied, lakes are always found j whence he con- cludes, that as thefe were burnt down to the bottom, the waters rufliing through the opened pafi!ages, filled the empty fpace ; and hence an account may alfo be given of the caufe of the hot fprings. There are two hills which have left off burning ; the Apal- Jky, out of which rifes the river Apala ; and the Biloutchinjky^ from which comes the river Bilontchik, At the bottom of this hill is a lake, where vaft numbers of herrings are caught in the months of Mard\ April, and May, ^*i; CHAP. : ,' -'I i If 72 ^e Natural History of CHAP. III. Of fh HOT SPRINGS. I Found the following hot fprings : ift, Upon the river Oferno'i^ which runs out of the Kurilfkoy lake. 2d, Upon the ri- ver Paudche, which falls into the Ofernoi. 3d, Upon the river BaanOy which is reckoned a branch of the Great River. 4th, Near the fort Natchikute. 5th, Near the mouth of the river Shematchinfki. 6th, Near the head of the fame. Thefe waters, which are upon the river Ofernoi^ run in little fprings from the fouth bank ; feme fall diredlly into the river : others keep their courfe parallel to the river, and, joining after at fome diftance, fall together into the Ojenm, Thefe fprings arc not confiderable, nor very hot, only raifing the thermometer {Farenheifs) which in the open air was at 45^ to 145°. The fprings upon the Faiidchc are four verfts and a half dif- tant from the firft, and rife out of the ground, upon the eaft bank of the river in an open high hill which has a plain at the fummitof 350 fathoms* in length, and 300 in breadth. This hill goes in a promontory towards the river, where it makes a a fteep bank ; but on the other fide the delcent is eafy. Several of thefe fprings throw out their waters, like artificial water- works, about a foot, or a foot and a half, high, and with a great noife. Some of them fland in large pools like little lakes, and fend out fmall ftreams, which, joining upon the plain, divide it, as it were, into fo many iflands, and at laft fall in a confiderable ftream into the Paudche. That little lake marked by the letter p is remarkable for having an opening two fathoms deep. • The Ruffian fathom is feven feet. In Hi KAMTSCHATKA. 73 In the ifland are a great many openings, fome very fmall, and others above a foot diameter j but from thefe large openings irtlies no water, though the fmall ones fend out fometimes water and fometimes vapour with a very great force. All thofe places from which formerly iflued out water, may be known by a various coloured clay which is found round them, for this clay is commonly thrown up by the waters Sulphur is alfo found there, efpecially about thofe openings which emit vapours only. Some fprings likewife flow from that ftcep bank which we mentioned, two fathoms or more higher than the river. It is remarkable, that the ftones of which this bank, and perhaps all the hill, is formed, are round, outwardly very dry, but within fo foft that they may be rubbed between the fingers like clay : hence it has been conjectured, that the various coloured clay, which is found about the mouths of the fprings, is nothing but thefe ftones foftened by the moifture and heat. The clay in tafte is four and aftringent ; and if a piece of it, or a ftone, is broken, there appears an efflorefcence of alum, like a mofs, with the co- lours blue, white, red, yellow, green, and black, which are fo mixed as to refemble marble j and when the clay is not quite dry, the colours are pretty bright. Oppofite to the promontory of the hill is an ifland in the river Paudcbe^ where there are likewife fprings of hot water, but fmaller than thofe before mentioned. A more diftindl idea may be had of thefe hot fprings from the fubjoined plan, in which each fpring is marked with a parti- cular letter, withthedifFerent degrees of heat. • ' ' ■ ' - 'I ■ ''M <; , • :^ .1 ■'(•; i;al t •:Pif 74 l^he Natural History of \: ' i!!;. (. hi m A Table of the different degrees of heat which were found in eachfpring^ by De I'llle'j and Farcnheit'i thermometers. Del'Jfle's The lake at the head of the ftrcam f" 80 The eye which is in the corner of that lake 65 The Httle lake into which the ft ream f falls 115 The fpring out of which the ftream i runs 50 The mouth of that ftream where it falls into the lake ■ — 106 Farenheit's 116 134 74 152 87 9S 98 20 188 60 140 80 116 9i 108 10 200 5S 146 80 116 95 98 The mouth of the ftream E where it comes out of the lake — -. — The fpring of the ftream 2 — — — The little lake at the head of the ftream 3 In the fame lake at the mouth of the ftream 3 ■ — Where this ftream joins the ftream 2 — At the head of the ftream N — The mouth of this ftream ■ — The head of the ftream K — "Where this ftream joins the ftream N Where both thefe ftreams fall into the Paudche — — — no 80 De I'ljle's thermometer ftood at this time, in the open air, at 136^, and that of Farenheit's at 49^. The fprings which are upon the river Piaana are not very different from thofe of Paudche. They rife upon both fides of the river ; and as upon the fouth bank there is a high plain, and upon the north a clift^ of rocks, the fprings on the fouth bank fall into the river in little ftreams j but thofe upon the north fide run along the cliff, except one which rifes about 80 fathoms from the reft, and where the cliff" is more diftant from the river, which has a courfe of 40 fathoms. Amongft ■■■1^1 KAMTSCHATKA. 7S Amongft the fprings upon the fouth bank it is to be remarked, that one place is full of openings of very different diameters, where the water is thrown up two feet and a half with a grciJt noife. The thermometer, which in the open air flood at 185 degrees, rofe to 1 5 degrees. The fprings of the Great River fall into it in one confiderable ftream, which runs between flony hills in a narrow channel. The banks are boggy, and the bottom flony, covered with mofs. From its fpring to the place where it falls into the Great River is 26 1 fathoms. At the fpring the mercury rofe in De /' 7/7^'s thermometer to 23, and Farenheit's to 185, degrees; thence to where it falls into the River it grew cooler gradually, fo that at the mouth De I' ]Jle\ thermometer only rofe to 115, and Faretiheit's to 74, degrees ; in the open air the one flood at ly^y and the other at 1 4, degrees. The hot brook, that is near the river Shematche^ and falls into the Eaflern Ocean, is much larger than any of the above- mentioned. At its mouth it is three fathoms broad, and in fome places near four feet deep, and its length is three verfls * and 88 fathoms. It runs between high flony hills with a flrong current : its bottom is a hard flone covered with green mofs, which in flill places fwims upon the furface. Near the banks at its mouth, the beat is like that of fummer water ; and towards the head the grafs and plants upon the banks were green and fome of them flowered in March. In going from this river to the iafl hot fpring that lies upon the river Shematche one mufl pafs a great ridge of hills. Upon the eafl fide of this ridge, near the fummit, is an even plain covered with round grey ftones, without any plants growing upon it. Upon this plain in feveral places a vapour afcends with great force, and a noife refembling the '■n '!f:' \'¥- ■ii • * A Ru0an verft is 500 fathoms, or 3500 feet, L 2 bubbling m~ „i,?| Vi-,v'l 1 , 76 T^^ Natural History 0/* bubbling of water is heard. Here I dug, cxpedting to find water ; but I found a ftratum of fuch hard ftone that we could not dig through it. It is probable that the waters of the warm brook, that falls into the Eaftern Ocean, have their origin from this place, for it is diredlly oppofite to the rife of that brook : and the laft ftream that falls into the river Shematche is likewife thought to derive its fource from the lame place, as it rifes from this ridge, upon the weft fide, in a deep hollow, furrounded with fmoking hills. The very bottom itlelf is full of boiling fprings for near a verft and a half; all which join at laft in one ftream. In this bottom are two large wells, that defcrvc particular notice j one i? five, the other three fathoms' diameter j the firft one and a half, the other one fathom deep. In thefe the water boils up with white bubbles, and makes fuch a noife, that one perfon cannot hear another in the cominon way of fpeakingj nay, fcarcely when he cries aloud. The vapour is fo thick, that one cannot fee a man at feven fathoms* diftance j and the boiling of the water is only to be obferved by lying down upon the ground. The earth between thefe wells yields like a bog, fo that one is in continual fear of finking in. The water of thefe fprings is diftinguiflied from all others by a black matter, like Cbifieje ink, that fwims upon the top, which fticks fo to the fingers that one cannot without difficulty wafti it off. They have, in common with other hot fprings, clay, lime, alum, and fulphur, of various colours. In all the above- mentioned fprings the water is thick, and ftinks like rotten eggs. The KamtJ'chadales efteem all the burning mountains, and places where hot fprings arife, as the habitations of fpirits, and approach them with fear j but, as the latter are the moft dan- gerous, they are under the greateft awe of them j and therefore they never willingly difcover them to any Ruffian ^ left they fhould be obliged to accompany him near them. It was by chance that 1 heard of them after 1 had travelled loo verfts from the ^i : . \n mt i\ KAMTSCHATKA. 77 the place ; but this natural pliainomenon appeared fo curious that I returned to examine it. The people of Shematchinjki village were obliged to declare the true realon why they had not for- merly dilcovcred them, and much againft their will were forced to (hew me the place, but would not go near it : and when they faw that we lay in the water, drank it, and eat things boiled with it, they expedled to fee us perifh immediately ; but when they perceived this did not happen, they told it in the village as an uncommon wonder, and looked uqon us as very extraordinary people, fince even the devils could not hurt us. This is remarkable, that north from the mouth of the river Kamtfchatka^ and weft along the coaft of the river Ofernoi, there are no hot fprings, although it abounds in Pyrites fulphur, iron ore, and ftones that yield alum and vitriol. Mr. Steller obferves, that the appearance of the country of Kamtfchatka^ and the frequent earthquakes there, give reafon to think that it is full of caverns replete with combuftible matter, which taking fire in the bowels of the earth produces earthquakes, and makes thofe vaft alterations of which we fee numerous inftances in rocky fhores being torn off both upon the Beaver fea, and in the iflands which lie between j^Ja and America, The combuftible matter, he tells us, is kindled by the rufliing of the fait water into thofe fubterraneous caverns, through their apertur : ■ owards the fea j which hypothefis is ftrcngthened by his obfc iiion, that eaithquakes are moft frequent about the equinoxes, when the waves of the fea are driven by the great ftorms with uncommon violence upon the fliores; and efpecially about the fpring equinox, at which time the water always rifes higher than at any other : and the inhabitants of Kamtjchatka and the Kuriles know this fo well, that they always fear the beginning of March and the end of September. It is very extraordinary, that no iron has been difcovered here, although fome ore is obferved mixed with clay and earth, to which '4\ (Til ii'lii ,0*. i • !';i, 1 "m liM, ., k!i ;'t 7!! T/je Natural History of which fulphur being added the fubterraneous fires may eafily be accounted for j nor do we yet know of any fait fprings, altliough the narrownefs of the ifthmus of the peninfuU of Kiuntjchatka^ and fo many fubterraneous caverns under the rocky hills which have communication with the fea, (liould give us rcafon to conclude that there mufl: be fome. After the hot fprings wc ought to take notice of the rivers which never freeze. Thcfe are fo common in Kamtfcbatka^ that there is fcarcely one river which has not fome very large openings, even in the moft fevere frofts ; and the plains un- der the hills are fo full of fprings that one cannot go dry any where in the fummer. Thefe fprings, which joining make a little rivulet, and fall into the Kleutchova KamtJ'chatka^ never freeze, and yield fifl; almoft the whole winter, which gives an advantage to the Kleutchova^ as it furnilhes not only the KamtJ- chadaksy but all the people of the Oflrog ot Nijhn'tjhantaljk% with freflififli, vhichis generally efteemed, on account of its fear- city at that time, as a very great delicacy. This may alfo ac- count for the ^^ holefomenefs of all thefe waters, which the in- habitants drink after eating the fatteft fi(h without the leaft harm, although, in other places, cold water drunk upon fat fifli pro- duces the bloody flux. •■■W\' CHAP. (IM , KAMTSCHATKA. 19 m CHAP. IV. 'i-' 'I Of the METALS and MINERALS. ALTHOUGH the pcninfula of Kamtfchatka is hilly, and the ground tuch as might naturally be fuppofcd to produce metals and minerals, efpecially iron and copper, with which Siberia abounds ; yet hitherto little has been dif- covercd. This is no proof that fuch ores are not in Kamtf- chatka ; for, befides that the Kamtfchadalcs are entirely un- experienced, the RuJJiam who live here have as yet given themfelves no trouble in the fearch after metals ; as they have fuch large quantities of iron and copper inftruments brought to them, that they have not only fufficient for themfelves, but are alfo en- abled to furnifh the Kamtjchadaies and Kuriles with them at a very confiderable profit. It is alfo to be confidered, that the providing for their fubfiftance takes up fo much of their time, that they can fpare but little for any thing elfe j and moreover, the places proper for luch tryals are very difficult of accefs : to which it may be added, that the frequent ftorms and general incle- mency of the weather are great hindrances to fuch tryals j efpeci- ally when every neceflary for the undertaking muft be carried upon men's backs, for in the fummer they can carry nothing upon dogs. It is reafonable to prefume that ore might be found in Kamtfchatka^ if it was worth while to fearch for it. Copper ore has been found about the Kuriljkoy lake, and the Ivovoy bay ; and a fandy iron ore upon the banks of the feveral lakes and rivers j whence it is expeded that there is iron ore in the hills from which thefe lakes and rivers rife. Native fulphur is gathered about the rivers Kambalinjkoy and Ofernoi, and the Kronotzkoy cape. The ful- phur r •! ■V, ■'! !• '■:: If ■m i ..: ' So 7he Natural Historv of phiir which they bring from Okntojkl^ where it drops from the rocks, is quite fine and pellucid ; and in the Pyrites upon the coaft it is to be found every where. The following kinds of earih are common. Great quantities of white chalk are found about the Kuriljky lake ; tripoly and okcr about the Great River, and the villages of Nachikin and Koutchtnuhiff ; and a purple-coloured earth about the hot fprings, and fometimes a hard ftony oker. Among the ftones in the mountains are found, but rarely, fmall cherry-coloured chryf- tals J and near the river Chariotts are found pieces of flufle, which is like a coarfe green glafs, of which the inhabitants for- merly made knives, axes, lancets, and darts. It is called by the RuJJian natives glafs, and by the Kamt/chadales^ nanagy. This flufl'e is alfo found in the copper mines about Ecatherinenbourg^ where it is called a topaz. There is likewife here a fort of light fione, white like chalk, of which the inhabitants make plates, and lamps wherein they burn their fiili oil i and every where upon the fliore is found an iron-coloured hard ftone, porous as a fpunge, and eafily turned by the fire. The inhabitants find pellucid ftones near the fprings of the ri- ver, which they ufe inflead of flints. Some of thele ftones are femi-pellucid, whitifli and milky, and reckoned cornelians by \ht RuJJiam. Some fmall pellucid ftones of a yellowifti colour, like corals, are found upon the banks of fevcral rivers j and plenty of hyacinths near Tomjkoy. Hitherto they have difcovered no precious ftones here. The hills are firmer than thofe in Siberia^ and do not fall away like them ; but when the earth falls off they find much lac luna ; and a foft kind of bolus, of a fattifli creamy tafte, is found near the Penfchinjka fca, Kuriljkoy lake, and the Olutorjkoy : this is ufed as an excellent remedy in fluxes. I fent fpecimens of moft of the above things to the Mufeum of the Imperial Academy of St. Peterjbourg. I muft not forget to mention that KAMTSCHATKA. 9t that amber is gathered here, near the Penfchinjka fca, upon the river Teghil^ and farther north. CHAP. V. Of TREES and PLANTS. n: TH E mod ufeful wood is the larch ♦, and the white poplar -j-, which ferves for building their houfes and forts i and they are fit, not only for fuch boats as the inhabitants ufe, but even for the building of fliips. The larch- tree, indeed, only grows upon the river Kamtfchatka^ and fuch other rivers as fall into it : in other places they make ufe of the white poplar. The pine-tree (( and the black poplar | are no where to be found upon the Kamtfchatka ; and the pitch-tree ** only in one place, and there in fmall quantities. Although there be many birch-trees "f-f, yet they make little ufe of them, unlefs in their fledges, having none near their houfes but what are crooked and ufelefs j and it is very troublefome to bring the better fort from the diftance at which it grows. They make great ufe of the birch bark, which they ftrip from the trees while yet green j and cutting it in fmall pieces, like vermicelli, eat it with dried caviar. In the winter, whenever you enter any of their villages, you find the women employed in hacking this green bark with their bone or flone axes. They alfo ferment this bark with the juice or fap of the birch, which makes an agreeable drink. The birches of * Larix. I Populus alba. II Pinus. X Populus nigra. •• Picea. it Bctula. Kamtfcbatka ': III! ,' Ml i • ■■M'^\-}' 1 < ''-.'I t ; ; ■ -'1 i :.m \ *u-i I , *'^*:ia rT'-'c, 82 ^he Natural History of ii i ' W". ' ' :■ srf ]• . Kamlfchatka are much fuller of knots and hard excrefcenccs than thofe of Europe ; but of thefe knots they make very ufeful plates, fpoons, and cups. Mr. Steller obferved, that the white poplar near the fea was quite porous and light, which he attri- buted to the fait water ; that t^ » afhes of this wood, laid out in the open air, turned into a flony fubftance heavy and hard, which, the longer it lies, the harder and heavier it grows. This flone, when broken, fliews fome fpecks of iron in its fubftance. Sallows * and alders -f* are the common fire-wood in Kamtf- chatka. The bark of the fallow is ufed for food, and that of the alder in dying their leather j as fhall be related more at large in another place. They have the tree tchercmough || and the hawthorn \ of two fpecies, one yielding a red, and the other a black fruit; of thefe they lay up a great quantity againft winter : they have like wife the fervicv tree ** in great plenty, whofe fruit is efteemed amongft their m< 1 delicate confedlions. Their principal nourifhmc t is from the nuts of the flantza, which grows every where, be 1 in hills and dales. This (hrub, or tree, is truly of the ceda kind, only it is much lefs j and inftead of growing ftraight, it ;reeps along the ground. Its cones and nuts are not half fo larg as thofe of the cedar : the Kamtf" chadales eat them with the lells. Thefe, as well as the tche- rcmough and the hawthorn bei»ies, are very -.ftringent, Specially if eaten in any quantity. The greateft virtue of thefe nuts is, that they are a good remedy againft the fcurvy, as all our feamen can witnefs : for in the moft feverc fcurvy this is, as one may fay, almofl; their only medicine ; and from the tops of the flantza and cedar was their common drink made, fometimes fermented, at other times drunk warm like tea -, and orders were given by ! ! » Salices. t Alni. Ij Padus foliis annuls. Linn, X Oxyanthus fiuflu rubro ct nigro, ** Soibus, the KAMTSCIIATKA the commanding officer that the kettle with flantza and cedar tops fhouid never be taken from the fire. Red currants, ralberries, and kneflinitza are very rare there, or grow at fiich a diftance from their houfes that no one cares to go in fearch of them. The blackberries of the gimoloft * are of great ufe, being of an agreeable tafte, foniething like new-fermented beer. The bark of this flirub is ufeful in diftilling brandy, giving ftrength and fharpnefs to the fpirit. The juniper -f- grows every where j but they do not ufe the berries, as they lay up great ftore of morofky ||, pianitza :|, brulh- nitza **, klioukva -f-f-, and vodinitza |||| : and when they have great plenty of thefe berries they not only ufe them as confedts, but diftil brandy from them, except from klioukva and vodinitza, which yield no fpirit. Mr. Steller writes, that the vodinitza is no bad remedy for the fcurvy j and the inhabitants dye any old cloaths with it that have loft their colour, to which it gives a cherry-colour. Some boil it up with train-oil and alum, and dye the beaver and coarfe fables with it well enough to deceive the unwary or ignorant. In many places they content themfelves with roots and herbs, and make them fupply not only their want of bread, but of fi(h alfo. The principal of thefe is the faranne, which ferves inftead of groats. It belongs to the clafs of the lillies %X-y but as this fort is never feen any where but in Ochotjkoy and Kamtfchatka^ I fhall give a defcription of it. It grows about half a foot high j has a flalk near the thicknefs of a fwan's quill, red below and green above. Its leaves grow in two ■4^ ■'.V. >. il :i: ♦ Loniccra pedunculis blflorio, floribiis infundibuli formis, bacca folitaria, ob> longa, angubra. Gmel. flor. Sib. t Juniperus. n ChamemorusRAu Syti. X Vaccinium Spec. 2. Linn. Bilberry. •• Vaccinium Bilberry Spec. 3. Linn. ■\\ Vaccinium Red Crowbcrry Spec. 4. i!|| Empetrum. XX Lillium fiore atro rubente. I I M2 rows i :; I. m ^ m 84 Hoe Natural History of 11. • 1). iV . t ' rows upon the ftalk j the lower row having three leaves, and the upper four, placed crofsways : the form of the leaves is oval. Sometimes above the fecond row one leaf grows juft under the flower. Upon the uppermoft part of the ftalk grows one dark cherry-coloured flower, rarely two, fomething lefs than that of the common lilly j and this is divided into fix equal parts. The pointal in the center of the flower is triangular, at the top flat, and in three diflferent cells contains flat reddifli feeds. Round the pointal are fix white ftamina with yellow heads. Its root, which is properly the faranne, is about the bignefs of a root of garlick, made up of many little cloves, whence it acquires a round form. It bloffoms in June, at which time one can fee no other flower over the whole fields. The natives oi Kamtfc hatha, and the wives of the RtiJJian CoflFdcks, dig up the roots in the harveft, or take them out of the nefts of the field-mice, dry them in the fun, and fell them for five or fix rubles the pood. The faranne half boiled, and beat up with brambleberries, cranberries, or fuch other of this kind, makes one of the mod agree- able confedtions, being of a fliarp fweetnefsj and if one had enough for every day's ufe, the want of bread would be tolerably well fupplied. Mr. Steller reckons five fpecies of this plant : ifl:. the kimtchiga, which grows near Tegbil and Harioujkovoy , in appearance like a large fugar-pea, and if boiled taftes much the fame j but neither he nor I ever faw this plant in bloflbm : 2dly, the round faranne, which I have defcribed above. 3dly, ovfenka *, which grows every where in Siberia, being roots of red lillies, whofe flowers are all turned up in curls j the bulb is compofed of an infinite number of fmall cloves : 4thly, titichpa, * Liliutn radice tunicata, foliis fpaiiis, floribus reflezis, corallis revolutis. Hor. Sib. Gmel. ! 1 ' which \ M KAMTSCHATKA. 85 which grows upon the Great River ; but neither he nor I ever faw this in the flower : 5thly, matifta fladka trava *, or the fweet plant, is as ufeful in their oeconomy as the faranne ; for the Kamtfchaetales ufe this not only as a confedlion in tarts and broths, but in all their fuperftitious ceremonies this is abfo- lutely neceflary. The Ruffians were no fooner fettled there, than they found that brandy was to be diftilled from it ; and at prefent this is the only brandy that is publickly fold. The root of this herb is without ycUowifli, within, white j and of a bitter, fpicy tafte. The ftem is fle(hy, of three or four joints, and about a man's height. Its flower is a reddifli green, with fhort white hairs, longeft near the root. The leaves upon the ftem neareft the root are five or fix, and fometimes even ten : they grow upon thick, round, flefhy, green, rough ftalks, marked with little red fpots. Upon the main ftem, at every joint, arifes one fuch leaf, but without a ftalk. The flowers are fmali and white, like fennel, or other herbs of that fort 3 and confift of five leaves, of which the innermoft are largeft, and the outward finalleft. It has two ovaria upon every flower, upon fhort fmall necks j and round them are five white ftamina with green points, which rife higher than the flower. The flowers, taken all together, refemble a plate j while the ftalks which fupport the umbella are longeft without, and in the middle ftiorteft : ftalks arife from every joint, upon which are flowers. This plant abounds every where in Kamtfchatka^ and the inha- bitants gather and prepare it in this manner : they cut off the ftalks of the leaves which grow neareft the root, and with a fliell '■ ''1 i. )- J i.!:-i-( •i m J ■ * * Sphondylium foliolis pinnatifidia. Linn. Cliff. fcrape : ! 1 ' .'. : .'"1 "ii j%: ,•> 'i\'\ m ii \il\ ; 86 TJbe Natural History of fcivnc off the flvin ; anti tlicn bind np ten ftalks together. Vv'lieii it begins to fmell a little, then they put it in a bag to ivveeten ; where it yields a fwect dwft, which perhaps Ivveats out Irom the pith of the plant. This hcrb-fugar, as they call it, has fomething the tafte of liquorice, and is not very pleafant. A pood of the plant does not alford above a quarter of a pound of tliis dart:. The women, when they gather this, muft wear gloves ; for the juice is fo (linrp or cauflic, than whenever it falls upon the flefli it raifes fwcllingr. and blifters. For this reafon, when in the fpring the Rujjiam cat it frefli, they only bite it with their teeth, taking care not to touch it with their lips. 1 have ittn inftances of ibme that were unacquainted with this, who raihly chewed it as they would do any other herb \ upon which, not only their lips, but their chin^ nofe, and cheeks, and alfo wherever the juice of this plant had touched, was immediately fwelled up and full of blifters j and although thele burft, yet the fwelling continued for a whole week. The manner of diftilling fpirits from it is as follows: — They lay feveral bundles of this plant in a fmall vefiel, upon which they pour hot water j and to make it ferment, they put in fome berries of honey-fuckle or cranberries, and binding the veffel clofe up fet it in a warm place, where they leave it until the liquor ceafes to make a noife j for during the time of fermentation, it cracks and bounces fo much as to make the veffel (hake. In the fame manner they prepare more wort in a large veffel, and add to this, which now generally ferments in 24 hours, as above. They throw both the fermented herbs and liquor into the kettle, and cover it clofe with a wooden cover ; and infl:ead of a pipe they take the barrel of a gun. The firrt: running is as ftrong as brandy j which, if they diflil a fecond time, produces a fpirit fo flrong that it confumes even iron. But it is K A M T S C II A T K A. 87 IS only the richer fort of people that ufe this brandy j and what they fell is only the firft running, which makes a very good dram. Two pood of herbs generally render one vedro * of the firft running, and the pood cofts four rubles or more. The herbs that remain in the ftill after drawing off all the fpirit, are made ufe of as a yeft, inftead of berries, to ferment other infufions or wort J and what they cannot ufe thus the cattle eat verv greedily^ and it fattens them much. It is remarkable ihat brandy diftilled from the plants from which the fkin has not been clean fcraped, it caufes melancholy and perturbation of mind. Mr Steller made the following remarks upon this brandy: ift, that it is very piercing, and contains a good deal of a fliarp acid, which co- agulates the blood and makes it black : 2dly, that a fmall quantity of it makes people drunk and quite fenfelcfs, and caufes their faces to turn black : 3dly, that if a perfon drinks a few drams of it, he is plagued the whole night with difagreeable dreams, and next day is uncafy and difturbed as if terrified with the apprehcnfion of the greateft misfortune : and, what is very extraordinary, he has feen fome people the day after they have been drunk with this fpirit, from one draught of cold water, become again fo drunk that they could not ftand upon their feet. They wet their hair with the juice, which they fqueeze out of this herb in the fpring, as a prefervative againft lice, and find it to be their only relief Many of the Kamtfchadales^ who defire to have children, will not eat this herb, green or dry, imagining that it impairs the generative faculties. The herb kipri-f, which grows in all Europe and A/ia, has the third place in the food of the Kamtfchadaks. They 141 inn 'X"', I * Vedro is a RuJJlan liquid meafure containing 25 pints. <^ Epilobium. Linn. Succ. Spec. i. French willow*. boil I ( 1^1 I ! "1 ., 1 h !,l ij I'! : ft P m .1 il « S8 The Natural History of boil it with their fidi, and ufe the leaves as tea ; but the greatefl: life is made of its pith, which, after having fplit the ftalks, they fcrapc out with (hells, and, tied up in bundles, dry it in the fun. It is then very plcafant, and in tafte refembles dried Perfian cucumbers. The Kamtfchadaks ufe it in leveral diflies, and ferve it up green as a defert. The kipri boiled gives a thick fweet wort, that makes the beft quafle * imaginable : it alfo affords them a very ftrong vinegar, if to fix pounds of the kipri they add a pound of the fweet herb of fphondilium, and ferment it in the ufual way : they get a great deal more brandy, when they ufe the infufion of the kipri, inftead of water, to prepare the fweet herb for diftillation. They cure the navels of their children with this herb, chewing it, and laying it upon the part. They grind the roots and flalks, and ufe them inftead of green tea, to which the flavour has fome refemblance. The fame ufe the Kuriles make of another Ihrub -f-, which has flowers like the ft raw berry, only yellow, and produces, no berries. This is called Kuriljkoy tea, and has great virtue in fluxes and gripes. The wild garlick || is not only ufeful in the kitchen, but alfo in medicine. Both the RuJJiam and Kamtfchadaks gather great quantities, which they cut and dry in the fun for their winter provifion ; at which time boiling it in water they ferment it & little, and ufe it as an herb foup, which they CdWjJjami. They efteem the wild garlick fo efiicacious a remedy againft the fcurvy, that they think themfelves in no danger fo foon as it begins to • <^affe is a ^«^<»» drink made of rye- t Potentilla caule fruflicofa. Linn. Cliff. malt, and flower, and very little fermented. |[ Allium foliis radlcalibus petiolatis flo- Sometimes they add mint to it, and it makes ribus nmbellatis . G m e l . ilor. Sib. torn, i . no difagreeable drink. p. 49. fhew K A M T S C II A T K A. 89 fhew itfelf under the fnow : and I have heard an extraordinary account of its virtues from the Coffacks that w^ere employed with captain Spanberg in building the Hoop Gabriel : they were fo ill with the fcurvy, that fcarce any were able to work, or even to walk, fo long as the ground was covered with fnow j but as foon as the high lands began to appear green, and the wild garlick to fprout out, the Coffacks fed upon it greedily. Upon their firfl; eating it, they were covered over with fcabs in fuch a manner, that the captain believed they were all infedted with the venereal difeafe. In about a fortnight, thefe fcabs fell off, and they were perfectly recovered of the fcurvy. We muft reckon amongft the food of the Kamtfchadales the fhelmina *, and the morkovai -f*, which is the flalk of a plant that is hollow and juicy, fuch as the angelica. The (helmina is a fpecies of the ulmaria. Its root is blackilh without, and white within : it fends out from one root two or three ftalks about a man's height j which, near the root, arc about a finger thick, but above, fomewhat thinner. The leaves flioot out fiom long branches which grow all over the ftalk. Their upper part is green and fmooth -, and their lower rough, with high reddifh veins. Where the branch fprings from the root there are two leaves like thofe above delcribed, but fomewhat lefs. The ftalk is triangular, reddifli, hard, and rough. At the top of the plant is a flower refembling that of the fervice-tree. It has four oval piftils, flattened in the fides, with downy edges ; in each of which are contained two longifti feeds. They are furrounded by ten white ftamina, rifing above the flower j the anthera being likewife white. It flowers about the middle of Jufyy and the feeds are ripe about the middle of Auguji. The root, ftalks, and a;*- ^1 W' * Uimaria frufllbus hifpidis. Steller. f Chzreoptrylum feminibus levibus nitidis, petiolis ramiferis fimplicibus. Linn. Cliff, p. ioi. N leaves .^,-iJ 1 II. 90 fHfe Natural History of leaves of this plant are very aftringent : both the Ruffians and Knmtfchailaks eat it in the fpring. They prcferve the root for winter, which they ftamp and boil for a gruel. It has fome re- femblancc in tafte to the Piftacho nut. The morkovai poufliki, or carrot bunches, arc fo called be- caufe they are like carrots in their leaf as well as in tafte. They likewife eat this green in the fpring, but they oftener four it like four crout, or make a liquor vith it. The kotkonia * grows upon the banks of the rivers of Kamtfchatka in great plenty. Its root is about the thick- nefs of one's finger, bitter and aftringent, black without, and white within. Sometimes five, but always more than two ftalks arife from this root, about ten inches high, of the thicknefs of a goofe-quill, and of a yellowifli-green colour. At the top are three oval leaves Ipread like a ftar, from the middle of which rifes a ftalk half an inch high, which fupports the flower. The cup of the flower confifts of three oblong green leaves, and the flower itfelf of as many white ones. In the middle of the flower is the piftil, of fix fides, a yellow colour, with a red top : it contains three cells, and is furrounded with fix equal yellow-coloured ftamina j the anthera is alfo yellow. When the piftil is ripe it is as big as a walnut, is foft, flefhy, and of an agreeable tafte, like a pleafant apple. It flowers about the middle of May. The Kamtjchadales eat the root of this plant both frefh and dried, with caviar j but the fruit muft be eaten as foon as gathered, for it is fo delicate that it fpoils if it be kept one night. The ikoumeij:, or biftort, grows in plenty both on the hills and in the vallies. The Kamtjchadales eat it frefli or dried, and ii , l Pi * Tradefcantia fru£lu moUi eduli. X Biflorta foliis ovatis oblongis acuminatis. Linn. Cliff*. pounded M KAMTSCHATKA. 91 pounded with caviar. It is far from being To aftringent as that in Europe^ is juicy, and taftes like a nut. Utchichlcy •!• is a plant that has leaves like hemp, but flowers like the ragwort. When the leaves are dried, and boiled with fifh, they make the broth taftc as if the flefli of the wild goat was boiled in it. The root called here mitoui, and at Jaktttjki fardan, they fry in the fat of fifli, or fcals, and cfteem it a delicate diQi. Thefe are the principal plants which they make ufe of in their kitchens ; however there is a great number of others, and alfo of plants thrown out by the fea, which the Kamffchadaks eat both frefli and dry in the winter : for, as Mr. Steller obferves, they refufe nothing, but eat every thing they can get down, even the driefl: plants and naftieft rotten mufliroons, although one would imagine the confequence dangerous, as indeed it fometimcs happens. However, he tells us the natives have obtained fuch a knowledge of plants, and of their ule both in food and medicine, that he is furprifed j and that one fhall not find fo much knowledge of this fort among any barbarous nation, nor even, perhaps, amongfl: the moft civilized. They give a name to every one of their plants, and know all their proper- ties, and the different degrees of virtue which they derive from the various foils and expolitions in which they grow ; and fo accurate are they in thefe diftindtions, and alfo in the proper time of gathering the feveral fruits and other produce, that it is truly wonderful. Hence the Kamtfchadaks have this advan- tage above other people, that they can find food and medicine every where ; and, by their knowledge and experience, are in little danger from the noxious plants. i" i:i .V- II '• i' t Jacobca foliis cannabis. Steller. N 2 Amon^ift AS^ tym 92 The Natural History of .\\^h •J i. '■• Amongft the medicinal plants we muft mention the fol- lowing : I ft, Kailoun, a plant which grows in all the fwamps near the rivers. The inhabitants ufc this as a cataplafm in all boils to make them fuppurate ; and taken in deco■: 108 T/je Natural History of in the grcateft ftorm, when a man cannot fee the path, nor even keep his eyes open, they very feldom mifs their way ; and if they fliould, they go from one fide to the other, 'till by the fmell they find it again : and when it is abfolutcly impoflible to travel at all, which often happens, then the dogs lying round their mafter defend him from all danger. Tiicy alio give cer- tain figns of an approaching ftorm j for, when they ftop, if they fcrape the fnow with their feet, it is advifeable, without lofs of time, to look out for fome village, or other place of fafety. And, it is faid, the dogs here fcrve inftead of Iheep, becaufe their fkins are ufed for cloaths ; particularly thofc of the wliite dogs, with which all their, different forts of gar- ments are trimcd. The number of dogs they put to a fledge, how they break them, and what weight they carry, fliall be mentioned here- after, when we come to defcribe the manner of travelling with, dogs. Thofe which are bred up to hunt the deer and wild rams, fables, foxes, and the like, are fometimes fed with jackdaws, which, it is obferved, make their fcent the ftronger for finding out birds and wild beafts. Befides dogs, they have here cows and horfes, but no other domeftic animals. There is no fit place to feed fheep on, either upon the Eaflern Ocean, or the fea of Pengine j for the wet weather and the flrong juicy grafs would foon rot and deftroy them. Near the upper Ojirog^ and upon the river Kofireff^ fheep thrive ; the weather being fairer, and grafs lefs watry j but then there mufl be a good provifion of hay made for them againft the winter, the fnow being too deep for them to find their food in the fields ; for which reafon, from the mouth of the rivei Ilga to Jakutjki, very few fheep are kept. ■v\ ,. -I CHAP. KAMTSCHATKA. 109 rl CHAP. VII. Cy //;^ V I T I M S K Y S A B L E S, and the Method of hunting them. It* ' : I, ALTHOUGH the fable-hunting of Vitmjky does not properly belong to the defcription of Kamtfchatka^ yet as in treating of the latter we have had occafion to men- tion the fiiblo, I thought it might not be amifs to give an ac- count of tiio various methods of this chace in different places. The Kamtfchadales do not ftir out for a fortnight or more after a piece of ill-luck, or having hunted one day without game j but the Vitmjky hunters fpend almoft the whole year in conti- nual toil, and are very happy, if, in that time, they catch ten fables for each man in company. It is true indeed, that ten com- mon Vitimjky fables are equal to forty of Kamtfchatha: but, notwithftanding, if the inhabitants oi Kamtfchatka would take the fame pains as thofe of Vitimjky^ they might exceed them in the profits of hunting j for fables are as numerous in Kamtf- cbatka as fquirrels are upon the river Lena. The Vitimjky hunt- ing is the more remarkable for being fubjedt to many rigorous laws and fuperftitious obfervations, which the hunters bind themfelves to obfervc. Before Siberia was conquered by the RidJJians, it abounded with fables ; but, at prefent, wherever the RuJJiam are fettled, none can be catched j for fables retire at a diftance from all inhabited places, and live in defolate woods and mountains. The fable hunters go up by the river Vitime and the two rivers Mama, which fall into that river, as far as to the lake Oronne^ which is upon the right hand, as high and higher than the great catarad, where the beft hunting is. The fineft fables are caught upon .i ■I . ■ ( I * 1 1 U 1 lO I'k Natural History of \> I ■'<' m. upon the little river Kuiomah\ which falls into tlie river Vitime^ upon the right hand above the cataradl and mouths of the lower Mama and the brook. Petrova. Lower than thefe places the fables are confiderably worfej and all the hunters agree that nearer the heads of the rivers the fables are better, and nearer \he mouths ftill worfe. The fables live in holes, like other animals of their kind j fuch as martins, weafles, and ermines. The hunters ajfo relate, that they build them,felves nefts upon the trees with rods and grafs ; that they fom?times lie in their nefts and fometimes in their holes ; that in fummer as well as in winter they lie about twelve hours in their holes or nefts, and in tlie^ other twelve they go about to feek their food. \n the fummer time, before the berries are ripe, they feed upon weafels, ermines, or fquirrels, but chiefly upon hares j and in the winter upon birds. When the berries rip?n, they eat cranberries and hurtleberries, but principally thofe of the fervice-tree, which caufes them to itch and rub thecqfelves again ft the trees, by which they wear off the hair from their fides. Hence it happens, when the fervice-berries are v^ry plei;iT tiful, that the hunters lofe their labour. The fables bring forth their young in their holes or nefts, about the end of March or the beginning of April ; a,n.d have from three to five at a time, whigh they give fuck to from four to fix weeks. They never hunt fables but in winter, for in the fpi:ing they caft their hair ; which in the fummer is v^rv fliort, and even in the harveft does not come to perfedion. Such fables aie calle4 nedajbbili j that is, imperfed fables j and fell at a low price. The fable-hunters, both Riiffiam and natives, begin to fet out for hunting about the end of Auguji. Some RuJJiam go themfelves, and others hire people to hunt for them, giving them proper cloaths and inftruments for hunting, and provifions for the time of their being out. When they return from the chace KAMTSCHATKA. III chace they give their maflers all their game, and reftore them likewife all that they received, except their provifions. A company, that agrees to hunt together, aflembles from fix to forty men, though formerly there were fometimes even fifty. They provide a fmall boat for every three or four men, which they cover over -, and take with them fuch perfons as underftand the language of the people amongft whom they go to hunt, and likewife the places propereft for hunting. Thefe perfons they maintain at the publick charge, and give them Befides an equal fliare of the game. In the above-mentioned boats every hunter lays 30 poods of rye*flower, of wheat-flower one pood, of fait one pood, and of groats a quarter of a pood. Every two men muft have a net, a dog, and feven pood of provifions for the dog, a bed and co- vering, a veffel for preparing their bread, and a veflel to hold leaven. They carry out very few fire-arms, as they only ufe them in the harveft, while they live in their huts. The above-mentioned boats they draw againft the ftream of the Vitime^ and out of the Vitime up the river Mama^ or as far up as the lake Oronne^ where they build huts for themfelves if they find none ready. Here they all afifemble, and live until the river be frozen over. In the mean time they chufe for their chief leader one who has been ofieneft upon thefe expeditions j and to his orders they profefs an entire obedience. He divides the company into feveral fmall parties, and names a leader to each, except his own, which he himfelf direds : he alfo appoints the places where each party muft hunt. As foon as the feafbn begins, this divifion into fmall parties is unalterable, even al- though the whole company fhould confift only of eight or ten, for they never all go towards the fame place. When their leaders have given them their orders, every fmall company digs pits upon that road which they muft go. In thefe pits they lay up for every two men three bags of flower againft their return, when they ' li •Sh ill V p. v.. "i ?i 112 Tk Natural History of 1- ;:. .JI thofe made of timber, in that they are much lighter and go ivvifter. Of the feals' fat both Rujjians and Kamtjchadaki make candies j and befidcs the natives efteem it fuch a delicacy that they can have no fcafl: without it. The flefh they boil or dry ill the fun ; but if there arc great quantities, they fmokc or bake it in tile following manner : They dig a large pit in proportion to the quantity of flefh or fat, and pave the bottom with (tones. Then they fill it with wood and light it below, continuing to add fuel until it be as hot as any oven. After which they take out all the afhes, then lay at the bottom a layer of green poplar wood, upon this another of feals* flefli or fat, each feparately j and thus alternately wood and flerti until the pit be quite full. They then cover it with grafs and earth, to keep in the heat j and after fome hours they uncover it, take out 'the fat and flefli, and lay it up for the winter. Both flefli and fat thus prepared is much more delicate than what is boiled j befides, it keeps without fpoiling for a whole year. When they have picked all the flefli from the heads of the feals they (hew them all the refped that they would to a particular friend that vifits them. I faw this ceremony in the year 1 740 at the little fort of Krodakighe^ which fl:ands upon a river of the fame name that falls into the Eaftern Ocean. It was performed in the following manner : They brought in the flcuU or head of a feai, bound round with the fweet grafs, and placed it upon the floor. Then a Kamtfchadale entered with a bag filled with the fweet herbs and others, particularly a good deal of birch bark, and placed it near the head j upon which two other Kamtfchadales rolled in a great fl:one, and fet it oppofite to the entry of the hut, about which they laid feveral ftones j and two others tore the fweet herb, and made it into fmall bunches. The great ftone was to fignify the ica, the fmaller the waves, and the bunches of the fweet herb the fealb. This being done, they took three difhes of caviar mixed with kipi*;, hurtleberries, and feals' fat :« ■ '^ KAMTSCHATKA 119 fat. This they fqueezed into balls, in the middle of which they prcfled the fweet herbs which were made to reprefent the feals : out of the birch bark they made little boats, which they filled with thefe balls made as above, and covered them with herbs. After fome time they took thefe boats and balls and tofled them to and fro over the flones as if over waves, that the other feals might fee with what refped the Kamtfchadales treated their friends, and confequently might the more willingly fall into their hands. After this they placed the feals made of the fweet herbs near to the great ftone, or fea, and all went out of the hut j but one old man, after he had fet upon the threfliold a fmall difli with their broth which he had carried behind them, entered into it again, all the affiftants crying aloud four times the word Ltgmuleghe. They could not tell what this term meant ; nor could they give any other reafon for their fo crying out, but that their fathers did fo. After this they again rolled the birch boats upon the flones j and going again out of the hut cried, as before, Kouneoufloite aloulaighe ; that is, May the wind blow towards the fhore. For while this wind blows a great deal of ice is driven towards the land, which is favourable for their killing the fea animals. Re- turning into their huts, they rolled their birch boats a third time over the flones. They then put the fkulls of the feals into a bag, and every fifher prefent put in alfb a little of the fweet grafs, with his name and fome particular fentence ; that the feals might know how they had entertained them, and what valuable prefents they had made them. Having, as they thought, by their entertainment and prefents,. fhewn all refpedls to their guefts, they brought them out to the flair-head, where an old man put ftill fome more of their gruel into the bag, defiring them to carry that to their friends that had been drowned at fea. Then two Kamtjchadales who had been' principally employed in this entertainment, took the bowls that were li;. I i ■ 'I,-' 1'- \ *'i .? m 120 T'/'^ Natural History of were filled with gruel and the fcals made of grafs, and gave one to each fiflier. They then went all out of the hut, and cried Ui'nic i a word they ufe in calling to one another when they go to kill the feals or other fea animals. Then taking out the feals made of grafs they threw them into the fire, praying them to make them frequent vifitsj after which, returning into the hut, tliey put out the fire, and eat the gruel that was in the bowls. The fea horfe is but feldom feen about Kamtfchatka^ and then only ill the mod northernly places. The moft are caught near the cape of Tchukotjkot ^ being both larger and more numerous there than any where elfe. Their teeth are what we commonly call filli-bone, the price of which depends upon their largenefs or weight : the deareft are thofe that are about twenty pounds j but thefe are feldom met with, or even fuch as weigh ten or twelve pounds, the common weight being five or fix pounds. The fea lion * and cat, in their ufual ftrudture, difl'er very little from the fea horfe and fea calf, and are therefore to be reckoned of the fame kind. Some call the fea lions fea horfes, becaufe they have manes. In their fliape they are like the fea calf j and their necks are bare, excepting a fmall mane of hard curled hairs : the reft of their body is covered with a chefnut-coloured hair. They have a middle-fized head, fliort ears, a fiiout fliort and drawn up like a pug dog's, great teeth, and webbed feet. They are found moft frequently about rocky fhores or rocks in the fea, upon which they climb very high, in great numbers. They roar in a ftran^^e, frightful manner, much louder than the fea calf j and they are thus far of ufe to people at fea, that in foggy weather, by their roaring, they warn them of rocks or iflands being near, as few rocks or iflands in this part of the world are without thefe animals. , * Leo marinus. Stellbr. Although J KAMTSCHATKA. 121 Although in appearance and fize this animal feems to be very dangerous, and marches with fuch a fierce mien that he looks like a true lion, yet is he fuch a coward, that at the fight of a man he hurries into the water j and when he is furprifed afleep, and awakened either by a loud cry or blows with a club, he is in fuch fear and confufion, that in running away he falls down, all his joints quaking with terror j but, when he finds no poflibi- lity of efcaping, he will then attack his enemy with the greatcft ficrcencfs, fhaking his head and roaring very terribly j and uien the boldeft muft feek to fave himfelf from his rage. For this reafon the Kamtfchadales feldom kill the fea lions at fea, unlefs when they can furprife them fleeping there, but generally upon land } and when they find them afleep on fliore they approach them with great caution, going againft the wind. But none dare undertake tiiis game, but fuch as can truft to their ftrength or their heels. Stealing upon them, they ftrike a knife into their breaft under their fore paw j the afliftants in the mean time tying a cord made of fea calf 's fkin, which is faftened to the knife, about a flake. Then every one runs off as faft as he can, and endeavours at a diftance to wound him with arrows, or knives, which they dart at him j and at laft, when his ftrength is quite wafted, they difpatch him with clubs. When they find them afleep at fea, they (hoot poifoned arrows at them, and get off as faft as poflible. The wounded animal, unable to fuffer the pain arifing from the fiilt water in the poi- foned wound, runs himlclf afliore, where they kill him outright with darts or arrows j or if the place is not fafc for fuch an attack, they wait until he dies of his firft wound, which follows in 24 hours. This game is fo honourable among the natives, that the man who has killed moft of thefe hearts is efteemed the greateft hero : for this reafon many engage in this dangerous hunting, not only for the flefli, which is looked upon as very delicate, but rather for the honour that attends it. Two or R three 4 m ■.:i.. ..'*!) t\ 12 TK' Natural History of n-a. r^- !• .. three lla lions arc a great load for their boats j and, as it is cilccnud diihonoural'lc to leave any game which they have caught, thty foir.ctlincs {^t ovcrkxid their boats, that, though they aic very expert in the management of them, they and their g:mic go to the bottom together. In thefe veflels tiny go to the defcrt illand Aliiil\ which lies out at fea about tliirty miles, and are fomctimes carried four, five, and even eiglit days without feeing any land, expofcd to the cold of thefe climates ; and without any compafs, they return to their habi- tations by obferving the fun or moon. Of tlie ll;ins of the fea lion they make cords, flioe-foles, and flices. The female has two, three, and (omeiimcs four young ones. They couple in the months of Augufl or September j and are pregnant about ten months, as they generally bring forth their young about the beginning of y«/y. The male treats the female with grcu. tendernefs, not Hkc the fea cat, but by fondnefs endeavours to gain her afi^cdion. Both male and female feem to take very little care of their young, frequently ftifling them under their paws as they fuck ; nor do they fliew any concern at feeing them killed before their eyes. The young are not lively nor full of play, like mofl: other young animals, but are almoft continually afleep. Towards the evening the male and female fwim out to fea with their brood, but not far from the fliorc. The young climb upon the mother's back, and reft themfelves ; the male in the mean time playing about tofles the lazy puppies into the water, to oblige them to learn to fwim. Some of them have been thrown into the fea, but inftead of fwimming away they haften again to land. They are twice as large as the young of the fea cat. Although thefe animals naturally run from a man, yet it has been obfcrved that they arc not always fo wild j particularly when their young have fcarcely learned to fwim. Mr. Steller lived fix days in a high place amongfl: whole herds of them, and out of his hut faw feveral W ■ '4 K A M T S C II A T Iv A. 12' feveral of tlicir jKf^ioiT:. Tlie animals lay arouiul him, fccming to oblcrve his fire aiui what he was cmployci' bout -, and never ran away, although he even went amongll them, and fSi/xd Ibme of their young for his diflc(itions, but remained quite at their eale. They went about and quarrelled for their millrels without being difturbed by his prefence; and one mile fougl. - three day* for a female, and was wounded in more than a hundred plaecs. The fea cats never take any part in their quarrels, but endeavour to get out of the way as fiir as they can^ giving place to them j nay, they never hinder the puppies of the fea lion from playing with them, taking all care not to hurt them in the leaft : but the fea cats Hiun the company of the fea lions as much as pofllble. The old hearts arc grey about the head, and certainly live to a great age. They fcratch their head and ears with their hinder paw, as the fea cats do ; and their manner of ftanding, going, lying, and fwimming, is the fame. The great ones low like an ox, and the young bleat like Iheep : the old ones lend forth a liinking fmell, but not fo much as the fea cat. In winter and fummer they do not always live indifferently upon all places, but feem to have their Nations proper for the feafon. They arc never found further north than 56*^, although in great plenty about Kamtfchatka, and the i (lands of the American coaft. Their food is fifli, feals, fea beavers, or other water or land animals. The old ones eat little In ilic months of yunc or yul)\ when they only lie and fleep, and thence become very lean. The fea cat is about half the fize of the fea lion ; in form refembling the feal *, but thicker about the bread, and thinner R 2 towards tm i If- • Frederick Marten, in his voyage to « they have black, long, and (linrp Greenland, thus defcrlbcs the feu dogs, * claws ; their tail is ihort ; they bark called Ruiis or Seah : ' Their teeth are = like hoarfc dogs, but their young mew * fliarp like dog's teeth ; on tlieir toes ' like cats. When they arc frightened by 1 '*■ ; J24 ^^ Natural History of towards the tail. They have a fnout longer than the Tea lion's, and larger teeth j with eyes like cows' eyes, ftiort ears, naked and black paws, and black hair mixed with grey, which is (hort and brittle. Their young are of a bluifh black colour. The fea cats are caught in the fpring and in the month of September^ about the river Shupatwva j at which times they go from the Kuriljkoy ifland to the American coaft : ' Sut the moft 'm I'M ' by any noife, they hold up their nofes * very high, and make a long neck like < our greyhounds, and bark ; and when < thus alarmed we ftrike them with half < pikes, or long poles, upon their nofes, ' and knock them down half dead ; but • for all that they will recover them- ' felves and rife again. Some of them < will Hand on their defence, bite at, * and run after us. Sometimes they run ' from the ice to the water, and leave a • yellow dung behind them, which they • fquirt out at their hunters. Their fat * is about three or four fingers thick, ' and covers the flefh juft under the (kin. • They have great livers, lungs, and ' hearts. When they couple they are fo ' fierce, that we are obliged to kill • them from our boats, no man daring ' to go near them. One of them near ' eight feet long was not killed, though ' we had cut oiF moft of his fat, and * notwithftanding all cur blows would ftill • bite and fnap at us. I ran another • feveral times through the body with * my fword, which he did not in the * leaft regard ; he at laft got up, and ' ran fwifter than I could, and flung him- * felf off from the ice into the fea, and ' went down to the bottom.' From the fame author we have alfo the following account of the fea horfe. ' It is imagined that thefe animals, fays he, feed both on herbs and fifti ; that they eat lierbs we conclude from the refem- blance between their dung and that of the horfes', and we fuppofe they eat fifh from this circumftance, when we threw the fkin and fat of a whale into the fea, one of thefe creatures came and drew it under water with him. They are remarkable for their courage and ftrength, and the refolution with which they defend each other is furprifing ; for when any were wounded by my people, they made to the long boat, and with their great teeth cut holes in it under water, whilft others moft undauntedly erefted half their body out of the water and endeavoured to get into the boat. In one of thefe engagements a fea horfe took hold of our harpooneer with his long tooth by the waiftband of his breeches, and had not the waiftband broke, would certainly have pulled him over-board. At Miiff^s ifland we killed feveral hundred of them, and made a very good voyage. When they are killed the failors only bring off the head, as nothing but the two great teeth are of any value; thefe alfo were formerly in greater eftimation than they are at prefent.' are KAMTSCHATKA. 125 are catched about the cape of Kronotzkoy, as between this and the cape Shupinjkoy the fea is generally calm, and affords them properer places to retire to, Almoft all the females that are caught in the fpring are pregnant j and luch as are near their time of bringing forth their young are immediately opened, and the young taken out, and fkinned. None of them are to be feen from the beginning of June to the end of Augufl^ when they return from the fouth with their young. The natives were formerly at a lofs to conceive where fuch great herds of pregnant fat animals retired in the fpring, and why they returned fo weak and lean in the fummer : they conjedtured, that as they thus regularly fwam from the fouth in the fpring, and returned in the fummer, their being fo lean was owing to their fatigue. The females bring forth their young there, and being at reft recover their former ftrength j they nurfe their young ones three months, 'till they are able to return with them to their former habitations in the fummer. The females fuckle their young with two teats, which are placed between their hinder paws J they have feldom more than one j and when they bring forth they gnaw off the navel firing like a dog, and greedily eat the after-birth. The young fee when they are whelped, their eyes being as large as the eyes of an ox j and have thirty-t\^ o teeth, not reckoning their tufks, two of which are on each fide, and begin to appear the fourth day after their birth. Their colour at the firft is a dark blue j but in four or five days grey hairs begin to appear between their hinder legs, and at the end of one month their belly is black and grey. The male is born larger and blacker, and even con- tinues blacker than the female, which turns almoft of a blue colour as fhe grows up, having only grey fpots between her fore legs. The male and female differ fo much in the form and flrength of their bodies, that one who does not carefully ex- amine them would take them for different fpecies of ani- mals 'iJ;:1 'i'-'if ■jiiL'i '% if -.ii ■■' Lr. 126 ,1 IV 1; :'-i. f ' ; lili^ mM 1 1 1'',-, -. \ 1 ii^!;i 1 li 1 1 ; 'i f. t 's n fill IK mjH ^, 1 77v Natural IIistoiiv cf mals J b^-'fidcs the females arc mild and fearful. The male has from eight to fifteen, and even fomeiiines fifty females, whom he guards with fueh jealoufy that he does not allow any other to come near his miftrclles : and though many thoufands of them lie upon the lame ihore, yet every lamily keeps apart ; that is, the male, with his wives, young ones, and thofe of a year old, whi(.h have i:iot yet attached themfelves to any male j fo that fumetimes the family confids of 120. They likewife fwim at fea in fucli droves. Such as are old, or have no miftrefles, live ap^rt J and \he firft that our people found upon Bering's ifland \vcre fuch old ones, and all males, extremely fat and {linking. 'I'hei'e fometimes lie aflcep a whole month without nourifh- ment, and are the fiercefl: of all, attacking all that pafs them i aiid their pride or obftinacy is fuch that they will rather die than quit their place. When they fee a man com- ing near them, fome of them rufli upon him, and others lie ready to fuftain the battle. They bite the ftones that are thrown at them, and rufli the more violently upon him who throws them j fo that though you ftrike out their teeth with Hones, or put out their eyes, yet even blind they will net quit their place : nay, they dare not leave it, for every ftep that any one moves off he makes a new enemy, fo that though he could fave himfelf from the attacks of men, his own brethren would deflroy him j and if it happens that any one feems to retire the leafl, then others draw near no prevent his running away ; and if any one feems to fufped the courage of another, or his defign to runaway, he falls upon him. This* fufpicion of one another is fometimes carried fo far, that for a whole verft one fees nothing but thefe bloody duels ] and at fuch a time one may pafs them without any manner of danger. If two fall upon one, then fome others come to fupport the weakeft j for they do not allow of unequal combat. During thefe battles the others that are fwimming in the fea raife their heads, and look at the fuccefs of ,l^^ll KAMTSCHATKA. 127 H of the combatants j at length becoming likevvife fierce, they come out and increafe the number, Mr. Stellcr made this experiment :— With his Coilicks he fell upon one of thefe i^x cats, and put out his eyes, and irritated four or five more by throwing ftones at them. When thefe purfued him he ran towards the blind one, who hearing the running of his companions, and not knowing whom they purfued, attacked them. Mr. Stelicr retired to a high pKicc, where he obfcrved the battle for fomc hours. The blind one attacked without diftindtion all the reft, even thofe who took his part ; fa that at laft they all fell upon him, and allowed him no lefl cither upon the land or in the fea, out of which they dragged him to the fliore, aixl beat him until he died. When two of them only fight, the battle lafts frequently for an hour : fometimes they reft awhile, lying by one another •, then both rife at once, and renev/ the engagement. They nglit with their heads eredt, and turn them afide from one another's ftroke. So long as their ftrength is equal they fight with their fore paws j but when one of them becomes weak the other feizes him with his teeth, and throws him upon the ground. When the lookers on fee this they come to the afiift;uicc of the vanquilhed. The wounds they make with their teeth are as deep as thofe made with a fabre ; and in the month of July you will hardly fee one of them that has not fome wound upon him. After the end of the battle they throw themfelves into the water to waih their bodies. The occafions of their quarrels are thefe : —The firft and moft bloody is about their females, when one endeavours to carry off the miftrefs of another, or the young ones that are females j the females that are prefent follow the conqueror. The fecond is about their places, when one comes too near that of another, which they don't allow, cither for want of room, or becaufe they are jealous of their coming too near their ' '''If;! '-I f' \'' i ' I. fIII m. ill 1-28 the Natural History of tlieir miftreffes. The third is owing to their endeavouring to do jurtice, and end the quarrels of others. The male is very fond of the young ones j on the other hand, the females and young fear him extremely, and he treats them moft tyrannically. If you endeavour to catch a young one, the male (lands upon the defence, and the female is allowed to fave herfelf and the young one by flight j but if fhe drops the young one out of her mouth, the male leaves his enemy, and feizing upon her with his teeth beats her againft the ftones 'till he leaves her for dead. As foon as (he recovers, (he crawls to his feet, which (lie licks and wa(hes with her tears that flow in abundance. In the mean time, the male ftalks backwards and forwards, gna(h- ing his teeth, and tofling his head like a bear j at laft, when he fees they have carried off the young one, he likewife begins to weep J for they (hed tears, when they are much wounded or injured, and are not able to revenge the injury. Another reafon of the fea cats going in the (pring eaftwards to the Defert Iflands muft be, that refting and (leeping without nou- ri(hment for three months, they free themfelves from the fat which was troublefome to them, in the fame manner as the bears who live the whole winter without nouri(hmentj for in the months of June^ J^bi ^^^ ^^gHftt the old ones do nothing but (leep upon the (hore, lying in one place like a ftone, now and then looking at one another, and yawning and (Iretching, without meat or drink ; but the young ones begin to walk in the beginning of July. When this animal lies upon the (hore and diverts himfelf, his lowing is like that of a cow j when he (ights, he growls like a bear i when he has conquered his enemy, he chirps like a cricket ; but being vanqui(hed or wounded, he groans or mews like a cat j coming out of the water, he com- monly (hakes himfelf, ftrokes his breaft with his hinder paws, and fmooths the hair upon it. The male lays his fnout to that of '11 KAMTSCHATKA. 3 29 of the females, as if he was kiffing her. When they fleep in the fun, they hold up their paws, wagging them as the dogs do their tails. They lie fbmetimes upon their backs, at other times like a ^og upon their bellies j fometimes contracting, at other times extending themfelves. Their fleep is never fo found but that they awake at the approach of any perfon, how foftly foever he go• {; If.'! ■ H I'^O ^e Natural Historv of The manner of catching thetn in Bering^ ifland wa§ this : They firft ftruck out their eyes with {(ones, and then killed them by beating out their brains with clubs : but this was ^ work of fo much labour, that three men were hardly able to kill one with 300 flrokes 5 and though fometimes the Ikull was broken in pieces, and the brains came out« and all their teeth beaten out, yet they would keep their place, (landing upon their hinder paws, endeavouring to defend themfelves. One of them thus mifcrably treated was left to fee how long it would live, which it did full two Weeks without quitting hs ptacw. They feldom come afhorc about Kamtfchatka'\ fo that the in- habitants chace them in boats, and throw darts or harpoons at them, which flick in their bodyj to this harpoon is fixed one end of a rope, and the other is in the veflel j and by this ropie they draw them towards the boat ; but here thejr are to be particularly cautious whenever they chace one, if he comes near, not to fufFer him to faften upon the fide of the boat with his fore paws, and overturn it j to prevent which fomt of the fiftiermcn ftand ready^ with axes to cut off his paws. Several of thefe animals die of old age, but the greateft part of the wounds they receive in the quarrels that happen among them j of which there are fometimes fo many j that the ftiore is covered with bones. The fea beavers * have not the leaft refemblance of the other beavers j but the people formerly gave them that name from their downy hair, which refembles that of the beaver. They are as large as the fea cats j their fhape refembles the feal, and their head the bear ; their fore feet are longer than their hind feet j their teeth fmall j their tail (hort and flat, and iharp towards the point } their hair is thick and black as pitch. * " Lutra marina , but S%t K A M T S C H A T K A. ^3^ but in the old ones it turns grey. The young ones have their hair long, brownifh, and very foft. This is the moft peaceable of all the fea animals ; it never makes any refinance, but endeavours to fave itfelf by flight. The females are very afieftionate to their young, and carry fuch as cannot fwiin upon their belly between their fore feet ; for until the little ones can fvyim then>ielves the mother fwims upon lier back. When the fifliermen purfue them, they never quit their young' till the very bft extremity j and if they fhould happen to flip them they prefently return to vi^bere they hear them cry ; fo that the fifliers en- deavour to kill or catch the young, as the mod efle(flual method of taking their dams. They have three different ways of catching them : i fl:. By nets placed among the fea cabbage *, whither the beavers retire in the night tirr'e, or in ftorms. 2dly, They chace them in their boats, when the weather is calm, and kill them in the fame manner they do fea lions or fea cats. The third method is upon the ice, which in the fpring is driven on the coaH: by tlie eaA wind; and this laA is fo general, that when the ice. is dfiven fo ftrongly upon the (hore that the people can pafs upon it with f&ow fhoes, they confider it as an acquifition of great treafure, and all the inhabitants upon the coad hunt and kill vaft numbers, as they ftalk along the ice feeking an opening to get into the water. However, fuch a drift of ice upon the coail: does not happen every year, but when it does, they call it a good year j for the natives, Coflacks, and merchants, find a great advantage from this trade. The Kuriles did not efl:eem the flcins of beavers more than thofe of feals or fea lions before they faw the value that the Ruffians put upon them j and even now they will willingly exchange a drefs made of beavers' I 1 '^ Fqcus inarinu». S 2 for ,•«•; I r,-i:ii % 132 The Natural History 0/ ill! i m it ^m for a good one made of dogs' fkins, which they think are warmer, aiid a better defence againft the water. Befides thofe already defcribed, there are feveral other fea animals here, the mofl: remarkable of" which is the manati, or fea cow. This animal never comes out upon the fliore, but always lives in the water j its flcin is black and thick, like the bark of an old oak, and fo hard that one can fcarcely cut it with an ax j its head in proportion to its body is fmall, and falls off from the neck to the fnout, which is fo much bent that the mouth leems to lie below j towards the end the fnout is white and rough, with white whilkers about nine inches long j it has no teeth, but only two flat white bones, one above, the other below J its noftrils are near the end of its fnout, in length and breadth about an inch and a half ; they are double, and within are rough and hairy ; its eyes are black, placed almoft in the middle, and near in one line with the noftrils, they are no larger than (beep's eyes, which is certainly remarkable in fuch a monftrous creature j it has no eyebrows nor eye- lalhes ; and its ears are only a fmall opening ; its neck is not eafily difcovered, the head and body being fo nearly joined j however, there are fome vertebrae proper for turning the head upon, which it a«5tually does, particularly when it feeds, hanging its head like a cowj its body is round like that of a feal, being thickeft about thfe navel, and growing fmaller towards the head and tail j the tail is thick, and bent a little towards the end j it fomething refembles the beard of the whale, and fomewhat the fins of a fifli j its paws, which are under its neck, are about 2 1 inches long, with them he both fwims and goes, and by them he takes hold of the rocks, to which he fometimes faftens himfelf fo ftrongly, that when he is dragged from thence with hooks he will leave the fkin of his paws behind : it is obfervcd that thefe paws are fometimes KAMTSCHATKA. ^2i fdmetimes divided in two, like the hoof of a cow j but this does not feem to be common, only accidental. The females have two teats upon their breads. The length of the manati is about 28 fectf and its weight about 200 pood. Thefe animals go in droves in calm weather near the mouths of rivers ; and though the dams oblige their young always to fwim before them, yet the reft of the herd cover them upon all fides, fo that they are conftantly in the middle of the drove. In the time of flood they come fo near the* fhore, that one may ftrike them with a ckib or fpear ; nay, the author relates that he has even ftroked their backs himfelf with his hand. When they are hurt they fwim off to fea, but prefcntly return. 7 hey live in families, one near another ; and a family confifts of a male, female, fome half grown, and one fmall calf: hence it appears that every male has one female. They bring forth their young in the harveft, and never more than one at a time. They appear to be extremely gluttonous, eating fo continually without any regard to their own fafety, that they hardly ever lift their heads above the water ; fo that any one may go amonf^ them in boats, and chufe which he pleafes to carry off. The half of their body, that is their back and fides, is always above water, upon which flocks of crows fettle, -and pick the lice out of their fkins. They do not feed upon every herb, but, firff, upon fea cabbage *, which has a leaf refembling favoys j fecondly, upon cabbage -j* refembling a clubj thirdly, upon cabbage || refembling thongs j and, fourthly, upon a waved kind of cabbage :|: : and wherever they have been, though but for one day, heaps of roots and ftalks are thrown out upon the fnorc.' * Fucus Coifpus braflicajfabaudicae folio cancellatus. f Fucusclavjc facie. II Fucus fcutlcae antique Romane facie. % Fucus longitHmus ad nervum undulatus. When M'm II (1^ :ii| ^ il... ii ^ • m m ■ x':4 ^ni i mi'i 134 T&e Natural History of When they have eaten their fill, they lie adeep upon their backs^ As foon as the ebb begins they retire to tne Tea, fearing to be left upon the (hore. In the winter time they are frequently cruflied by the ice againft the rocks, and thrown out upon the beach. This happens during a ftorm, when the wind is upon the (liorc. At this feafon tbey are fo lean that one may count all their ribs and vertebrae. They are caught with great iron hooks, fomcthing like the fluke of a fmall anchor. This hook ijs carried by a ftrong man in a boat with three or four rowers, who when he comes among the herd flrikes into one oi them. Thirty men that are left upon the fhore, and hpld one end of a rope which is faflened to the hook, draw the manati towards the land ; aJid in the mean time thoic; that are in the boat flab and cut it 'till it dies. I oocq faw fome of the fiihers cut off the flefti from the creature, while it was alive, who all the while ftruck the water with its paws with fuch force that the fkin was torn off them j but at lafl it expired. It is eafier to catch the old oniss than the young : for the lafl: are more aflive, and tlie fkin being fofter the hook frequently loofes its hold. When one of them i$ flruck, and flruggles to clear himfelf of the hook, thofe of the herd that are neareft to him come to his aflifliance: fptpe overturn the boat by getting under it ; others lay themfelyes upon the rope, as if they could break it ; and others ondea«our to flrike out the hook with their tails, which foipetimfts fucceeds. The love that is between the male and femflle ip extraordinary ; for after the male has ufed all methods to al?jft and refcue the female, he follows her even dead to th«> v^ery fhore, and has been obferved fometimes even after two or three days to remain by the dead body. This animal cannot be faid to low, but rather brays hard, which is particularly ob- fervable when it is wounded. It cannot be faid how fharp their ' i'r'Vj KAMTSCHATKA ^^S I" their fight or hearing is j but both fenfes appear to be very Weak, perhaps from their i^eeping their heads always under water. There is fuch a plenty of manati in Bering's ifland, that it is fufHcient to maintain all the people of Kamtfchatka, Their flefli, though it takes a long time to boil, taftes well, and is fomethrng like beef. The fat of the ^oung refembles pork, and the lean is like veal. This flefli is eafily boiled, and fwellff fo much that it takes up double the fpace when boiled that it did raw. It is impoflible to boil the fat about the head and tail j but the ribs and back are very delicate. Some pretend that the flefli of this animal will not keep in fait ; but We found the contrary, it appearing to us little inferior to falted beef*. Befides • That the Kamt/J.atka manati is the fame kind of animal with that found by Captain Pampier in the rivers of South .America and at the Philippine IJlands, is evident frt)m that author's defcription of it: ' This creature is about the bignefs of * a horfe, and lo or 12 feet long. The * mouth of it is much like the mouth of '■ a cow, having great thick lips. The ' eyes are no bigger than a fmall pea, * the ears are only two fmall holes on ' each fide of the head. The neck is ' fhort and thick, bigger than the head. ' The biggeft part of this creature \i at ' the Ihoulders, where it hath two large ' fins, one on each fide of its belly. ' Under each of thefe fins the female ■ hath a fmall dug to fuckle her young. ' From the (houlders towards the tail it < retains its bignefs for about a foot, ' then it groweth fmaller and fmaller to ' the very tail, which is flat, and about 14 inches broad, and 20 inches long, and in the middle four or five inches thick, but about the edges of it not ' above two inches thick. From the head to the tail it is round and fmooth, without any fin but thofe two before mentioned. I have heard that fome have weighed above i20olb. but I never faw any ^o large. The manati delights to live in a brackiHi water ;• and they are commonly in creeks or rivers near the fea. 'Tis for this rea- fon, poffibly, they are not feen in the South Seas, (that ever I could obferve) where the coaft is generally a bold fliore, that is, high land deep water clofe home by it, with a high fea or great furges ; extept in the bay of Pa- nama, yet even there is no m;;ii;iti : whereas the Wefi Indies, being as it were one great bay compofed of many fmaller, are moftly low land and fhoal water, and aflt>rd proper pafture (as I * may \ ::. .IV t'% i n ■llvi' V ^36 'Ti^^ Natural History of Bi-'fidcs the above-mentioned anim.ils, Mr, Stallcr faw upon tlie coall of America a new and uncommon lea beaft, which Ik" ilnis dclciibcs : Ics length is about five feet} its head like a dog's } its cars fli.irp, and landing up j and its eyes large; upon its upper and under lips it has hairs Uke a beard; its make is thick and round ; thicker towards the he id, thin and fnnll towards the tail ; the whole body is covered with thick hair, grey upon the back, and red or forrel towards the belly j the tail I'm divides itlclf into two, the uppermoft of which is longcft. The author was extremely furprifed that he could not dKcovcr any feet or paws, as in other fea animals. Its appear- ance in general was fomething like the draught of that creature, wliicli Gcfner gives under the name of fea monkey ; and the au- thor thinks that the name of monkey is not improperly applied to this animal for its remarkable activity and many tricks. It fomctimes fwam after their vcflel for two hours, looking firft at ' may f.iy) for the inanati. Sometimes • \\Q Hnd tlicm in lalt water, fometinies « in fixfli, but never fur at fea ; and thofe • I'lat live in tlie fea at fuch places where ' there is no river nor creeic fit for them • to LT.tcr, yet do commonly come once • or twice in 24 hours to the mouth of • any fieih-water river that is near their • place of ab'.xle. They live on grafs • feven or cij,ht inches long, aad of a « narrow blade, which grows in tlie fea in • many places, c-.pccially amQng iOands ' near the main. This grufs growcLfh ' likewife in creeks, or in great ri- ' vers, near the fides of them, in fuch ' places where there is but little tide or ' current. They never come afhorc, nor ' into (liallower water than where they ' can fwim. Their flefh is white, both ' the fat and the lean, and extraordinary • fwect and wholefome meat. The tail ' of a young cow is much eftecrncd ; but if old, both head and tail are very tough. A calf that fucks is the moft delicate meat : privateers commonly roart them ; as they do alfo great pieces out of the bellies of the old ones. ' The (kin of the manati is of great ufe to privateers ; for they cut them into llraps, which they make fall on the fide of their canoes, through which they put th«."ir oais in rowing inftead of tholes or pegs. The fkin of the bull, or of the back pf the cow, is too thick for this ufe ; but of it they make horfe- whlps, cutting them two or three feet long : at the handle they leave the full fubllancs of the (kin, and from thence cut it away tapering, but very even, and fquare all the four fides. While the thongs are green they twift them, ■ and hang them to dry, which in a week's time become as hard as wood.' one KAMTSCHATKA. 137 one thing and then at another with an appearance of furprizc ; and would come (o near the fliip, that he might be touched with a pole i but would retire to a greater diftance on obfcrving any on board to ftir. He frequently railed one third of his body above the water, (landing credt like a man, fonietimes for half an hour together ; and then darting under the veflel, appeared in the fame poilure on the other fide ; and this he would repeat, perhaps thirty times together. At other times he would bring a great America}i fea herb, which is flat and hollow below like the bottom of a bottle, and fomething (harp above : this he would tofs about and catch again with his mouth, playing a thoufand api(h tricks with it. It has been obferved of all fea hearts, that the more they play in fair weather the greater {lorm is to be expedted. , ^ ••■mil C H A P. IX. * Canis Carcharius Autoris. brings. ' ''I 'M ' .:^:'l ill i m 142 Ti)e Natural History of brings forth its young alive, like the whale j and when its mouth is {hut has Ibme refemblunce of a flurgeon, but its teeth are very different, being large and terrible. The Kamtf- chadales eat the flefli of this iifli, and though it appears to be tough and ftrong, they fay it is exceedingly well tafted. The guts, aiid particularly the bladder, are in high efteeixi; fothat when they catch this fiih, they never call it by its name, for fear, as they imagine, they fhould provoke it to burft its bladder, and render it ufelefs to them. The teeth are fold under the name of lerpents* teeth. - Several fiflies which are common to other feas are found here j as pike, eels, lampreys, cod, and very fine foals in great plenty ; but the inhabitants make no account of thefe fifli, and never ufe them unlefs in great neceffity, or to feed their dogs. Mr, Steller obferved four different fpecies of flat fifh. There is a fifh called * vahnae, which is a fpecies of the cod J is round and thick, with three fins upon its back j and when taken out of the water is of a copper-colour, but ore- fently changes to yellow : its flefh is white, but foft, and of a difagreeable tafle j however the inhabitants eat more of it, than of other fifh which are much better tafled ; the reafon indeed is, that they catch this fifh in the beginning of the fpring, when they can catch no other j a great deal of which they dry in the fun uncleaned, defigning it as provifion for their dogs. I faw the fifh which they call "f- terpuk, but it being dry, I could not obferve thofe fine colours which Mr. Steller defcribes. By his defcription its back is blackifh, its fides are reddifli, and chequered with fine filver-coloured fpots j fome of which are fquare, and others circular : in its fhape it refcmbles the perch. * Onos vel Afinus Andquorutn. t Doecogrammos Scelleri. 1.1- ' .-. . i They )'ll KAMTSCHATKA. 143 They angle for this fifli near the iiT^W^/ iflands, and the haven of Awatfcha^ with hooks made of bone or wood. There are likewife feveral other kinds of fiflies in thefe fcas which are not very common in other places j but as they make no part of their nouri(hment, and are feldom caught, I (hall take no notice of them, my defign being only to mention fuch as ferve for food to the inhabitants, in this country which produces no grain. The chief of thefe are falmon of different kinds, which during the fummer come in fhoals from the fea up the rivers. Of thefe they make what they call eukol^ which they ufe inftead of bread j and they boil up the fat, which ferves for butter. They likewife make glue of them. Before I give a particular defcription of each fpecies apart, I would communicate fome obfervations which regard the catching of thefe fi{h, and which indeed are wonderful proofs of the Divine Providence and the goodnefs of the Creator, who has bleft a place with fuch abundance of fifh where there is neither cattle nor grain. In Kamtjchatka the fifh come from the fea in fuch numbers, that they flop the courfe of the rivers, and caufe them to overflow the banks j and when the waters fall there remains a furpriiing quantity of dead fifh upon the fhore, which produces an in- tolerable flink. At this time the bears and dogs catch more fifh with their paws than people do at other places with their nets. All the fifh that fwim up the rivers are of the falmon kind, and are commonly called red fifh ; but the feveral forts are fo diflindt from each other, that Kamtjchatka alone is thought to produce as many different fpecies as are to be found in all the world befides. Not one fifh remains in Kamtjchatka longer than fix months (except gudgeons) j for all that are not caught before the end of December die, except in fome few deep places where there are warm fprings.^ It is obferved of all the different fpecies of m m 144 The Natural History of n.^ iMi h M \'V 1: i^ of falmon in Kamt/chaika^ that they are brought forth and die in the fame river, come to their full growth in the fea, and fpawn only once during their whole lives : for which purpofe they fwim up the rivers, and having found a proper place in fmooth water, they make a hole with the fins that are under their gills, and there depofit their roes. In Siberia the red fifli live in clayey rivers j they remain there feveral years, and generate every year, having numbers of infers proper for nourifliment. They winter in deep pools, and in the fpring fwim further up for the fake of propagating in the mouths of little rivulets that fall into the great rivers, where they are commonly caught. The young fry fwim down to the fea, where they continue 'till they come to their full growth, which Mr, Sfe/kr thinks is in the third year j and then they return in order to propagate. It is remarkable that thofe fifti which are bred in a great river continue in the fea near to its mouth, feed upon things brought down by the ftream, and when the time of /pawning approaches they will enter no river but that which produced them. It is alfo very extraordinary, that thofe fifh which come up the rivers in the month of Augu/iy though they have time enough to Ipawn, yet as there remains but little time for their young to return, take a year-old fifli of their own kind, which continually follows the male and female ; and when the old have coveied the roes they continue to afcend, the young one, which is no bigger than a herring, guarding them 'till the month of November ^ at which time it returns with the other fifties. It is very probable that the fame thing happens in Europe, which may have given occafion, through the difference of their ages, to account them of different fpecies. ;. ,, „; ; %; ;,_ Each kiiid of fifli always afcends the rivers at the fame time. In the month of Auguji fometimcs two, three, nay even four fpecies come up at once ; but each keeps feparate from the other. The if M ' m ..ftK 'M l\^ KA.MTSCHATKA. H5 • { the clifFcrent fpccies of thofc fifties which are here called red fifh ftiall be mentioned in giving an account of the time when they come out of the fea into the rivers ; it being remarked that they always obfervc the fame order, the fame fpecies which comes out firft one year continuing to do fo the following. This the Kamtfchadales find to be fo certain, that they call their months by the name of the fifti which are then caught. The largeft and beft of thefe fifti, and which come firft out of the (ea»^ are called chavitfi. It refembles the common falmon, though it Is a great deal broader -, is about three feet and a half long, and weighs a pood and a half ; its breadth is about the fourth part of its length ; its nofe is fliarp, the upper jaw being longer than the lower } its tail is equal ; the back is bluifti, with fome fmall blacK fpots j its fides are of a filver colour, and its belly white ; its gills are long and fmall } and its fiefti is red both raw and boiled. \ They fwim up the rivers with fuch force that the water feems to rife like a wall before them j which the Kamtfchadales obferv- ing get into their boats, and throw out their nets. This fifti does not come up in fuch large flioals as the others, nor is fuch plenty caught as to make eukol of it, except upon the river Kamtf- cbatka i and even there it is fo rare that it is only ufed on feafts or holydays, and after all it is fo fat that it prefently turns bitter. The Coflacks, for the moft part, fait it, particularly the belly, back, and head. The ribs are dry and hard, but the belly is truly a delicate food, at leaft no fifli there comes up to it ; and what they dry in the fun, if not better than the Jakut/ki fturgeon, is at leaft not worfe. . . .;. - v: .-.,:; r- Jt ' .;ii I Of all the rivers that run into the Eaftern Ocean this fifli is only found in the river Kamtfchatka and the bay of Awatfcha ; and of thofe that fall into ih&Penfchinfka fea, only in the Bolfcberetfioi river : befides, Mr. Steller fays, that none is to be found further north than 54**, and it is certain that it is not 'mt U to A\r.'' r-"?] m IS - 146 7'he Natural History ef to be found near Ochotjka^ where it is eileemed a Valuable prefent. The nets with which this fi(h is caught are made of yarn about the thicknefs of fugar ropes ; and the fidiing begins about the middle of May^ and lafts iix weeks. The KamtfchadaUs efleem this fi(h fo much, that the firA they catch they bake and eat with great rejoicings. This cuftom is very difagreeablo to the Ruffian inhabitants who hire the natives to fifh for them ; for however impatient the maiter may be to tafte the new fiih, the fifhermen will have the firft, looking upon it as a great fin if they do not eat it themfelves, and with all due ceremonies. •• The fecond kind is only called red (iiht in Ochotjka^ narka. It is about 2 1 inches long, and flattifh j its flefli is extremely red j its head very fmall; the fnout ihort and fharpj the tongut bluifh, with whitifh fides ; its back bluiih, with black ipots ; its belly white ; and its tail forked. Its breadth is about a fifth part of its length ; and it has fcales large and round, eaiily ieparating from the fkin : it weighs about fifteen pounds. It is found in every river that runs either into the Penfcbinjka or Eailern Sea, coming up in great (hoals ; and it is caught about the middle of *June, The eukol that is made of it, though very pleaiant, prefently turns bitter ; fo that for the moil part they either fait this fifh, or boil it for its fat. There are two things worth notice concerning it : the firfi; of which is, that part go before to the heads of the rivers, as if they were lent out to examine them, where fome of them are caught before the fhoals appear at the mouths. The fecond is, that this fifh is more plenty in fuch rivers as run out of lakes than others : nor does it live long in the former, but haftens direi^y into the latter; in the depths of which it lies 'till the beginning of Auguft, at which time it comes nearer the fhore, and tries to get into thefe rivers that communicate with the lakes. Here the inhabitants catch them by nets, dam«, or other methods. „ . The m v^ '4' v KAMTSCHATKA. >47 : The third kind of this fifh is called keta or kaeko j which is Somewhat larger than the narka. The fle(h is white; the head 'ilatttHi and longifh j the fnout is bent } the teeth, when it has been fome time in the river, are like a dog's } its tongue is (harp ; its tail a little forked; its back black and green; its fides and bdly like other £{h ; and its ikin is without fpots. The eukol that is made of this iifh they call their houfehold bread, being much more plenty than any other ; as the feafon of the fifliery, which begins in Juiy and ends about the middle of OSiobtTy is drier and more proper for preparing it. This fi(h is caught in all the rivers both in the PenJ'chinJka and Eaftern ieas. The gorbufhe, or crook back, follows or fometimes accompanies the keta. This fifh is more plentiful than any other whatever ; it is about eighteen mches long, and flattiih; its ile(h is white ; its head fmall ; its fnout fharp, and confiderably crooked ; its teeth ffmall ; its back bluilh, with round black fpots ; its fides and belly like the other forts ; and the tail forked. Though this fifh is not bad, yet the inhabitants have fuch plenty of what they efteem better, that they ufe this only for their, dogs. The la^ of thefe kinds that come on fbore is called white fifh. This fiHi both in bulk and appearance is very like the keta ; they dificir in this indeed, that the keta has no fpots, and the white f){h has long black fpots upon its back. It excels in tafle all the fiihes that have. white Hefh ; and it agrees with the narka in this, •jtfaat it mofl frequently haunts thofe rivers that run out of the lakes, and is caught there in the fame maimer. The young ones, which accompany the old to take care of the roes and convoy the young fry down, are eftcemed by the inhabitants to be a different fpecies, and are called milktchuch. So ibon as the old ones have fp«wned,.they take all care to provide for their own fafety, re- tiring' inamediately to deep places where there are warm fprings ; and thqy aire ohMy found in the fprings near the Bolfchtretjkoi river K . \i 2 and ' iy '■'■-ii Si, ■ Il I 1^1 148 Tie Natural History of and the Opaljkoy lake : they are caught likcwife during the whole winter in thofe fprings that run into the Kamtfcbatka from the fouth J and near to where the old lower fort of Kami /chat ka flood they alfo abound, which is a great relief to the inhabitants. I myfelf was at this fifhery in the end of February j however I found the fifh at that time dryer and not fo well tafted as in the harveft. This fifli eats very well, either falted, dryed, or fmoaked. It is caught frequently in the fame net with the keta and narka ; and thofe which they ufe for this fiQiery are made of yarn about half as thick as that with which they make the nets for the chavitfi, and the mefhes are about an inch and a half wide. >•.;.;:. .i 1 All thefe different fpecies of fifh change their colours, turn lean and ugly, their fnout bends, their teeth grow, and a fcurf appears upon their fkins. The chavitfi, narka, and white fifh, change their filver colour to a red j the keta turns like wife red, ftained with black flripes. Their fins and tails become reddifh and blackifh ; in one word, they would never be taken for the fame fifh that enter the rivers, if thefe changes were not certain. The gorbufhe alone preferves its filver colour, and, whenever it lofes that, it dies. It is incredible with what eargernefs they go up the rivers, particularly the gorbufhe. When they come to any place where the flream is flrong, and thofe that are weak find it impoflible by their own flrength to get up, they faflen their teeth upon the tail of fome that are flronger, that they may be drawn up by them ; fo that feveral of thefe fifh are found which have their tails bitten. The true falmon may always be reckoned one of thofe fifh that come in fhoals } and are found to go up the rivers Kont' pakfue^ Bircumkitiy and Etchi. I never faw thefe fifh indeed, but have heard a great deal of them. Mr, Steller writes, that when i.ii,i KAMTSCHATKA. 149 • \ when I they I'ctUrn to the Tea, it rometimes happens that they are driven by a ftorm from the nnouth of their native river, (o that lofmg their way, the following year they afcend a ftrange river, which is the occafion of their being found in more plenty in fome rivers one year tlian another. There are other kinds of red fifh which come up the river with- out any order, and live there the whole winter before they re- turn. Mr. Steller fays, they ftay fometimes four or five years. The firil of this fpecies is called, at Ochotjka^ malma, and at Kamtfchatka^ goltfa. When they come out of the fea their co- lour is clear like filver ; the upper part of the fnout is blunt, and fomewhat b«nt j the lower fliarp, and bent towards the upper. When they are ripped up, and the roes taken out, there appear upon the fides round red fpots of different magnitudes, the belly and lower fins become likewife reddi^, except the bones which continue white. ; ... , The largefi: fifh of this ^ecies, which lives fometimes five or fix years, comes from the fea into the river Kamtfchatka, out of which it goes iato the rivers that run into it, and by them to the lakes, where it grows almofi: as big as the chavitfi, though it feldom weighs more than twenty pounds. They are found like- r wife very large in the Bijiroy river j there their length is com- monly twenty-eight inches, and breadth ten } they are of a dark colour, have large teeth, and the lower jaw is crooked with a knob : it feems indeed of a different fpecies. Thefe of three years old, which have been one year out of the fea, have a long head, are of a filver colour, with fmall fcales, and fmall red fpots } and fuch as have been two years out of the fea are round and longifh, ' with fmall heads, and their fiefh, which is of a reddifh white, is , hard and well tafted. With regard to their fize j the firft year they arc long and fmall j the fecond, they grow more in breadth than in length j the third, the head grows confiderably j and the fourth, fifth, and fixth years, their breadth and thicknefs increafes greatly- I III ^411 i ... .1 u 150 The NatuHal HistohV ^f M :\ 'ii ; \l ■ UA mm greatly : this obfervation probably holds in all kinds of rilmon trouts. In the fourth year alio, the lower part to the fnout be- comes hooked. This fpecies of ftHi fvvims along with the gor- bu^e, and is caught with it in the fame net, which is wove of fmall yarn, the meihes being about an inch wide. Such as live in the rivers are nourished by the roes of other fifh } and in the fi'intner are found near the heads of fmall rivers, which they leave in the fpring. Such as are caught at the beginning of fummer are falted, but thofe caught later are frozen for the winter. . •" Another fpecies of fifh is called muikifi, and is about the big- nefs of the narka 3 its fcales are pretty large } its head is of a middling fize ; the upper part of its fnout is like that of the goltHt, with the lower part hooked } it has teeth in its jaws and on the fide of the tongue } its back is blackiih, marked with round, or femicircular black fpots ; and upon each fide has a large red Ihipe, which goes quite from the head Co the tail : this diflinguithes it from all the other fpecies of this filh: it fwallov7S all kinds of ixiilinefs, and often catches the field mice that happen to fwim upon the river } and isfoparticu> larly fond of the nortleberry, that if it fees any growing upon the bank, it throws itfelf out, and feizcs either the berry or the leaf of the plant. It is a well tailed fifh, but is not caught in fuch plenty as others are. They do not certainly know the time of its entering the rivers, but imagine it is before the ice is gone. !.^ There is a third kind called kunHia, which is about diree feet long } the head makes a feventh part of the length ; the fnout is fhort and (harp ) its jaws are furnifhed with teeth ^ its back and iides blackiih, marked with yellow fpots, fome of vHiich are round and others oblong j its belly is white j its lower fins and tail blue j and the ile(h white and Well tafted. In Ochotjka it fwims in ftioals, but at Kamtfchatka it is more rare, and con- feqoently m<»e efteemed. The KAMTSCHATKA. >5i \' i ;' The fourth fpec'ies Is the harms, which is well knovvn In Si^ria and all Rujia \ hut thoie that arc here have the back ftn longer than the others. Mr. Steller writes, that they come up into the rivers upon the firft going off of the ice ; but I never happened to fee this fi(h in Kamtfchatka. There Is another fpecies of red ti(h which refembles the golfta, with this difference, that its head is larger, and the upper part of the fnout a little hooked ; its fides are marked with red fpots, like the malma : it is feldom longer than 20 inches. Among the fmall iifhes which the Kamtfchadahs feed upon are three fpecies of fmeks } one of which is called hagatch, the fecond innaka, and the third uiki. The hagatch is our comnion fmelt. The innaka differs from it a little, and is found in great plenty about the lake Nerpech, Uiki is thrown fometimes upon the fliore in vafl heaps for 100 verfls together. They are cafily diflinguifhed from the other fpecies by a rough flripe that goes down the fide. They commonly fwim three together, and are io joined by the afore-mentioned rough flripe, that when you catch one the others cannot eafily difengage themfelves. The Kamtfchadahs dry this fifh as food for their dogs ; but in cafe of fcarcity they ufe it themfelves, although the tafle is very difagreeable The lafl kind of fifh which we fhall mention is the herring : theie are found in great plenty in the Eaflern Sea, but very fel- dom in the bays which lie upon the Penfchinfia, In my opinion they don't differ in the leafl from the herriog which we have in Europe j whkh Mr. Steller likewife confirms. In the harvefl they are found in large lakes, where they breed and winter : in the fpring they fwim towards the fea. The greatefl fifhery of them is in the lake Viliutcbitiy whurh is only about fifty fathom from the fea, and has communication with it by a fmall outlet. When thefe herrings enter the lake, this paffage is fliut up by the fand being thrown into it, and remains fo 'till the month of ■'i\ \ ■' Marchy ' ll^?li;: '■ ' vi m il ■>'■» i;;:!^ 152 3T&(? Natural History of ;i March, when it is waflied away again by the high water arifing from the melting of the fnow j which happens regularly every year. The herrings come every day to the mouth of the outlet, as if to inform themfelves whether the paflage was yet open, and re- main there from morning 'till evening, when they return to the deeper part of the lake. The Kamf/tbada/esohfcrving this, break holes in the ice near the mouth of the outlet, where they put down their nets, and catch great quantities. This fiihery conti- nues fo long as the ice remains upon the lake. They catch them likewife with nets in the fummer, at the mouths of the rivers ; when they boil out the fat, which is as white as butter, and more delicate than that of any other fifh ; and fend it from the lower Kamtfchatkoy fort (where the greatefl quantity is made) as a rare prefent, to the other forts. \ \'. \vAx or CHAP. X. .. ^e ' B I R b S. -TT^AMrSCHArKA abounds in birds, but the in- Jl\. habitants make lefs ufe of them than of roots and fifhes : the reafbn of this is, that they don't well know how to catch them j and their fi{hery is fo advantageous to them, that to leave that and go a bird- catching would be as ridiculous as for the hufbandman to leave his plough and go a (hooting. , i a- !./...a-, r-* ^ ; • '-.i • ' ii "'- bruK . .'-u; «;;£!; i- I (hall here divide the birds into three elates: the firft, (ea fowls } the fecond, the frefli- water fowls j and the third, thofc which frequent the woods and fields. . - >. .i { 'A\ >•( QlP. i '[; :^;r:ii:i h'- Class Vi\ KAMTSCHATKA. Class I. Of the SEA FOWLS. ^53 ^P The fea fowls are found in greater plenty about the coafl of the Eaftern Ocean, than that of the Penfchinjka fea j for the coaft of the Raftern Ocean is more hilly and convenient for breeding. The ipatka * is well known to all writers of natural hiftory by the name of anas ardtica, commonly called in England puffins. It is found upon the coaft of Kamtfchatkay and the KiirUJki iflands, and even upon the Penfchinjka bay, almoil as far as Ochotjka. It is about the bignefs of, or rather fmaller than, a common duck ; its head and neck are of a bluifli black J the back is black ; the belly and all below white ; its bill red, and broad towards the root, but fomewliat narrower towards the point ; upon each fide are three furrows ; its legs are red, its feet webbed, and its nails fmall, crooked, and black ; its flefh is hard ; its eggs are like hen's eggs \ it builds its neft with grafs on the cliffs of the rocks. The Kamtfchadales and Kurilcs wear the bills of thefe birds about their necks fa- ftcned to ftraps j and, according to their fuperftition, their iha- mans, or priefts, muft put them on with proper ceremony, to procure them good fortune. Another fpecies of thefe birds is called meuchagatka -f*, and in Cchotfia, igilma : this only differs from the former in being all black, and having two yellowiih white tufts upon its head, which lie all along from its ears to its neck like locks of hair. To the beft of my remembrance this bird has never yet been dcicribed. Mr. Steller and I fent fomc of thefe fpecies of birds to tlie Imperial Mufeum. Among thoib fent by Mr. Stcllcr there -.vas a third kind which is found upon the iiland Bondeudy in Ang-jrinannia, and upon the Caroline iflands -, and is fomc- * Aica rnriri fulci'; qu.ituor, oculcnim rcgioni: temporlbufquc albis. Linn. P. ■- fucc. V. 42. t Alca iiionochroa fulcis uibus, ccrroduplici uulnque tlepenJcntc. Anns riiciica ciii.itn. SrtLL. X what -l:i::v^ f..«» '54 The Natural History of what lefs than the other two j Its colour is like that of the ipatka, except that its bill and legs are black, and that there are two white fprigs upon its forehead, which reach from the eye to the bill. The aru *, or kara, belongs to this clafs. It is larger than a duck 'y the head, neck, and back are black -, the bill long, ftrait, black, and fliarp ; the legs black with a caA of red ; it has three black toes, and is web-footed. Great numbers of thefe are found upon the rocky iflands ; and the inhabitants kill them for the fake of their flefh, though tough and bad tafted ; bat more fo for their Ikins, of which, as well as thofe of other fea fowls, they make themfelves garments. Their eggs are reckoned a great delicacy. There are two kinds oi tchaiki, or cormorants, found upon this coaft, which are hardly obferved any where elfe. They are about the bignefs of a goofe, have a flrait reddifh bill about five inches long, and fharp on the edges, and four noftrils, fuch as other cormorants have, two being near the forehead as are found in other birds which are thought to prognofticate ftorms, and are thence named Procellaria ; their heads are of the middling fize ; their eyes black ; their tails eight inches long j and their legs are covered with hair to the knees, but below them are bare ; they have three toes of a bluifli colour, and are web-footed ; their wings extend more than a fathom; they are fometimes fpeckled ; they appear often near the fhore, but can't ftand ftrait upon dry ground, their feet being fo near the tail that they are not able to balance their bodies : they fly flow even when hungry, but when full of meat they cannot raife themfelves from the ground ; and, having eat too much, they eafe their fl:omachs by throwing it up i they have a wide throat, and fwallow filh whole i their flefli is very tough and fmewy, therefore the natives feldom eat it, but in great neceffity, killing them principally for the fake of their * Lomvia Hoieri. bladders. m irv , KAMTSCHATKA. 155 bladders, which they ufe inftead of corks to their nets. The way of catching them is fingular, being angled for as fifliea are, in the following manner : they faften a thick iron, or wooden hook to a long rope or ftrap, baiting the hook with a whole fifli, the point of which comes out near the back fin, and th^n throw it into the fea j this the cormorants obfcrving gather about it in flocks, and quarrel amoiig themfelves who (hall have the prize, until the ftrongeft obtains it and fwallows it j then being drawn on Ihore, they take out the hook and bait by putting their hands into its throat. Sometimes they faften a live cormorant, which they call a decoy, to the rope, and that it may not fwallow the bait, tie down its bill with a cord : the others feeing the decoy fwim fo near the ftiore, come with greater fecurity to the bait. The Kamtfchadales make needle cafes, and combs to comb their nettles, of the bones of their wings. Befides the above-mentioned tchaiki, or cormorants, there is another fpecies which haunt the rivers : thefe are called robbers, becaufe they take the prey .from the fmall birds j their tail is forked like that of the fwallow. The proccllarra, or ftorm birds, are about the bignefs of a fwallow J their feathers are all black, except the tops of their wings, which are white j their bill and legs black. They haunt about the iflands, and before a ftorm they fly low and fkim the lea, and fometimes into the fhips, which the failors look upon a& the fign of an approaching violent gale. ^. The ftariki *, or glupifha, belong to this fpecies. The fta- riki are about the bignefs of a pigeon j have bluifti bills, and bluifti black feathers about the noftrils, which look like briftles j the feathers of the head are of the fame colour, interfperfcd here and there v^ich white ones, which are longer and thinner than the reft ; the upper part of the neck is blick, but the lower black and 'M ' **« ''I • Merjus marinus niger ventre albo, plumis anguftis albis aufitus, Steli.. X 2 white 156 The Natural History of !''i- i'^L' I 1 ^'1 white fpeckled. Thebelly is white, the wings fliort, thelargefeathers of which are black, and the reft blue j the fides and tail are black; the feet are red and webbed j and the nails black and fmall : it haunts about rocky iflands, where it likewife builds its neft : The Kamtfchac'ales catch thefe fowls eafier than they do the tchaiki, or cormorants : they put on a fur coat of a particular make, and letting their hands fall down, fit down in a proper place, and wait for the evening j when the birds returning from the fea feek to retire into holes for the night, and in the dark feveral of them fly into their furs, and are caught. Among the birds defcribed by Mr. Steller are the black fta- rikis *, whofc bills are as red as vermillion, the right fide of which is crooked i it has a white tuft upon its head. He faw a third fpecies in America^ which was fpotted black and white. The glupifha are about the largenefs of the comrrion river cor- morants J and are found upon the rocky iflands, in high ftcep places } their colours are grey, white, and black j and are per- haps called glupifha, that is, foolifh, becaufe they frequently fly into the boats. Mr. Steller fays, that numbers of them are caught in the fourth and flfth Kuril/ki iflands, which the inhabitants dry in the fun i they fqueeze the fat through the fkin, which pafl!es very, cafily, and ufe it for burning. He likewife writes that all the rocky iflands in the fea between Kamtfchatka and America are cove»ed with them. He has feen fome as large as a goofe, or an. eagle i their bills arc crooked and yellowifh j their eyes are large like thofe of an owl j they are black intermixed with white fpots ever the whole body. He once faw, 200 verfts from land, great numbers of them feeding upon a dead whale, which ferved them alfo to appearai^ce for lodging j and in his paflTage through the Ftnfehinjka fea, he faw many of the glupifha, fome of which. * Mergulus marinus alter totus niger criftatus, roAro rubro. Stell^. were KAMTSCHATKA ^57 were black, and others white j but none of them came fo near the veflel as to be exadtly obferved. The * kaiover, or kaior, a bird of this fpecies, is black, with its bill and feet red j builds its neft, which is very curious, upon high rocks in the fea, and whiftles very loud, for which reafon the Coflacks call it ivolhik, or poft-boy. I never faw this bird. The fowl -f* urile, of which there is great plenty in Kamff- chatka^ called, by writers, lea ravens, is about the bignefs of a common goofe, with a long neck and fmall head j the feathers upon the whole body are of a bluifli black, except upon its thighs, where they arc white and in tufts j there are alfo fome long white feathers !:ke hairs, here and there upon its^ neck ; it has a red membrane or fkin round the eyes, a ftrait bill, black above and reddiOi below j and its feet are black and webbed : when it fwims it holds up its head, but flying, it ftretches it out like a crane ; it flies fwift, but rifes heavily j and feeds upon fifli, which it fwallows whole : in the night time, thele fowls ftand in rows upon the edges of the cliflTs, from which in their fleep they fre- quently fall into the water j where they are caught by the ftone foxes, who watch for them j they breed in the month of July j their eggs are green, about the bignefs of a hen's egg, and being boiled thicken a little, but are ill tafted j however the Kamtfchadales climb the highefl rocks in fearch of them, at the hazard of their lives. They catch them with nets, and in the evening with noofes faftened to a long pole j and thefe crea- tures are fo void of apprehenfion, that, though they fee the next fowl to themfelves taken away, they will fit flill and re- ceive the noofe, 'till they are all taken off the cliflfj their flefh is hard and fmewy > but the natives prepare it in. * Columba Groenlandica Batavorum. Stell. t Corvus aquaticus maximus criftatus periophtalmiis cinnabarinis, poftea can- iidic. Stell B t; , fuch. !■' '' n; 158 The Natural History of fuch a manner that, as victuals are there, it is not bad } they roaft it in holes dug in the earth, without plucking off the fea- thers, or taking out the entrails, and when roafted, they fkin and eat it. The natives fay that thefe birds have no tongue ; but this is not true, for they cry in the mornings and evenings : Mr. Steller compares their noife to the found of a trumpet. Class II. Of thofe Birds which haunt for the mofi part about the frej}} Water, The firft of this clafs is the fwan, which is fo common in Kamtfchatkay both in fummer and winter, that the pooreft perfon can have no entertainment without a fwan. When tliey are moulting they hunt them with dogs, and kill them with clubs : in the winter they catch them in thofe rivers that do not freeze. ricre are feven kinds of geefe, which are diftinguifhed thus : large grey geefe, gumenniki, fhort necks, grey and fpcckkd^ white necks, fmall white geefe, and foreign. They all come here in tjie month of May^ and depart in the month of O£iober, as Mr. ^teller fays j who likewife writes, that they come from America^ and that he himfelf faw them pafs Bering's ifland in great flocks, flying cail in the harveft and weft in the fpring. In Kamtfchatka are principally found the large grey geefe, the gumenniki, and the grey and fpecklcd j the fimall white goofe is hardly ever found here. Again, in the North Sea, about Kolimi anc other rivers, are vaft numbers of them j and the beft down is brought to Jakutjki from thefe places. They catch them at the time they caft their feathers, in the following manner : — They build huts with two doors, near thofe places where they moft commonly fit at nigjit. The fowler putting a white fhirt on, above his cloa^hs, fteals as near the flock as he can 3 and fhewing himfelf KAMTSCHATKA. '59 himfelf he creeps away upon his hands and feet towards the hut : then going through it, and obferving that the geefe have followed him, he Ihuts the door behind him, and running round he comes in at the other door, which Shutting likewife, he en- clofes all the geefe. Mr. Steller obfcrved in the month of July upon Bering's ifland an eighth kind of geefe, about the bignefs of the white fpeckied Its back, neck, and belly were white j its wings black } its cheeks white, yet fomewhat greeniHi ; its eyes black, with a yellow ring j the bill has a black ftripe round it, and is red, with a knob like the ChineJ'e or Mujcovy geefe : this knob is bare and yellowiih, except that along it there is a fmall ftripe of bluifh black feathers. The natives report that this fort of geefe is likewife found upon the firft Kuriljkoy ifland j however they were never obferved upon the continent. The people of Kamtfchatka have different methods of catching geefe when they caft their feathers j fometimes they purfue them. in boats j fometimes they hunt them with dogs ; but moft: of them are caught in pits, which they dig near thofe lakes where the geefe haunt, and cover up carefully with grafs : the/e the geefe coming upon the fliore fall into, and are caught. There are eleven different fpecies of ducks in Kamtfchatka -,. namely, the felefni, fharp tails, tcherneti, plutonofi, fvafi, krohali, lutki, gogoli, tchirki, turpani, and ftone ducks : of which the felefni, tchirki, krohali, and gogoli, winter among the fprings ; all the rcfl come in the fpring, and fly away in har/eit, as the geefe do. The fliarp tails are of that kind which writers call the anas caudaciita, five havelda ifandica. They haunt in the bays of the fea, or about the mouths of great rivers: they fwim in flocks, and with their cry, which is extraordinary, make no difagreeable mufick. Mr. Steller writes, that the larynx, or lower part of their throat, has three openings, covered with thin a >m k ^'im {km' ■ a6o Ttre Natural History ef thin membranes. The natives call this fowl aangitch, from their manner of crying. The turpan is called by writers the black duck ♦. They are not fo numerous about Kamtjchatka as at Ochotjka^ where they are caught in great plenty about the equinox. Fifty or more of the natives here going out in boats furround a whole flock, which in time of the flood they drive into the mouth of the river Ochotjkn ; and fo foon as it begins to ebb, and the v/atcr in the bay turns low, all the inhabitants fall upon them, and kill them with clubs in fuch numbers, that every one gets 20 or 30 for his (hare. The flone ducks -f- have not hitherto been obferved in any other place ; they breed in the fummer time in the rivers. The drakes are particularly beautiful, their head being like black A^elvet, and having two white fpots upon their nofe, which extend beyond the eyes, and end in a clay-coloured ftripe behind their head : there is a fmall white fpot near each ear j their bills are broad and flat, like thofe of other ducks j they are of a bluifli colour, and their necks of a bluifli black j upon their breads are black feathers with a white border below j the feathers are fmaller and broader above ; the fore part of the back and belly are bluish, but more blackifli towards the tail j acrofs both wings are broad white ftripes with black borders ; their fides, under the wings, are of a clay colour j the large feathers of the wings, except fix, bluifh J thefe are black and roughifli like velvet j the two laft are white with black borders, and the fecond row of the large wing feathers are all black, the third grey, two only of thefe feathers having white fpots upon their ends : their tails are fliarp, and their feet pale coloured : they weigh about two pounds. The female is far from being fo b'"\utiful : her feathers are black, each • Anas niger. Willoughbv. t Anas pi£la capite pulchre fafcicato. Stcller. being ii '■\.U K A M T S C II A T K A. i6i being fomewhat yellowifh at the end, with a fmall white flripc ; the head is black, and upon its temples are fmall white fpots : it weighs about a pound and a half. In the harveft the females are found in the rivers, but none of the drakes : they are very ftupid and eafily caught where the wa- ters are clear and fhallow, for they do not fly away at the fight of a man, but only dive, and therefore may be eafily killed with poles, as I myfelf have frequently done. Mr. Siellcr faw feveral of this kind of ducks in the American iflands. They catch the ducks with nets in the following manner : in a wood that happens to ftand between two lakes, or between a lake and a river, they cut a flrait pafl'age, through which the ducks fly during the fummer j here in the harvefl:, when the fiOiery is over, the natives faften to long poles feveral nets, which in the evenings they raife as high as the ducks are ufed to mount : round the nets a firing is drawn, by which they can reef them together, as foon as they find the ducks entangled j but they fometimes fly with fuch force and in fuch numbers, that they break through. They likewife catch them in fmall rivers with nets (Iretched acrofs the ftream : but this is a method not peculiar to Kamtfchatka. To this clafs belongs likewife the gagari, or columbus, of which there are four fpecies *, three of which are large, and the other fmall : the firft of the largeft has a tail j the fecond a clay coloured fpot upon its neck, a little above the crop : the third is called by Wormius, the northern lumme j and Marfdiiis calls the fourth the little lumme. The natives pretend to fore- tel the change of weather by their crying and flying j for they think that the wind mufl: always blow from that point towards which they fly : however they are frequently deceived in their judgment. . : . " w \\ '4 li-: * I. Colymbus maximus. Gesn. Stell. 2. Colymbus arfticus lumme didiis. Worm. 3. Colymbus macula fub mente caftanea. Stell. 4. Colymbus live pedicipes cinereus. Ejufdan, Y Here l()Z The Natural HisTr ly 9/ ^^' '''111 Here arc alfo found great numbers of fmall h'xviU, fuch as plovers and fnipes of different forts, which they catcli with fnares and gins. Class m. Q/^ //j^ L A N D F O W L S. ^ . The chief of thefe birds is the eagle, of which there arc four fpecies in Kamtfchatka : the firfl is the black eagle, with a white head, tail, and feet. Thefe arc r«re upon the main land of Kamtfchatka ; but, according to Mr. Stellcr^ they are found in plenty on the iflands lietween it and America. They make their nefls (which are near fix feet in diameter, and about a foot thick) of ffirubs upon high cliffs, and in the beginning of yu/y, lay two eggs. The young ones are as white as fnow : thefe he faw up- on Bcri/ig's ifiand, but not without danger from tlie old ones^ which, even when he did not the leaft hurt to their young, attacked him with fuch violence that he could fcarce defend himfelf from them with his flick. The fecond is the white eagle, which the T^ii77gufi call elo : this I faw near Nertchinjki \ however it is not white but grey. Mr. Steller fays, that this is bred upon the river Harioujkovoi which runs into the Penfchin/ka fea. The third is the black and white fpotted eagle. The fourth, the dark clay-coloured eagle, the extremities of whofe wings and tail are fpotted : thefe two lafl mentioned abound mofl here. The natives eat the eagles, and cfteem them agreeable food. Here are likewife feveral other birds of prey, fuch as vul- tures, hawks of various kinds, owls, and above all, ravens, crows, and magpies, which are the fame with thofe in Europe. Be- fides, here are great numbers of cuckoos, water fparrows, growfe, partridges, thruflies, larks, fwallows, and feveral other fmall birds, whofe appearance in the fpring the natives expedt with great impatience, and thence begin their new year. In the conclufion of this chapter we have added a lift of fome plants, hearts, fifhes, and birds, with their names in the Eng- liJJj, Rujjian, Kamtfchatka ^ Koratfii, and Kuriljki languages. •'Mir KAMTSCHATKA. 163 ■ \ A LIST ef fom« Plants, Deasts, Fishes, and Birds j with t/uir Namti in tht Englifli, Ruflian, Kamtfchatka, Korat(ki, and Kurilfki Languages. PLANTS. '-:'•«( I J Englifli Rujfian Kamtfchatka Koratp Lugune KurHJki The birch tree Berefnick Hehy FopUr willow Topflucke Thifpiai Yakul Vetelnickr Liumtche Tekile Alder Olchofnike Sikite N.killoii AlTe Service tree Ri'senike Kalhine F.loeno Koxiinoni Juniper Mofhevelnike Kahainc Vilvakitche Pakaepnirumamai Cherry Uurel Tchekmafnike Kallurae Eloene Dog brier Shipovnike KavaITu: Pitctakachatthe Kopokone Honey luckje^ Shimdcde Lufliinike Nitchivoy Enumeiam Barberrie* BoiuriOinike HoratenuM Pitkitche Brambleberrics Moraflika Shiie Etiette Apuumenipe Wortleberriet Oolubitfii Ningule LiaguU Enumucuta Cranberries Kliukva Briufnitou Tchikume Emelkevina Afittc Bulberriea Tchahauhe Tiunaana Nipopkipe B EAST S. Sea calves Tiulenne Kollia Memele Reta£>ore Sea beaver Babri Kaiku Kalaga Rahku Sea cat Kotti Tatlatche Tatatche OuncpB A fox Lifotfa Tchafhiai Yaivne Kimutpc Sables Cob.ili Kemhime Kitighime Na Ermines Goraoflai Doitchitche Imahuhake Taiincrume A wolf Volki Kitaia Eglinguui; Orgia Bear Medved Kadia Kaingj "J Glutton Raflamak Timmi Kacppi f Thele beafts arc not Marmotta Evrafhka Circdatche Gilnalc > known in the Elk Uleni Eluahappe Lugaki 1 Kuril/ki ilUnd) Stone ram Kammenoi barenu Guadinadatche Kitipe J F I S H E S. A large kind of? falmon j Red (i(h Tchavitche Tchov iiitche Evotche Tchivira KraOinoiriha Kehivilbe Niovoii Siitchine The humpback Gorbu/hc Koanautchi Kalal Siakipa Turbot Kambala Sigifigh Alpa Tantaka Lampreys Minoghi Kaniginlhe p Smelts Korouchi Inn.ihu > Unknown Unknown Herring Seldi Neriner j Skate Skata Kopalhu Kammiahacke Kjpafhti CodfiOt Freflu Battui Unknown Unknawn Whales Kill D*i Junghi Rika B I R D s. Great feacormo-' rant Swan Bolnfhoi tchaika Atuma Attume Pongapiphe Lebed Matame Kamtchan Geefe GoufTed Kfude Gedoaine Kuntape A drake Cclcfna Bailie Geftchogatche Bakariku Stone ducks Kammcnia utki Nikingike Unknown Vaiuut Widgeons Gargarii Alhoai Yovalva Ctii'c Eagles Orii Seiche Tilmiti Surgoar Hawkes Salioli Shirtii Tiimitil Partridges Kuropstki Euihtchitche Eiiuttc Nicpue Crows Voronnij Kaka 5 Tchautchavao- 7 1 la yelle J Palkure Magpies Siroki Nahitchectche Unkitigin Kakuk Ravens V ironitchernl Haj-lhak Nimetta yelle Swallows L.ilotchki Ilaiukutche Kavalingdc Kuahan Larks J . oronki 'I'ci-.claaUi Oeatciieicrs Rikintchire Cuckows K.tka(hke Koakoiitchitche Kaikiikc Kahkok Snipes Kuliki Suakuluahc Tci^eiaa Etchikumama ^ Y2 Of I ;) ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) yp {./ ^ '^ 164 The Natural History of 1 •« ,"i ■ > . CHAP. XI. Of INSECTS. I AS Kamtfchatka abounds with lakes and marfhes, the Twarms of infeds in the fummer time would make life intolerable there, if it were not for the frequent winds and rains. The maggots are fo numerous as to occafion great deftrudlion to their provifions, particularly in the time of preparing their fifli, which are fometimes entirely deftroyed by them. In the months of fiine^ Julyy and Augujiy when the weather happens to be fine, the mufketoes and fmall gnats are very troublefome ; however the inhabitants do not fuffer much from them, as they are at that time, upon account of the fifliery, out at fea, where by reaibn of the cold and wind few of thefe infeds are to be met with. It is but lately that bugs appeared upon the river Awntfcha, which were brought thither in chefts and cloaths : they are not yet known in Kamtfchatka. Upon account of the wet weather and florms few of the butterfly kind are found here, except in fbme woods near the upper Kamtfchatkoi fort, where they abound. It has been obferved that numbers of thefe infedls have fettled upon veflels which were 30 verfts frorr: the fhore : it appears fomcwhat extraordinary that they (hould be able to fly to fuch a diflance without refting ; moft likely the ftorms fo frequent here might drive them out to fea, and by their violence fupport them. There are few fpiders in Kamtfchatka ; fo that the women who are fond of having children, and who have a notion that thtfe infedls fwallowed render them fruitful and their labour cafy, have great trouble to find them, Nothing plagues the natives ' "-W KAMTSCHATKA. i6s natives in their huts fo much as the lice and flens ; the women fjfFer moft from the termer, by wearing very long, and Ibinctitnts falle hair. Mr. Steller was told, that near the fea is lo md an infc<^t that refembles a loufe, which working itfelf through the ikin into the fle(h is never to be cured, unlcfs by cutting the creature intireiy out j and thut the filhers are very much afraid of them. It is remarkable that in Kamtfchatka there are neither frogs, toads, nor fcrpents. Lizards, indeed, are numerous enough, which the natives look upon as fpies fent from the infernal powers for information,, and to forctel their death ; therefore they are very careful whenever they find them to cut them into fmall pieces, that they may never carry back news to the power which fent them ; and if it happens that the animal efcapes alive, it throws them into the greateft grief and defpair, as they expedt every hour to die, which indeed fometimes happens from their own fear and defpondency, and then ferves to confirm the fuperftition to others. CHAP. XII. Of the TIDES in the Penfchinlka Sea and Eajlern Ocean. I-' IT might perhaps appear fufficient to fiy, that the tides are agreeable in thek fcas to what are obferved in others ; but as I made fome c.bkrvaiions whith appeared to me new, I think it proper to comtnunicate them. It is a ' ^'^^&i^^t^t^^ w %t^ f^ I 'll I' I :!: THE ■i!!'!^ -' , '^ ''\ . ■ : T--- /U li kX^'^'^if'^^if'^^^'^i^^^ii^^'^'Sn^ OF THE NATIVES of Kamtfchatka, AND THEIR CUSTOMS and MANNERS. e*** PART in. CHAP. I. Of the N A T I V E S o/" Kamtfchatka in general. X*****^ H E natives of Kamtfchatka are as wild as the coun- 5 T \^^^ ^^^'^^ • ^^"^^ °^ ^tvci have no fixed habitations, jot J8C ^^^ wander from place to place with their herds of ^^f'^^r^ rein-deer ; others have fettled habitations, and refide upon the banks of the rivers and the fhore of the Venfchinfka fea, living upon fifli and fea animals, and fuch herbs as grow upon the ilior.e. The former dwell in huts covered with deer-fkins, the latter in places dug out of the earth j both in a very barbarous manner : their difpofitions and tempers are rough j and they are intirely ignorant of letters or religion. "• Z The 3 ^dl'!.;U m ■ri 170 lie NATIVES of The natives are divided into three different people, namely, the Kamtfcbadales^ Koreki^ and Kitrilt's. The Kamtfchadales live upon the Ibiith fide of the promontory of Kamtfchatka^ from the mouth of the river Vkoi to the Kuriljk lya Lopatka, and upon the firft Kuriljkoy ifland Schumtfchu : the Koreki inhabit the northern parts on the coaft of the Penfchinjka fea as far as the river Nuktchan^ and round the EaAern Ocean almoft to Anadir : the Kuriles inhabit the fecond Kuriljkoy ifland, and the other iflands in that fea, reaching as far as thofe of Japan. The Kamtfchadales may be divided into the northern and fouthern j the northern people, who live along the river Kamtf- chatka on the coaft of the Eaftern Ocean as far as the mouth of the river JJkoi^ and fouthward to the mouth of the river Nala^ chevdy may be efteemed the principal nation ; their manners being more civilifed, and their language appearing every where to be the fame ; whereas the others fpeak differently on every ifland. The fouthern nation live along the coaft of the Eaftern Ocean, from the Nalacbe'va to the Kuriljkaya Lopatka, and thence along the Penfchinjka fea northwards to the river Harioufkovoy. The Koreki are commonly divided into two nations ; one is called the rein-deer Koreki^ and the other the fixed Koreki, The former wander with their herds from place to place ; the latter live near the rivers, like the Kamtfchadales, Their languages are kt different that they do not underftand each other, particu- larly thofe that border upon the Kamtfchadales^ from whom they have borrowed much of their language. Some likewife divide the Kuriles into two different nations or tribes, calling one the diftant and the other the nearer Kuriles, By the diftant they underftand the inhabitants of the fecond Kuriljkoy ifland and the others that lie near Japan j by the nearer KurileSy the inhabitants of Lopatka and of the firft ifland. But this diviflon is not proper ; for though the inhabitants of the firft ifland and the Lopatka differ fomewhat from the Kamtfchadales both *i.m K A M T S C II A T K A, dV. 171 both ill their language and cuftoms, yet we have rcafon to believe they are the fame people ; the difference only ariting from their neighbourhood, and intermarriages with the true Kuriles. The KamtJcbadaUi have this particular cuftom, that they en- deavour to give every thing a name in their language which may exprefs the property of it \ but if they don't underftand the thing quite well themfelves, then they take a name from fome foreign language, which perhaps has no relation to the thing itfelf: as, for example, they call a pried Bogbogy becaufe probably they hear him ufe the word Bogbog^ God ; bread they call Brightdtin Augj1\ that is, Rujfian root ; and thus of feveral other words to which their language is a ftranger. The names which the Rtijians give thefe different nations they did not take from the natives, but rather from their neighbours : for example, the name of the Kamtfchadales was taken from the Korekiy who call them Kojitchal. The derivation of the name Koreki is uncertain ; however Steller thinks that it probably came from the word Kora^ which in their language lignifies a rein-deer j and that the Rujfian Coflacks frequently hearing the word Kora^ or obferving that their whole riches confifted in rein-deer, gave them the name of Koreki. The inhabitants of Kamtfchatka have three languages, that of the KamtfchadakSy the Koreki ^ and Kuriles ; each of which is divided into different dialedVs. The Kamtfchatka language has three principal dialedts : the firfl is ufed by the northern, th. fecond by the fouthern, which differ fo much that one may look upon them as different languages ; however they can underfland one another without any interpreter : the third dialed: is that which is fpoken by thofe who live upon the Penfchinjka fea, between the rivers Vorovjkaya and 'Tegbily which is compofed of both the above-mentioned dialedts and fome words taken from the Koreki, Z 2 The ! ■'< I ■I ■ I; i ■I' I ' ) If .1' ■ y^ui .4 J72 Of the NATIVES •/ The language of the Koreki confifts of two dialcdh j one of which is fpokcn by the rein-deer Korcki^ and the other by the fixed. We are not, indeed, certain what other dialccfts may be amongd them, being well acquainted only with thofe who arc fubje(fl to the Ruffians; but it is probable that thofe who are fc&ttered among the idands may have fbme difference in their way of fpeaking. The Kamtfchatka language is fpoken half in the throat and half in the mouth : the pronunciation is flow and difficult, and feems to indicate a timorous, flavilb, and deceitful people ; as in fadt they are. The Koreki fpeak aloud, and in a fcreaming tone ; their words are long, but their fentences Hiort, and their words gene- rally begin with two vowels, and end with one or two more : as for example, uemkai, a rein-deer which has not been driven. The Kuriles fpeak flow, diflinftly, and agreeably : their words arc middling, the vowels and confonants being juftly mixed : and of all thefe wild people the Kuri/es arc the beft, being honeft, con- flantj civil, and hofpitable. CHAP. II. Some Conjet7ures concerning the Names of the Kamtfthadales, and the other Inhabitants o/" Kamtfchatka. Hi' H tV-'4 \h I. SOME aflert, that the Kamtfchadales were fo named by the Ruffians from the river Kamtfchatka, but it was called fo before the RuJJians had difcovered, and had its name from a chieftain, called Konchata, We cannot find likewife why the Koreki call the Kamtfcha* dales, Kontchalo, nor can they give any reafons for it thcin- felves. The *\ji!l K A M T S C H A T K A, ^c. '73 The KamtfcbadaleSf befides the general name Itclmen^ diAin- guifh themfelves by adding the name of the river, or remarkable place where they live, as Kiijha-aif an inhabitant upon the Great River) Suatcbu-ai\ an inhabitant upon the river Awatfcba-, for the word ai being added to any river or remarkable fituation, denotes inhabitant of that place, as the word Itelmen is the ge- neral name for inhabitant. Thofe who think Konchata to have been a great captain, feem to have applied to him only all the brave adlions which ought to be attributed to the fcveral inha- bitants upon the river Etouki^ who are called Koatche-ai^ or, in the common way of fpeaking, Kontcbat : befides, this being a re- ceived opinion, that the inhabitants of the river Elouki are the braveft of all the Kamtjcbadales, the Koreii, who are their neighbours, might caiily call the whole nation Kamtjchadales from their name Koatcbe-ai ; and it is nothing extraordinary to find the W9rd Koatcbe-ai changed into Kontcbala, and Kont' cbala into KamtfcbadaUt as we find feveral iimilar examples, not only among thefe barbarous people, but the politcft nations of Europe. With regard to the place where the Kamtfcbadales came from, or at what time they firfl fettled here, we can have no certain account; for all that can be obtained from thefe people b only fabulous tradition $ and they pretend that they were created upon this very fpot, and fay, their firfl anceilor was KutbUf who formerly lived in the heavens : however by their manners, cufloms, language, drefs, and other circumftances, it would appear that the Kamtfcbadales came over from Muri' galia. Of the antiquity of thefe people Steller gives the fol- lowing proofs : \Ji» that they have loll every tradition of their origin. 2d. That before the arrival the RttJJians^ they knew little of any other people, except the Koreki and Tchukotjkoi j and it is but lately that they came to any knowledge of tlie Ku- rihs and Japanefe, and this was owing to the arrival of the latter among^ » , '■: r I., ' J \iA^:A jinl :.\t , ' i 174 7/v NATIVES of among them to trade, from a Japam'/e boat having been cad away upon their coall. 3, 7tli. Sea calves' puppying time. 8th. Time when the tame deer bring forth their young. 9th. When the wild deer bring forth, loth. Beginning of the fifliery. Their divifion of time is pretty fingular ; they commonly divide our year into two, fo that winter is one year, and fummer another : the fummer year begins in May, and the winter in November. They do not diftinguiih the days by any particular appellation, nor form them intn weeks or months, nor yet know how many days are in the month or year. They mark their epochs by fome remarkable thing or other, fuch as the arrival of the Ruffians, the great rebellion, or the firft expedition to Kamtfchatka. They have no writings, nor hieroglyphick figures, to preferve the me- mory of any thing j fo that all their knowledge depends upon tradition, which foon becomes uncertain and fabulous in regard to what is long pafl. They are ignorant of the caufes of eclipfes, but when they happen, they carry fire out of their huts, and pray the luminary eclipfed to fhine as formerly. They know only three conflcl- lations ; the Great Bear, the Pleiades, and the three ftars in Orion ; and give names only to the principal winds. Their laws in general tend to give fatisfadion to the injured perfon. If any one kills another, he is to be killed by the rela- tions of the perfon flain. They burn the hands of people who have been frequently caught in theft, but for the firft offence the thief muft reftore what he hath flolen, and live alone in folitude, without expe<5ling any afiiftance from others. They think they can punifli an undifcovered theft by burning the finevvs of the (lone-buck in a publick meeting with great ceremonies of conjuration, believing that as thefe fmews are contracted by the fire fo the thief will have all A a 2 his \A '!' t" Mill *^f\*\ m^. ^ jx«-. •■<^f^j ii'^i f, . 1 1 :' iSo 0/ the 'N A r I y E S of his limbs contradled. They never have any difputes about their land or their huts, every one having land and water more than fufficient for his wants. Although their manner of living be moft nafty, and their adlions moft ftupid, yet they think themfelves the happieft people in the world, and look upon the RttJJiam who are fet- tled among them with contempt : however this notion begins to change at prefent ; for the old people who aie confirmed in their cuftoms, drop off, and the young ones being converted to the Chriftian religion, adopt the rnftnms of the JluJJinn^- sr""^ ■/^**^^i:--e -S^mssH^ " -^ns* 9?i^u/e ofa/yl^'it/rri'/i^iJ^ \t^ ( 1^2 Of the NATIVES of to fuffocate any one who is not inured to bear it : but tlic natives find no difficulty in going out or in j and though they can only fix their toes on the fleps of the ladder, they mount like fquirrels j nor do the women hefitate to go through this fmoke with their children upon their fliouldersj- though there is another opening through which the women are allowed to pafs ; but if any nun fhould pretend to do the fame he would be laughed at. yhe Kamtfchadales live in thefe huts all the winter, after which they go out into others which they call balagans : thefe ferve them not only to live in during the fummer, but alfo for magazines. They are made in the following manner : Nine pillars, about two fathom long or more, are fixed in the ground, and bound together with balks laid over them, which they cover with rods, and over all lay grafs, faftening fpars and a round fharp roof at top, which they cover with bramble, and thatch with grafs. They faflen the lower ends cf the fpars to the balks with ropes and thongs, and have a door on each fide one diredtly oppofite to the other. They have fuch balagans, not only round their winter habita- taions, but alfo in thofc places where they lay up their food in fummer j and they are certainly very convenient in this country on account of the frequent rains, which would furely Ipoil all their fiHi if it was not preierved in fuch places; befides, when they return from fiihing and hunting in the harveft, they leave their dry fifli here, 'till they can fetch it in the winter ; and this without any guard only taking away the ladders. If theic buildings were not fo high the wild beads would undoubtedly plunder them ; for notwithftanding all their precaution, the bears fometimes climb up and force their way into their magazines, efpccially in the harveft when the fifli and berries begin to grow fcarce. In the fummer, when they go a hunting, they hav«, befides their balagans, huts made of grafe, in which they dr^is their fide ) I In si ''""JW?|/*!!yW!.f I .,'■■-. -"» ' ^i^: ;''-^ ^' " //r/////// /• jz:7////,y . *> ■--^■i,; ■■- .■Q^.-.-ia^-M-:^-. *^ „-H^^..- -.^. ^^ ^ ^ j . ^^. ^^^ ^ T .iiiii.1 -Trn '•;.-:■-: r lt\\ i \ t. •^ ^,'W':'v;^ ■ r---^ W r . -/,_. pk^^gl2 ■■;•' '"'v«Rs|P HHji^ .:V^ »^ .■-■ 1 ' -M saw^"* * -« ■- ^%:i" fl \) 1.^' J •;^" "'i -> V- " ' J - ■« * ■ .-* ? fj^^r-j^wtfjl m i~-^^.' y - -^x J r'/^! .,} I/, liE--g*l %,^^sfs:^^^s i 1 p R' 1 1 i K A M T S C H A T K A, £?<:. 183 their victuals and clean their fifh in bad' weather ; and the Cof- facks boil their fait from fea water in them. The villages, which are well inhabited, having their common huts furrounded with thefe balagans, make a very agreeable appearance at a diftance. The (buthern Kamtfchadales commonly build their villages in thick woods, and other places which are naturally ftrong, not lefs than twenty verfts from the fea j and their fummer habita- tions are near the mouths of their rivers ; but thofe who live upon the Penfchinfia fea and the Eaftern Ocean build their vil- lages very near the (hore. They look upon that river near which their village is fituated, as the inheritance of their tribe ; and if one or two families at any time deiire to live feparate from their native village, they build themfelves huts upon the fame river, or fome branch that falls into it j from which it is natural to imagine, that the in- habitants of every village have originally fprung from the fame father j and the Kamtfchadales themfelves fay, that Kut^ whom they fometimes call God, and fomctimes their firft father, lived two years upon each river, and left the children that river, on which they were born, for their proper inheritance ; and though formerly the Kamtfchadales ufed only to hunt and fi(h upon their own rivers, they now wander above 200 verfts to kill the fea animals upon the Awatfcha, or the Kurilfkaya Lopatka. ^, .M .!:'l C H A P. ;'t.::; i;^1:|i? p 184 Of the NATIVES of ; J '.PL. CHAP. V. I Of their HOUSHOLD FURNITURE, and other . ,. necejjary Utenfils, • < - Ah L the Kamtfchatka houftiold furniture confifts in diflies, bowls, troughs, and cans made of birch bark. As thefe people have not the ufe of metals, we think it is proper to explain, how without the ufe of inftruments of iron, they are able to perform their houfhold work, fuch as building, fawing, making of fire, dreffing their victuals ; being all the while fo ignorant that they can fcarcely count ten. How powerfully does neceflity work upon the moll infenfible minds ! ' ^ Before the arrival of the Rujjians the Kamtfchadaks ufcd ftones and bones inftead of metals, out of which they made hatchets, ipears, arrows, needles, and lances. Their hatchets were made of the bones of whales and rein-deer, and fometimes of agate or flint ftones. They were Ihaped in form of a wedge, and faftened to crooked handles. With thefe they hollowed out their canoes, bowls, and troughs j but with fo much expence of trouble and time, that a canoe would be three years in making, and a large bowl one year. For this reafon, a large canoe or trough was in as great efteem among them as a veffel of the moft precious metal and fineft workmanship is with us $ and the village which was in pofleflion of fuch valued themfelves extremely upon it, efpecially if they were mafters of a bowl which would ferve for more than one gueft. Thefe bowls they drefs their victuals in, and heat their broth by throwing red-hot ftones into it. Their knives were made of a greenifh mountain chryftal, fliarp-pointed, and fliaped like a lancet, which was ftuck into Mi I • ■" ■■Mf-<%-- '.^f\^»r '.*; 'a^s ,*; )l LiTl: I. .'■'H vm ■> li 1,1.1 ^^/le///od (yhnwumia fyircp.^ K A M T S C H A T K A, G?,-. ,Sj ft wooden handle. Of fuch chryftals were made likewlfe their arrows, fpears, and launcets, with which they continue ftill to let blood. Their fewing needles they made of the bones of fables, with which they not only fewed their cloaths together, but made alfo very curious embroidery. In order to kindle fire they have a board of dry wood with round holes in the fides of it, and a fmall round ftick j this they rub in a hole 'till it takes fire, and inftead of tinder they ufe dry grafs beat foft. Thefe inftruments are held in fuch efteem by the Kamtfchadales that they are never without them, and they value them more than our fteels and flints : but they are excef- fively fond of other iron inftruments, fuch as hatchets, knives, or needles j nay, at the firft arrival of the RuJJians a piece of broken iron was looked upon as a great prefent, and even yet they receive it with thankfulnefs, knowing how to make ufe of the leaft: fragment either to point their arrows or make dart?, which they do by hammering it out cold between two ftones. All the favage inhabitants of thefe parts are par- ticularly fond of iron, and know how to manage it very curioufly. As fome of them delight in war, the Rujjian merchants are forbid to fell them any warlike inftruments j but they are ingenious enough to make fpears and arrows out of the iron pots and kettles which they buy \ and they are fo dextrous when the eye of a needle breaks as to make a new eye, which they will repeat until nothing remains but the point. Even at the time when I was there it was only the better fort and thofe that lived near to the Ruffians that made ufe of iron or copper veffels, the reft: ftill preferring their wooden dirties. It is faid, that the Kamtfchadales knew the ufe of iron even before the arrival of the Ruffians ; that they received it from the Japanefe^ who came to the Kuriljki iflands, and once to the mouth of the river Kamtfchatka j and that the name which the Kamtfchadales give the Japanefe of Shifman comes from Jhijh^ Bb a 1: i- •i: n\' -i i86 Of the NATIVES of a needle. The *jopcncfe cert? inly ufcd to come and trade to the Kurujki ifiands, for I iound there a Japanefe fabre, a japanned waiter, and filver car-rings, which could be brought from no other place. Of all the curiofitits made by thcfe wild people with their ftone knives and hatchets, nothing furprifed me fo much as a chain o€ whales' bones, found in an empty hut near the Tchukotjkoi Nofs, made of different links as fmooth as if they had been turned, about a foot and a half long, and formed out of one tooth. It is very extraordinary that any of thefc wild people fhould with nothing but flone inflruments have been capable of making fo curious a piece of workmandiip, which was worthy of the beft artift. They have two methods of making their boats j one fort of which is called koaihtahtay and the other tahta. The former do not differ from our fifhermens' boats, except that the prow and flern are higher, and the fides lower. The tahta has the prow and flern of an equal height j the middle is not bent out, but rather falls in, which makes it very inconvenient, efpecially when there is any wind, as being very foon filled with water. They ufe the koaihtahta only upon the river Kamtfchatka^ but the tahta in mofl other places. When any planks are fewed upon the tahta they are called baidars, which are ufed by the inha- bitants upon the Bobrovoi or Beaver fea in purfuing the fea animals. They fplit thefe baidars, and fewing them with whales* beards caulk them with mofs or nettles beat foft. The Kuriles of the iflands and thofe that live upon the Lopatka build the baidars with a keel, to which they few planks with whales' beard, and caulk them with mofs. In Kamtfchatka they make their boats of poplar wood only; but the Kuriles^ having no proper wood of their own, are obliged to make ufe of what is thrown on flioie by the fea, and which is fuppofed to come from the coafl oijapariy America^ or China. The northern inhabitants of Kamtjlhatka^ the K A M T S C H A T K A, 6?f. .87 the fettled Korcki and Tchiikotjkoi, for want of proper timber and plank, make their baidars of the Ikins of fea animals. Thefe boats hold two perfons, one of which fits in the prow and the other in the Itern. They pufli them againft the ftream with poles, which is attended with great trouble : when the current is flrong they can fcarcely advance two feet in ten minutes ; notwithilanding which, they will carry thefe boats full loaded fometimes 20 verfts, and, when the ftream is not very ilrong, even 30 or 40 verfts. In the larger boats they can carry 30 or 40 pood ; and when the goods are not very heavy, they lay them upon a float or bridge made between two boats joined together. They ufe this method in tranfporting their provifions down with the ftream, and alfo to and from the iflands. CHAP. VI, Of the LABOUR appropriated to the Different Sexes. IN the fummer time the men are employed in catching, drying, and tranfporting filh to their habitations; in preparing bones and four fi(h to feed their dogs : the women, in cleaning the fiih, and fpreading it out to dry ; and fometimes they go a fiftiing with their hufoands. After their fifliing is over, they gather in the herbs, roots, and berries, both for food and me- dicine. In the harveft the men catch the fifli that appear at that time, and kill fowl, fuch as geefe, ducks, fwans, and the like ; they teach their dogs to draw carriages, and prepare wood for their B b 2 fledges. i(»i i88 Oj the NATIVES of 'X- liV u I'l- fledges, and other ufes. The women at this time are bufy with their hemp of nettles, in pulling it up, watering, breaking, peel- ing, and laying it up in their balagans. The men in the winter hunt for fables and foxes, weave fifhing nets, make fledges, fetch wood, and bring their provifions from fcveral places, which they had prepared in the fummer, and could not bring home in the harveft. The women are principally em- ployed in fpinning thread for nets. In the fpring, when the rivers begin to thaw, the fifli that win- tered in them go towards the fea j and the men are bufied in catching them or the fea animals that at this time frequent the bays. The people upon the Eaftern Ocean, catch the fea beaver. All the women go into the fields, where they gather wild garlick, and other young tender herbs, which they ufe not only in a fear- city of other provifion, which often happens at this feafon of the year, but likewife out of luxury j for fo fond are they of every thing that is green, that during the whole fpring they are feldom without having fome of it in their mouths ; and though they always bring home a great bundle of greens, they feldom laft them above a day. Befides the above-mentioned employments the men are obliged to build their huts and balagans, to heat their huts, drefs victuals, feed their dogs, flea the animals, whofe flcins are ufed in cloath- ing, and provide all houfliold and warlike infliruments : the wo- men are here the only taylors and (hoemakers, for they drefs the fldns, make the cloaths, fhoes, and ftockings : it is even a difgrace for the men to do any thing of that fort j fo that they looked upon the RuJJians who came here firfl in a very ridiculous light, when they faw them ufe either their needle or awl. The women are likewife employed in dying flcins, in conjuration, and curing of the fick. Their method of preparing and dying flcins, ftwing and joining them, is as follows :. every fliin which they ufe Ml KAMTSCHATKA, t^c, ufc for cloaths, fuch as dccr-fkins, feals, dogs, and beavers, they prepare one way : in the firft place, wetting and fpreading it out, they fcrape off all the pieces of fat or veins that remained after fleaing it, with ftones fixed in pieces of wood j. then rubbing it over with frefli or four caviar, they roll it up and tread it with their feet 'till the hide begins to ftink j they again fcrape and clean it, and continue this 'till the fkin is foft and clean. Such fkins as they want to prepare without the hair they ufe at firfl in the fame manner as above j then hang them in the fmoke for a week, and afterwards foak them in warm water to make the hair fall off; at laft rubbing them with caviar, by frequent treading and fcraping them with flones, they make them clean and foft. They dye the deer and dog fkins, which they ufe for cloathmg, with alder bark cut and rubbed very fmall j but the feal-fkins, which they ufe either for cloathing, Ihoes, or ftraps for binding their fledges, they dye in a particular manner : having firfl clean- ed oflf the hair they make a bag of the fkin, and turning the hair fide outward they pour into it a flrong decodion of alder bark j after it has lain thus fometime, they hang it upon a tree, and beat it with a flick. This operation they repeat 'till the colour is gone quite through the fkin j then they rip it open, and ftretching it out, dry it in the air ; at lafl they rub it 'till it becomes foft and fit for ufe. Such fkins are not unlike drefled goat-fkins : however,. Steller fays that the Lamujhki have yet a better way of preparing them. Thefe fkins they call mandariy and they are worth three fliillings a-piece. The hair of the feals, with which they orna- ment their cloaths and flioes, is dyed with the juice of the red wortleberry boiled with alder bark, alum, and lac lunae ; which makes a very bright colour. They ufed to few their cloaths and fhoes with needles made of bone, and inftead of thread they made ufe of the fibres of the deer, which they fplit to the fize or thicknefs required, They ''i; '(br'jj 190 Of the NATIVES of TJiey make glue of the dried Ikins of fiflies, and particularly of thewhale-fkin. A piece of this they wrap up in birch bark, and laying it for a little while in warm afhes they take it out v and it is then fit for ufc, and to me feems as good as the bell Yaick glue. CHAP. VII. Of their DRESS. THEIR cloaths, for the mofl; part, are made of the fkins of deer, dogs, feveral fea and land animals, and even of the fkins of birds, frequently joining thofe of different animals in the fa-mc garment. They make the upper gar- ment in two fafhions j fometimes cutting the fkirts all of an equal length j and fometimes leaving them long behind in form of a train. They are made of deer-lkins, with wide fleeves of a length to come down below the knee : there is a hood or caul behind, which in bad weather they put over their heads below their caps : the opening above is only large enough to let their head pafs : they few the fkins of dog's feet round this opening, with which they cover their faces in cold ftormy weather, and round their fkirts and fleeves they put a border of white dog- fkin : ujJon their backs they few the fmall fhreds of fkins or filk of different colours. They commonly wear two coats ; the un- der coat with the hair-fide inwards, the other fide being dyed with alder ; and the upper with the hair outwards. For the upper garment they choofe black, white, or fpeckled ikins, the hair of which is mofl efleemed for the beauty of its colours. Men and women, without diflindion, ufe the above-mentioned garments, their drefs only differing in their under cloathing, and in the KAMTSCHATKA, Gf^. 191 the covering of their feet and legs. The women have an under- garment which they commonly wear at home in the houfe, con- fifting of breeches and waiftcoat fewed together. The breeches are wide, like thofe of the Dutch ikippers, and tie below the knee ; the waiftcoat is wide above, and drawn round with a firing. The fummer habits are made of drefled ikins without hair ; their winter garment is made of deer or flone-ram (kins with the hair on. The undrcfs or houfliold habit of the men is a girdle of leather, with a bag before, and likewife a leathern apron to cover them behind : thefe girdles arc fewed with hair of difterent colours. The Kamtfchadales ufed formerly to go a hunting and iifhing during the fummer in this drefs \ but now this fafhion is changed, and below their girdles they wear linen fliirts, which they buy from the Ruffians. The covering of their feet and legs is made of fkins of different forts ; in the fummer time during the rains, they wear the (kins of feals with the hair outwards ; but their moft common covering is the fkin of the legs of the rein-deer, and fometimes of the legs of other beafts, the ihaggieft they can find, to preferve them againft the cold. But the fined buikins, which both the Coffacks and Kamtfchadales ufe in their greateft drefs, are made in the following manner : the fole is of white feal-fkin, the upper part of fine dyed leather, the hind quarters of white dog-skin j what comes round the legs is of drefled leather or dyed feal- skins : the upper parts are embroidered. Thefe buskins are fo extraordinary, that if a batchelor is obferved to wear them he is immediately concluded to be upon a fcheme of courtfhip. They wear the fame fort of caps as the people of Jakut/ki. In the fummer they have a fort of hats of birch bark tied about their head : the Kuriles ufe in the fummer time caps made of platted grafs. The women's head-drefs is the perukes that we formerly mentioned y and thefe were fo dear to them, that when tliey 1!'?H- m\ 192 Of the NATIVES of they came to be Chiiflians they were with difticulty prcvailcJ upon to quit this drefs for one more decent : however, at prcleiit round the Rufi fettlemcnts all is intirely changed, the women wearing fliirts, ruffles, waiftcoats, caps and ribbands; uhich change nobody now complains of, except tlie very old people. The women do all their work in mittins : they formerly never wafhed their faces, but now they ufe both white and red paint i for white paint they make ufe of a rotten wood, and for red a fea plant *, which they boil in feals' fat, and rubbing their cheeks with it make them very red. They drefs moft in the winter time, cfpecially when they cither receive or pay vifits. The common cloaths for a Kamtfchadale and his family will, not coft him Icfs than an hundred rubles, for the coarfeft worded ftockings, which coft in Rujjia 20 kopeeks, cannot be bought here for lefs than a ruble } and all other things are fold in trie fime proportion. The Kuriles arc more able to buy good cloaths than the KamtfchadaleSf for they can purchafe for one fea beaver as much as the Kamtjchadales can for twenty foxes, and one beaver cofts the Kuriles no more trouble than five foxes do the Kamtf- cbadales 5 for he muft be a good hunter who catches more than ten foxes in the winter, and a Kurili thinks himfelf unlucky if he doth not catch three beavers in the feafon j befides which great numbers are thrown upon the fliore by ftorms. * Fucus marinus abletlt forma. Pinna maritima, feu fucus teres. Dood. Ap- pend. 326. Ray Linn. CHAP. KAMTSCHATKA. '93 CHAP. VIII. of their DIET and LI Q^U O R S, together mth their Method e/^ C O O K I N G. HAVING already mentioned that the food of the Kamtfchadales confiAs in roots, fi(h, and fea animals, which are all defcribed in the fecond part of this book; we {hall now relate their method of dreHing them. And firft, we will begin with the fifh, which they ufe inAead of bread. The principal food, called yokola^ is prepared from every fort of fifli, and ferves them for houfliold bread. They divide their fifh into fix parts ; the fides and tail are hung up to dry } the back and thinner part of the belly are prepared apart, and generally dried over the fire ; the head is laid to four in pits, and then they eat it like fait fiib, and eileem it much, though the (link is fuch that a flranger cannot bear it ; the ribs and the flefii which remain upon them they hang up and dry, and after- wards pound them for ufe j the larger bones they likewife dry for food for their dogs : in this manner all thefe different people prepare the yokola^ and they eat it for the mofl part dry. Their fecond favourite food is caviar, or the roes of fi{h, which they prepare in three different ways : they dry the roe whole in the air, or take it out of the skin which envelopes it, and, fpreading it upon a bed of grafs, dry it before the fire j or laftly, make rolls of it with the leaves of grafs, which they alfo dry. They never take a journey or go a hunting without dry caviar j and if a Kamtjchadale has a pound of this, he can fubfift without any other provifion a great while; for every birch and alder tree furniflies him with bark, which, with his C c dried •-\ 19+ Of the NATIVES of dried caviar, makes him an agreeable meal; but they cannot cat either feparately, for the caviar flicks Uke glue to the teeth, and the bark, although it fhould be chewed ever fo long by itfelf, they are hardly ever able to fwallow down alone. There is ftill a fourth method which both the Kamtfchadjles and Koreki ufe in preparing their caviar j having covered the bottom of a pit with grafs, they throw the frefh caviar into it, and leave it there to grow four : the Koreki tie their's in bags and leave it to four J this is efteemed their mod delicate difli. There is a third fort of diet, called by the Kamtfchadales tcbuprikiy which is prepared in this manner ; in their huts over the fire-place they make a bridge of flakes, upon which they lay a heap of fifli, which remains there 'till the hut becomes as warm as a bagnio j if there was no great thicknefs of fifti one fire would ferve to drefs it; but fometimes they are obliged to make two, three, or more fires. Fifh drefl'ed in this manner is half roafted, half fmoaked, and has a very agree- able tafte, and may be reckoned the beft of all the Kamtjchatka cookery ; for the wnole juice and fat is prepared with a gradual heat, and kept in by the skin, in which it lies as in a bag, and when ready may be eafily feparated from the fifli j as ibon as it is thus dreffed, they take out the guts, and fpread the body upon a mat to dry; this they afterwards break fmall and put into bags, carrying it along with them for provifion j and when dried eat it like the yokola. The Kamtfchadales have a difh, which they efteem very much, called huigul : it is fifh laid to grow four in pits ; and though the fmell of 'it is intollerable, yet the Kamtfchadales efteem it a perfume. This fifli fometimes rots fo much in the pits that they cannot take it out without ladles j however in that cafe they ufe it for feeding their dogs. Mr. Steller fays, that the fummer Samojeds likewifc four their fi{h J but that the earth being fro. en preferves it much better j 3 KAMTSCHATKA, ^c. 195 better ; the yakutjki alfo dig deep pits, in which they lay their fifh, fprinkling it with wood aflies^ and cover it with leaves at top, and over all put a layer of earth : this method is better than any of the former. The 'Tungtifi and Coffacks of Ochotjka preferve their fifli in the fame manner, with this difference only, that inftead of wood afhes, they ufe the aflies of burnt fca weed. They boil their frfefh fifli in troughs, take it out with -boards, and letting it cool, eat it with a foup made of the fweet grafs. As for the fiefli of land and fea animals, they boil it in their troughs, with feveral different herbs and roots i the broth they drink out of ladies and bowls, and the meat they take out upon boards, and eat in their hands. The whale and fea horfe fat they alfo boil with roots. There is a principal difli at all their fcafts and entertainments, called felaga, which they make by pounding all forts of dif- ferent roots and berries, with the addition of caviar, and whale and feals' fat. Before the conqueft they feldom ufed any thing for drink but water : but when they made merry they drank water which had flood fome time upon mufhroons ; but of this here- after. At prefent they drink fpirits as faff as the RuJJians'. after dinner they drink water ; and every one, when he goes to bed at night, fets a veffel of water by him, to which he puts fnow or ice to keep it coldj and always drinks it up before morning. In the winter time they amufe themfelves fre- quently by throwing handfuls of fnow into their mouths j and the bridegrooms who work with the fathers of their future brides find it their hardeft task to provide fnow for their family in the fummer time, for they muft bring it from the higheft hills be the weather what it will, otherwife they would fo difoblige as never to be forgiven. i:i :>'r-:?.t. Co 2 CHAP. H'i' in*I 196 O/the^^ATlVESof m w iU- 11* k l 1 1 CHAP. IX. r/je Method of TRAVELLING with DOGS, and the Furniture necejfary thereto. TH E Dogs of Kamtfchatka differ very little from the common houfe dogs : they are of a middling fize, of various colours, though there feem to be more white, black, and grey, than of any other. In travelling they make fe of thofe that are gelded, and generally yoke four to a fledge. The alaki is made of broad double foft ftraps, which are put over the dogs* fhoulders, the near dog having it over his left, and the off dog over his right. At the end of thefe alaki's is a fmall thong, with a hook at the end of it, which is faflened to a ring in the fore part of the fledge. The pobeflinick is a long ftrap, and ferves inftead' of a coach pole. It pafl*es through a ring, which is in the middle of the fore part of the fledge j and to it is fafliened a chain that keep* the dogs together, that they (hould not run afunder. The bridle is a long ftrap, with a hook and chain, which is fixed to the fore dogs, and is much longer than the pobefhnick, being faftened to a ring in the fore part of the fledge. The oflieiniki, or collars, are broad ftraps made of bear-skin^ and are frequently put upon dogs merely for ornament. They drive and direft their dogs with a crooked ftick about four feet long, which they call the oftal, and fometimes adorn it with different coloured thongs : this is looked upon as a great- piece of finery. They drive their fledges fitting upon the right fide .i:-lii K A M T S C H A T K A, &c. 197 fide with their feet hanging down ; and it would be looked upon as a difgrace for any one to fit in the fledge, or to make ufe of any perfon to drive them, no body doing this but the women. A fet of four good dogs will cofl in Kamtfchatka 1 5 rubles, and with their harnefs complete come to near 20. From the make of their fledges may be feen how difficult it is to travel upon them j for a man is obliged to keep the exadeft balance, otherwife he is liable, from the height and narrownefs of them, to be overturned. In a rugged road this would be very dangerous, as the dogs never Hop 'till they come to fome houfe, or are entangled by fomething upon the road ; for they have this feult, that in going down fteep hills they run with all their force, and are fcarcely to be kept in : for which reafon, in defcending any great declivity they unyoke all the dogs except one, and lead them foftly down the hill. They likewife walk up hills ; for it is as much as the dogs can do to drag up the fledge empty. The narta will carry, befides the provifions for the dogs and the driver, about five poods. With this load, upon a tolerable road, they can travel about 30 verfls a day j and without any load, in the fpring when the fnow is hardened, and upon flidcrs made of bone, they can travel 1 50 verfls. After a deep fnow there is no tra- velling with dogs 'till a road be made, which is efFedted by a man going before upon fnow-fhoes, whom they call brodov-^ Jhika. The fnow-fhoes are made of two thin boards, feparated in the middle, and bound together at the ends j the fore part is bent a little upwards. They are bound together with thongs, and a place made to flip in the foot, which they likewife tie with thongs. The brodovfhika having one of thefe fhoes upon each foot leaves the dogs and fledge, and going on, clears the road for fome way j then returning leads forwards the dogs and fledge fo far as- the road is made j a method which he mufl continue 'till :.f!^' '!>■ 198 Of the NATIVES©/ 'till he comes to fome dwelling-houfe. This is very laborious, but it happens fo often, that no guide ever fets out without his fnow- fhoes. The greateft danger is when a ftorm of driven fnow furprifes them ; then they are obliged with all hafte to feek the (helter of lome wood, where they flay as long as the tempeft lafts, which fometimes is a whole week. If a ftorm at any time fur- prifes a large company of travellers, they dig a place for them- felves under the fnow, and cover the entry with wood or bramble. The Kamtfchadates feldom make thefe temporary huts, but hide themfelves commonly in cavec or holes of the earth, wrapping themfelves in their furrs j and when thus covered, they move or turn themfelves with the greatefl caution, leafl they fliould throw off the fnow, for under that they lie as warm as in their common huts : they mufl only have the convenience of a breathing place ; but if their cloaths are tight or hard girt about them, the cold is unfufFerable. If the florms furprife them in an open country where there is no wood, they endeavour to find fome hollow place, in which they fhelter themfelves, but mufl be careful to prevent being fmothered with the fnow. The eafl and fouth-eafl winds arc generally attended with a moifl fnow, which wets the travellers ; and being followed with the nortli wind and fevere colds, feveral are then frozen to death. Another danger attending the traveller is, that in the feverefl frofl feveral rivers are not quite frozen over ; and as the roads for the mod part lie clofe upon tie rivers, the banks being very fleep, few years pafs in which many people are not drowned. A difagreeable circumflance alfo to thofe who travel in thefe parts is their fometimes being obliged to pafs through copfes, where they run the rifk of having their eyes fcratched out, or their limbs broken ; for the dogs always run mofl violently in the K A M T S C HA T K A, &c. 199 the worft roads, and to free themfelves very often overturn their driver. The beft travelling is in the month of March or Aprils when the fnow is turned hard or frozen a little at top j however, there is ftill this inconvenience attending it, that foretimes travellers are obliged to lodge two or three nights in defert places j and it is difficult to prevail upon the Kamtfchadaks to make fire either for warming themfelves or dreffing vidluals, as they and their dogs eat dried fifli, and find themfelves fo warm wrapt in their furrs that they want none ; nay, it is furprifing to fee all the people of this climate bearing the cold fo well, that after having flept a whole night very found they awake next morning as refredied and alert as if they had lain in the warmeft bed. This feems to be fo natural to all here, that I have feen fome of them lie down with their backs uncovered againft a fire, and notwithftanding the fire has been burnt out long before morning, yet they continued to fleep on very comfortably, and without any inconvenience, CHAP. X. Of the Kamtfchadales' Method of making WAR. ALTHOUGH before they were conquered by the Ruf- fians^ the Kamtfchadales did not feem to have had any ambition of increafing thf^ir power, or enlarging their ter- ritories, yet they had fuch frequent quarrels among themfelves that feldom a year paiTed without one village or other being en- tirely ruined. The end of their wars was to take prifoners, in order 200 Of the NATIVES of <*i order to employ them, if males, in their hardeft labour, or, if females, either for wives or concubines j and fometimes the neigh- houring villages went to war for quarrels that happened among the children} or for negleding to invite each other to their entertainments. Their wars are carried on more by ftratagem than bravery j for they are fuch cowards that they will not openly attack any one unlefs forced by neceflity : this is the more extraordinary, be- caufe no people feem to defpife life more than they do, felf- xnurther being here very frequent. Their manner of attacking is this : in the night-time they ileal into the enemy's village, and furprife them, which may eafily be done as they keep no watch J thus a fmall party may deftroy a large village, as they have nothing more to do than to fecure the mouth of a hut, and fuf sr no body to come out, which only one can do at a time j therefore whoever firft attempts to efcape is knocked down, or obliged to fubmit to be bound. The male prifoners which they take, efpecially if they are men of any confequence, are treated with all manner of barbarity, fuch as burning, hewing them to pieces, tearing their entrails out when alive, and hanging them by the feet. This has been the fate of feveral Ruffian Coffacks during the difturbances of Kamtfchatka ; and thefe barbarities are exercifed with great (hew of triumph and rejoicing. Thefe private differences among themfelves were very ufeful to the Coffacks in their conqueft of the whole nation ; for when the natives faw the latter attacking one village, fo far were they from affifting their countrymen, that they rejoiced at their deftrudtion, not confidering that the fame was to be their fate next. In their wars with the Coffacks, they deftroyed more by ftratagem than by arms j for when the Coffacks came to any village II K A M T S C H A T K A, &c\ 201 village to demand their tribute, they were received with all marks of friendfliip, and not only the tribute was paid, but likewife great prefents were made them. Thus the natives having lulled them into a ftate of fecurity, they either cut their throats in the night-time, or fet fire to their huts, and burnt them with all the Coffacks which were within. By fuch flratagems 70 people were deftroyed in two places, which, confidering the fmall number of Cof- facks that were there, was a very confiderable lofs : nay, it has fometimes happened that when they had no opportunity of deftroying the Coffacks at firft, they have for two years quietly paid the tribute, waiting 'till they could find an oppor- tunity of doing it. By this cunning the Kamtfchadales deftroyed at firft many Coffacks, but now the latter are more upon their guard, and are particularly afraid of extraordinary careffes, always ex- pecting fome bad intention when the women in the night- time retire out of their huts. When the Kamtfchadales pretend to have dreamed of dead people, or go to vifit diftant villages, there is reafon to dread a general infurreCtion. When this happens, they kill all the Coflacks which fall in their way, and even the Kamtfchadales who will not join in the rebellion. As foon as they hear that troops are coming againft them, inftead of going to oppofe their enemies, they retire to fome high place, which they fortify as ftrongly as they can, and building huts there, wait 'till they are attacked, and then they bravely defend themfelves with their bows and ar- rows, and every other method they can think of; but if they obferve, that the enemy is likely to make themfelves mafters of the fortrefs, they firft cut *he throats of their wives and chil- dren, and afterwards either throw themfelves down the preci- pice, or with their arms rufli in upon their enemies that they D d may l;l!f|' , - 1; i ; If! ■ ■i!,r:i \m 202 0/ tb^ NATIVES of may not dye unrcvenged : this they call making a bed for them- felves. In the year 1740, a girl was brought from Utkolok. whom the rebels in their hurry negle(Sted to kill j the reft were all murthered, and the rebels threw themfelves from the hill, upon which they were fortified, into the fea. From the time that Kamtfchatjka was fubdued, there have been only two rebellions which could be properly called fo. The firft happened in the year J 7 10, in Bolfcberetjkoi Ofirog', and the other in the year 1713 upon the river Awatfcba. Both of them were, however, unfortunate for the authors. In the firft, great numbers befieged the Bolcberetjkoi fort, in which were only 70 Coflacks, 3 5 of whom making a fally put them all to flight, and in endeavouring to reach their boats which brought them thither, in the hurry fuch numbers were drowned that the river was almoft choaked up by their dead bodies. The rebels upon the Awatfcba thought themfelves fo fure of deftroying the Ruffians that they brought thongs to bind them j however the rebels were either all killed or taken prifoners. Their arms are bows and arrows, fpears, and a coat of mail : their quivers are made of the wood of the larch-tree, glued round with birch-bark > their bow-ftrings of the blood veffels of the whale; and their arrows are commonly about four feet long, pointed with flint ftones, or bone; and though they are but indifferent, yet they are very dangerous, being all poifoned, fo that a perfon wounded by them generally dies in twenty-four hours, unlefs the poifon be fucked out, which is the only re- medy known. Their fpears are likewife pointed with flint or bone ; and their coats of mail are made of mats, or of the skins of feals and fea horfes, which they cut out into thongs, and plait together. They put them on upon the left fide, and tie them with thongs upon the right ; behind is fixed a high board, to defend their head^ and another before to guard the breaft. When. K A M T S C H A T K A, fo*^. 203 When they march on foot it is remarkable that two never go a-breaft, but they follow one another in the fame path, which by ufe becomes very deep and narrow j fo that it is almoft im- poflible for one that is not ufed to it to walk therein, for thefc people flep always fetting one foot Arait before the other. C H A P. XI. ^ie Opinions 0/ the KzmtCchzdAlcs concerning God, the Formation tf the Worlds and other Articles of Religion. THE KamtfchadaleSy like other barbarous nations, have no notions of a deity, but what are abfurd, ridiculous, and (hocking to a humanized mind. They call their god Kutchu, but they pay him no religious wor/hip, and the only ufe they make of his name is to divert themfelves with it ; they relate fuch fcandalous (lories of him as one would be a(hamed to repeat Amongft other things they reproach him with having made fo many (lesp hills, (u many fmali and rapid rivers, fo much rain, and (b many (lorms j and in all the troubles that happen to them upbraid and blaipheme him. They place a pillar upon a large wide plain, which they bind round with rags. Whenever they pafs this pillar they throw a piece of fi(h or fome other vidluals to it ; and near it they never gather any berries, or kilLany beafts or birds. This offering they think preferves their lives, which otherwile would be (hortened : however, they oflFer nothing which can be of u(e to themfelves, but only the fins and tails of the fi(h, or fuch things as rhey would be obliged to throw away. In this all thefe people of jifia agree, oftering only (tich things as are ufelcfs to themfelves. D d 2 Befides m\ 204 Of the NATIVES of Befides thefc pillars fcveral other places are reckoned facred, fuch as burning and fmoaking mountains, hot fprings, and fome par- ticular woods, which they imagine are inhabited by devils, whom they fear and reverence more than their gods. All their opinions concerning both gods and devils arc certainly very fimple and ridiculous ; however, it (hews that they en- deavour to give an account for the exiftence of every thing as far as they are able i and fome of them try to penetrate inta the thoughts of the very birds and fifties j but when once any opinion is eftabliftied, they never trouble themfelves with en- quiring whether the thing be pofiible or not. Hence their religion entirely depends upon ancient tradition, which they believe without examination. They have no notion of a fupreme Being that influences their happinefs or mifery, but hold that every man's good or bad fortune depends upon himfelf. The world they believe is eternal, the foul immortal, arid that it fhall be again joined to the body, and live eternally fubjedt to the fame fatigues and troubles as in this prefent life, with this difference only, that they fliall have greater plenty of all the neceflaries of life : even the very fmalleft animals they imagine will rife again, and dwell under the earth. They think the earth is flat, and that under it there is a firmament like our's ; and under that firmament another earth like our's, ia which when we have fummer they have winter, and when wc have winter they have fummer. With regard to future rewards and punifliments, they believe that in the other world the rich will be poor and the poor will be rich. Their notions of vice and virtue are. as extraordinary as thofe they entertain of God. They believe every thing lawful that procures them the fatisfaftion of their wiflies and paflions, and tiiink that only to be a fin from which they apprehend danger or ruin ; fo that they neither reckon murder, felf-murder, adultery, . opprefiion, nor the like, any wickednefs : on the contrary, . - ' ; they ■0 R A M T S C H A T K A, &c. 2C5 they look upon it to be a mortal fin to fave any one that is drowning, becaufe, according to their notions, whoever faves him will be foon drowned himfelf. They reckon it likewife a fin to bathe in, or to drink, hot water, or to go up to the burning mountains. They have befides thefe innumerable abfurd cuftoms, fuch as fcraping the fnow from their feet with a knife, or whetting their hatchets upon the road. This may, however, be faid, that they are not the only people who have ridiculous fupcrftitions. Bcfides the above-mentioned gods they pay a religious regard to fcveral animals, from which they apprehend danger. They, offer fire at the holes of the fables and foxes j when fifiiing, they intreat the whales or fea horfes not to overturn their boats ; and in hunting, befeech the bears and wolves not to hurt them. This was the ftate of thefe people the firft years of my being amongft them ; but now, by the care of the Emprefs Elizabeth^ mifiionaries are appointed to inftrudt them in the Chriftian faith. In 1 74 1 a Clergyman was fent by the fynod with afljflants and every thing, neceflary for building a church, and inftruding this wild people j which has been attended with fuch fuccefs, that not only many of them are baptized, but fchools are aUo ereded in feveral places, to which the Kamtfchadales very readily fend their children : fo that in a fcv years we may hope to fee the Chriftian faith planted io all thefe northern countries. .;r i •?40 iv ^ ^ CHAP. I *. so6 Cy /-6# N A T I V E 8 £/• CHAP. XII. Of their SHAMANS, or Conjurers, TH E Kamt/chadales have none who arc profcfled Shamans, or conjurers, as the neighbouring nations have j but every old woman is looked upon as a witch 'and an interpreter of dreams. In their conjurations they whifper upon the fins of fifhes, the fweet grafa, and fome other things ; by which means they cure difeafes, divert misfortunes, and foretel futurity. They arc very great obfervers of dreams, which they relate to one another as foon as they awake in the morning, and judge from thence of their future good or bad fortune ; and fome of thefe dreams have their interpretation fixed and fettled. Befides this conjuration they pretend to chiromancy, and to foretel a man's good or bad fortune by the lines of his hand ; but the rules which they follow are kept a great fecret. CHAP. XIII. ! ♦ 0/ their CEREMONIES. THE Kamt/chadales always celebrated three days in the month of November y which is hence called the month of Purification. Steller Imagines, that this was firfl inflituted by their anceflors to return thanks to God for all his bleflings ; but that afterwards, through the flupidity of thefe people, KAMTSCHATKA, &c. 207 people, it has been perverted by foolifh and ridiculous ceremo- nies; and this appears the more probable, becaufe that, after their fummer or harved labour is over, they look upon it as a iin to do any work, or make any vifits, before this holiday, which if any one negledts he is obliged to expiate it at that time, if not before. From hence we may fee that the anceftors of this people were accuflomed to offer up the firft fruits of their fum- mer labours to God, and to make merry with one another. The northern and fouthern Kamtfchadales have different ceremonies in the celebration of their holidays, which are extremely filly, and confifl of many ridiculous anticks. I fhall give a flight sketch of one of thefe aflemblies in the fouthern Kamtjchatka. After many ftrange ceremonies they introduce a little bird and a fifh, which they roafl upon the coals, and divide amongftthem, when every one throws his (hare into the fire as a facrifice, or an offering, to thofe fpirits which come to their feafts j then they boil dried fifli, the broth of which they pour out before dieir image, and eat the fifh themfelves j and then take the birch-tree out of the hut, and carrying it to their magazines, lay it up there to be kept for the whole year. Thus ends the feilival. G H A P. XIV. Of their FEASTS and DIVERSIONS. THEY make feafts when one village entertains another, either upon the account of a wedding, or having had a plentiful fiftiing or hunting. The landlords entertain their gaefts with great bowls of opanga, 'till they are all fet a vomit- ing;. '\m\ i *i 2aB 'Of the NATIVES of ingj fometimes they ufj; a liquor made of a large mufhroon, with which the Ruffians kill flies. This they prepare with the juice of epilobium, ov French willow. The firft fymptom of a man's being affedled with this liquor is a trembling in all his joints, and in half an hour he begins to rave as if in a fever j and is either merry or melancholy mad, according to his peculiar conftitution. Some jump, dance, and fing ; others weep, and are in terrible agonies, a fmall hole ap- pearing to them as a great pit, and a fpoonful of water as a lake : but this is to be underftood of thofe who ufe it to excefs ; for taken in a fmall quantity it raifes their fpirits, and makes them brifk, courageous, and chearful. It is obferved, whenever they have eaten of this plant, they maintain that, whatever foolifh things they Bid, they only obeyed the commands of the mufliroon : however, the ufe of it is certainly fo dangerous, that unlefs they were well looked after it would be the deftrudtion of numbeis of them. The Kamtf- chadales do ' ot much cure to relate thefe drunken frolicks, and perhaps the continual ufe of it renders it lefs dangerous to them. One of our Coffacks refolved to eat of this mufhroon in order to furprife his comrades; and this he aftually did, but it was with great difficulty they preferved his life. Another of the inhabitants of Kamtfchatka^ by the ufe of this mufhroon, ima- gined that he was upon the brink of hell ready to be thrown in, and that the mufhroon ordered him to fall upon his knees, and make a full confeffion of all the fins he could remember, which he did before a great number of his comrades, to their no fmall diverfion. It is related, that a foldier of the gar- rifon having eaten a little of this mufhroon, walked a great way without any fatigue, but at lafl, having taken too great a quantity, he died. My interpreter drank fome of this juice without knowing of it, and became fo mad, that it was with difficulty that we kept him from ripping open his the K A M T S C H A T K A, Gfc. 209 his belly, being, as he faid, ordered to do it by the mufli- roon. The Kamtfchadales and the Koreki eat of it when they refohe to murder any body j and it is in (w^h efteem among the Koreni. that they do not allow any one thu*- is drunk with it to make water upon the ground, but they give him a veflel to fave his urine in, which they drink, and it has the fame efFe E e for |.r:!li|l'' ■■mr 1-1 \: } ■ ■,;. jlfhr'.y 2IO Of the NATIVES of 11 for their diverfion in all their entertainments. They fometimes fmoke tobacco, and tell ftories j all which merriments are gene- rally in the night time. They have alfo profeffed buffoons or jefters j but their wit is intolerably indecent and obfcene. CHAP. XV. Of /i&^/r FRIENDSHIP, and HOSPITALITY. WHEN any one of this country feeks the friendfhip of another he invites him to his hut, and for his en- tertainment drefTes as much of his bed victuals as might ferve ten people. As foon as the ftranger comes into the hut, which is made very hot for his reception, both he and the landlord flrip themfelves naked : then the latter fets before his guefl great plenty of vidluals ; and while he is eating it the hofl throws water upon red-hot flones, 'till he makes the hut infupportably hot. The flranger endeavours all he can to bear this exceflive heat, and to eat up all the victuals that were dreffed j and the landlord endeavours to oblige his friend to complain of the heat, and to beg to be excufed from eating all up. It is reckoned a diftionour to the landlord, and a mark of niggardlinefs, if he fhould be able to accomplifli this. He him- felf eats nothing during the whole time, and is allowed to go out of the hut ; but the flranger is not fuffered to flir 'till he acknowledges himfelf overcome. At thefe feafls they over-eat themfelves fo much, that for three days they cannot bear the fight of vidtuals, and are fcarce able to move, from repletion. When the flranger is gorged, and can no longer, endure the heat, he purchafes his difmiffion with prefents of dogs, cloaths, or K A M T S C H A T K A. G?.-. 211 or whatever is agreeable to his landlord j in return for which he re- ceives old rags, and ufelefs lame curs. This, however, is reckoned no injury, but a proof of friendfhip j and he expeds, in turn, to ufe his friend in the fame manner. And if that man, who has thus plundered his friend, returns not his vifit in proper time, he does not thereby fave his prefents, for the gueft pays him a fecond vifit, at which time he is obliged to make him what prefents he is able ; but if, either out of poverty or avarice, he makes him none, it is looked upon as the greateft affront, and he mufl expe<5t this man always to be his enemy : befides, it is lb difhonourabie that no body elfe will ever live in friendfhip with him afterwards. In their banquets they treat their friends in the fame manner, only they do not torment them with heat, nor exped: any prefents. When they entertain with the fat of feals or whales, they cut it out into flices j and the landlord kneeling before his company, with one of thefe flices in one hand and a knife in the other, thrufTts the fat into their mouths, crying in a furly tone, 'Ta na, and with his knife he cuts off all that hangs out of their mouths, after they are crammed as full as they can hold. Whoever wants any thing from another may generally obtain it upon thefe occafions; for it is reckoned diflionourable for the gueft to refufe his generous landlord any thing. An inflance of this happened, between a Kamtfchadale and a newly chriflened CofTack, jufl before I arrived, and was then the common fubjedl of converfation. The Cofllick, according to the cuflom of that country, had a Kamtfchadale to his friend, who he heard was pofleffed of a very fine fox-fkin, which he greatly defircd, but which the Kamtfchadale would by no means part with. The GofTack invited him to his hut, v here he entertained him with vafl plenty of vidaals, and by throwing water upon burning-hot ftones made the heat of the hut intolerable to his friend the Kamtfchadale, 'till at lafl he was obliged to beg for mercy. E e 2 This t: I ■ hm 'm-\i f..{- w^ i 212 Of the NATIVES ^f This the CofTack would not grant 'till he had obtained a promife of the fine fox-fkin. It fhould fcem, that this entertainment could not be agreeable to the Kamtjchadak : however, he feemed to be pleafed with it, and to fwear that he never thought it poffible to make fuch a heat, or that the Coflacks could entertain their friends with fo much refped: j and declared, that though he looked upon his fox-fkin as an ineflimable rarity, yet he parted from it with pleafure on that occafion, and fhould always remember the noble entertainment of his ^liend. CHAP. XVI. Of their COURTSHIP, MARRIAGES, Gff, WH E N a Kamtfchadale refblves to marry, he looks about for a bride in fome of the neighbouring vil- lages, feldom in his own ; and when he finds one to his mind, he difcovers his inclination to the parents, defiring that he may have the liberty of ferving them for fome time : this permiffion he eafily obtains, and, during his fervice, he fhews an uncommon zeal in order to fatisfy them of what he can do. After having thus ferved, he defires liberty to feize his bride ^ and if he has happened to pleafe the parents, his bride, and her relations, this is prefently granted j but, if they difapprove of it, they give him fome fmall reward for his fervices, and he de- parts. It fometimes happens that thefe bridegrooms, without difcovering any thing of their intention, engage themfelves in fervice in fome flrange village i and though every one fuipe<5ts their defign, yet no notice is taken of it, 'till either he or his friend declares it. When KAMTSCHATKA, fifr. 213 When a bridegroom obtains the liberty of feizing his bride, he feeks every opportunity of finding her alone, or in the company of a few people ; for during this time all the women in the vil- lage are obliged to protect her j befides ihe has two or three dif- ferent coats, and is fwaddled round with fifli nets and ftraps, fo that (lie has little more motion that a flatue. If the bridegroom happens to find her alone, or in company but with a few, he throws himfelf upon her, and begins to tear off her cloaths, nets, and flraps ; . for to flrip the bride naked conflitutes the ceremony of marriage. This is not always an eafy tafk ; for though (he herfelf makes fmall refinance, ( and indeed flie can make but little ) yet, if there happen to be many women near, they all fall upon the bridegroom without any mercy, beating him, dragging him by the hair, fcratching his face, and ufing every other method they can think of to prevent him from accompliihing his defign. If the bridegroom is fo happy as to obtain his wifli, he immediately runs from her, and the bride as a proof of her being conquered, calls him back with a foft and tender voice : thus the marriage is concluded. This vifl-ory is feldom obtained at once, but fometimes the conteft lafis a whole year ; and after every attempt the bride- groom is obliged to take feme time to recover ftrength, and to cure the wounds he has received. There is an inftance of one, who, after having perfevered for feven years, inftead of ob- taining a bride, was rendered quite a cripple, the women having nfed him fo barbaroufly. As foon as the above ceremony is over, he has liberty next night to go to her bed, and the day following, without any ce- remony, carries her off to his own village. After fome time; the bride and bridegroom return to the bride's relations, where the marriage feaft is celebrated in the following manner; of which I was an eye-witnefs in 1739. The It' • !■>; .;i!.i:.- 214 (y //&^ N A T I V E S 0/ The bridegroom, his friends, and his wifi?, vifited the father- in-law in three boats. All the women were in the boats, and the men being naked puftied them along with poles. About one hundred paces from the village to which they were going, they landed, began to fing, and ufed conjurations with tow faftened upon a rod, muttering fomething^over a dried fifli's head, which they wrapped in the tow, and gave to an old woman to hold. The conjuration being over, they put upon the bride a coat of iheep's fkin, and tied four images about her : thus loaded (he had difficulty to move. They went again into their boats, and came up to the village, where they landed a fecond time ; at this landing-pkce, a boy of the village met them, and taking the bride by the hand led her, all the women following. When the bride came to the hut, they tied a ftrap round her, by which fhe was let down the ftairs, the old woman who car- ried the fifti's head going before her. The head (he laid down at the foot of the flairs, where it was trodden upon by the bride and bridegroom and all the people prefent, and then thrown into the fire. All the ftrangers took their places, having fir ft ftripped the bride of fuperfluous ornaments. The bridegroom heated the hut and drefTed the vidluals which they had brought with them, and entertained the inhabitants of the village. The next day the landlord, entertained the ftrangers with great fuperfluity, who on the third day departed ; the bride and bridegroom only re- mained to work fome time with their father. The fuperfluous drefs which was taken from the bride was diftributed among the relations, who were obliged to return them prefents of far greater value. The former ceremonies only relate to a firft marriage j for in the marriage of widows, the man and woman's agreement is fufficient j but he muft not take her to himfelf before her fins are ill KAMTSCHATKA, ^c. 215 are taken away. This can only be done by Ibme ftranger'a firft lying with her for once j but as this taking off of fin is looked upon by the Kamtfchadales as very diftionourable for the man, it was formerly difficult to find one to undertake it ; fb that the poor widows were at a great lofs before our Coffacks came amongrt them j fince which they have been in no want of ftrangers to take away their fins. Marriage is forbidden only between father and daughter, mother and fon ; a fon-in-law may marry Tiis mother-in-law, and a father-in-law his daughter-in- law i and firft coufins marry frequently. Their divorce is very eafy, confifting only in a man's ieparating beds from his wife : in fuch cafes the man immediately marries another wife, and the woman accepts of another hufband, without any further ceremony. A Kamtfchadale hath two or three wives, with whom he lies 1|y turns. Sometimes he keeps them all in one hut, and feme- times they live in diflferent huts. With every maid that he mar- ries he is obliged to go through the above-mentioned ceremonies. Though thefe people are fond of women, yet they are not fo jealous as the Koreki. In their marriages they do not feem to- regard the marks of virginity. Nor are the women more jealous ; for two or three wives live with one hulband in. jjl harmony : even though he alfo keeps ieveral concubines. When the women go out they cover their faces with a. fort of veil j and if they meet any man upon the road, and cannot go out of the way, they turn their backs to him, and ftand 'till he is paffed. In their huts they fit behind a mat or a curtain made of nettles ; but if they have no curtain, and, a flranger comes into the hut, they turn their face to the wall, and continue their work. This is to be underftood of thofe tliat retain their ancient barbarity; for feveral of them now begin to be civilized to a certain degree, though all of them itill ppcferve a rude harflinefs in their manner of fpeaking. CHAP, Hi; i 'M \m'\i 2i6 0/ tbe N A T 1 V E S of CHAP. XVII. 0/ the BIRTH of their Children. IN general thefe people arc not fruitful, for I could never learn that any one man had ten children by the fame woman. Their women, as they fay, have commonly very eafy births : Steller was prefent at the delivery of one of thefe women, who went out of the hut about her ordinary bulincfs, and in a quarter of an hour afterwards was carrying her child in her arms, without any change in her countenance. He lilcewife relates, that he faw another woman who was in labour three days, and to his great furprife was at laft happily delivered of a child, which cam^^ double, prefenting the hips firft. The conjurers attributed the occafion of this unnatural pofture to the father, who in the time that the child ought to have been born was employed in making fledges, and bending the wood over his knee. Such ridiculous caufes do they aflign for every uncommon efFedt. The women are delivered upon their knees, in prefence of as many people as are in the village, without diftindion of age or fex. They wipe the new- born child with tow, and tie the navel-ftring with thread made of nettles, and then cut it with a knife of flint : they throw the placenta to the dogs. They put chewed epilobium upon the navel, and wrap the infant in tow inflead of fwaddling cloaths : then every one carefTes it, taking it in their arms, kiiling it, and rejoicing with the parents. This is the only ceremony which they ufe. They can hardly be faid to have profefTed midwives, and for the moft part the mother or nearefl relation performs the office. . ■ ' ' -'■•:■ The K A M T S C H A T K A, ^r. 217 The women, as was mentioned above, who dcfire to have children, for this purpofc eat fpiders. Some child-bed women, that they may the fooner conceive again, eat the navel-ftring of the child. There are others who have as great averfion to having children, and procure abortions by different poifonous medicines, in which they are afliflcd by fome knowing old women j but this can never be done, as it is well known, but at the hazard of their own lives. There are others, who are fuch unnatural wretches as to deftroy their children when they are born, or throw them alive to the dogs. They ufe likewife feveral herbs and different conjurations to prevent conception. Their fuper- ftition, alfo, is fbmetimes the occafion of great barbarity j for when a woman bears twins, one of them at Icaft muft be deftroyed, and fo muft a child born in very ftormy weather ; though the laft can be averted by fome conjurations. After the birth, the women, to recover their ftrength, make ufe of fifh broth, made with an herb which they call hale ; and then in a few days return to their ordinary diet. :if N' ■/*! m CHAP. XVUI. VI vl. Of their DISEASES and REMEDIES.. THE principal difeafes in Kamtfchatka are the fcurvy, boils, palfy, cancer, jaundice, and the venereal diftemper. Thefe difeafes they think are inflided upon them by the fpirits that inhabit fome particular groves, if ignorantly they happen to cut any of them down. ' Their principal medicines confift in charms and conjurations, but at the fame time they do not neglea: the ufe of herbs and roots. For the fcurvy they ufe a F f certain l"'n jlFF'ljJ ''<>'il r i' >' J II ai8 0/ tbe N A T 1 V E S of certain herb which they rub upon their gums, as alfo the leaves of the cranberry * and blackberry -f. The Coflacks cure them- felves with deccxflions of the tops of cedar, and by eating wild garlick. The good effedls of this medicine were felt by all the people that were in the Kamtfchatka expedition. Boils are a moft dangerous difeafe in Kamtfchatka^ caufing the death of numbers. They are very large, being often two and fometimes three inches over j and when they break they open in about forty or fifty little holes. It is looked upon to be a very dangerous cafe, when no matter comes from thefe openings j and thofe that recover are confined to their beds, fometimes fix and fometimes ten weeks. The Kamtfcbadales ufe raw hare-fkins to bring the matter to a fuppuration. The palfy, cancer, and French difeafe, are fuppofed to be incurable > the laft, they fay, was not heard of before the arrival of the "Ruffians. There is likewife another diflemper which they call fuffiutch^ which is a ibrt of fcab, that furrounds the whole body under the ribs like a girdle. When this does not come to fuppurate and fall off, then it is mortal, and, they fay, every one mufl have this once in his lifetime, as we have the fmalUpox. Mr. Steller gives a more ample account of their difeafes and remedies. He relates, that they ufe with fuccefs the fpunge for drawing out the matter in thefe boils. The CofTacks apply to their boils the remains of the fwect-grafs )( after they have extra<5ted their brandy, and this often fuccefsfully refolves them. The women ufe fea rafberries % to haflen their delivery ; and alfo a fort of coral, which they make into powder like crab-eyes, in a gonorrhea. Againfl coflivenefs they ufe the fat of the fea wolf J in gripes, pains of the bowels^ and colds, they ufe a * Vaccinium ramis filiformibus repentibus, follis ovatis perennantibus. t Iinpetrum. |l^ Spondyliuni folioUs pinnatifidis. | Species fucL decodlon KAMTSCHATKA, Cfc. 219 decodtion of the pentaphylladls fruticofus, and that not without fuccefs. To wounds they apply the bark of the cedar, and with this they pretend they can even extra(ft arrows. In codivenefs they likewife drink the broth of their {linking fi(h, and in fluxes they eat lac lunae, which is very common in this country. For the fame diftemper they likewife ufe meudow- fweet and tormentilia root. Thofe who have fote throats ufe a decoAion of the epilobium, which is alfo ufed by women in hard labours. When they are bit by a dog, or wolf, they lay the bruifed leaves of the ulmaria upon the wound, drinking at the fame time a decodtion of them : this deco<5tion they alfo admininiAer in the beliy-ach and fcurvy. The leaves and flalks bruifed they ufe in burns. The decodion of this herb mixed with fi(h they ufe alfo in the tooth-ach ; they hold it warm in their mouths, and lay a piece of the root upon the afFedted tooth. They ufe a fpecies of gentian in the fcurvy, and almoft againft every diforder. In the French difeafe they apply the chamaenchododendros, but feldom to any advantage : in fluxes they ufe the quercus marina : in dwellings of the legs and fcurvy, they drink a decodlion of the dryas ; and procure fleep by eating the feed of the ephedra. They foment their eyes with a decodtion of feramus. The inhabitants of the Lopatka ufe clyflers, which probably they learned from the Kuriles : they prepare them from a decoc- tion of different herbs, fometimes with fat and fometimes with- out : this they put into a feal's bladder, faftening to it any pipe which they can procure, and apply it in the common way : this medicine is in high efleem among them, and ufed in mofl dif- tempers. In the jaundice, they have a medicine, which they look upon as infallible. They take the roots of the iris fylveftris, and after cleaning them, beat them in warm water, and apply the juice, which they fqueeze out, as a clyfter, continuing it for F f 2 two i ■" t' ■if^f m.-^}{ \f\\ 220 Of tbt NATIVES •/ two days three times a day : this produces a purging, and ge- nerally gives great relief. After fome time, if the cure is not completed, they repeat it again. They neither ufe lancets nor cupping glafles, but with a pair of wooden pincers draw up the ikin, and pierce it with an inflrument of chrydal made on pur- pofe, letting out as much blood as they want. In pains of the back they rub the part affedted before a fire with a root of the cicuta, being careful not to touch the loins, which they fay would produce fpafms. In pains ot the joints they place upon the part a little pyramid, made of a fungus which grows upon the birch-trees, and fet the top of it on fire, letting it burn 'till it comes to the fkin, which then cracks, and leaves a wound behind that yields a great quantity of matter. The wound they cure with afhes of the fungus, but fome give themfelves no trouble about it at all. The root of the anemonides, or ranun- culus, they ufe to hurt or poifon their enemies > and they likewifc poifon their arrows with it. CHAP. XIX. Of the -QV Yi.\ hlj of tht DEAD. TH E burial of the dead, if one can call throwing them to the dogs a burial, is different here from what it is in any other part of the world ; for inflead of burning or laying the dead bodies in fome hole, the Kamtjchadales bind a Arap round the neck of the corps, draw it out of the hut, and deliver it for food to their dogs : for which they give the fol- lowing reafons j that thofc who are eaten by dogs will drive with fine dogs in the other world 3 and that they throw them round near K A M T S C H A T K A, Off. 221 near the hut, that evil fpirits, whom they imagine to be the occafion of their death, feeing the dead body, may be fatisficd with the mifchief they have done. However, they frequently remove to fome other place, when any one has died in the hut, without dragging the corps along with them. They throw away all the cloaths of the dcccafed, not becaufc they imagine they fliall have occafion for them in the other world, but becaufe they believe that whoever wears the cloaths of one that is dead will certainly come to an untimely end. This fuperflition prevails particularly among the Kurilcs of the LopatkOy who would not touch any thing which they thought had belonged to a dead perfon, although they fliould have the greateft inclination for it. The Cofllicks make ufe of this fu- perftition to prevent one another fometimes from felling ready- made cloaths, by afluring the buyer that they belonged to a dead perfon. After the burial of the dead they ufe the following purifi- cation : Going to the wood they cut fome rods, of which they make a ring ; and creeping through it twice, they carry it to the wood, and throw it towards the weft. Thofe who dragged out the body are obliged to catch two birds of one fort or other •, one of which they burn, and eat the other with the whole fa- mily. The purification is performed on the fame day ; for before that they dare not enter any other hut^ nor will any body elfe enter their's. In commemoration of the dead, the whole family ^ine upon a fifti, the fins of which they burn in the fire. I 'I ,1 ' CHAP. W -fH i> |i2 ,i| 522 Of thg NATIVES of CHAP. XX. THIS chapter in the original contains an account of three different dialedts of the Kamtjckadahs j which, as they are very unintelligible to an Engli/h reader, we thought proper to omit. CHAP. XXI. Of the NATION of the KOREKI. AS the Koreki and Kuriles agree in moft of their cuftoms and habits with the Kamtfchadales^ we fliall only take notice of thofe things wherein they differ from them or from one another. The Koreki^ as is above related, are divided into the rein-deer or wandering Koreki j and thofe that are fixed in one place who live in huts in the earth like the Kamtfchadales^ and in every other refpedt indeed refemble them j fo that whatever remarks we make are to be underftood of the wandering Xoreki^ unlefs otherwife expreffed. The fixed Koreki live along the coaft of the Eaftern Ocean, from the river Ukoi as far as the Anadir^ and along the coaft of the fea of Penfchina round the Penfchina bay to the ridge Nuktchatmnin^ out of which the river Nuktchan rifes. From thefe rivers they take different appellations, by which they are diftinguifhed one from another. The wan- dering Koreki fojourn with their herds of deer, and extend from M:' KAMTSCHATKA, e^c. 223 from the Eaftern Ocean weft to the head of the rivers Penf- china and Omolona, north to the Anadir ^ and fouth to the rivers Lefnaya and Karaga, Sometimes they come even over thefe bounds, approaching very near to Kamtfchatka j but this indeed happens very feldom, and only when they are afraid of the Tfi^a- kotjkoif who are their moft dangerous neighbours. The people that they border upon are the Kamtjchadales^ the Tcbukotjkoi^. Ukageriy and the Tungufi or Lamuti. The Tcukotjkoi fliould be accounted a race of the Koreki, which in truth they are y if fo, then it may be faid that the country of the Koreki is of far greater extent, for the Tchukotjkoi poflefs northward from the river Anadir as far as the Tchukotjkoi pro- montory. Indeed, thofe tchukotjkoi that live north of the river Anadir are not fubjedt to the empire of Rujjia^ but frequently make incurlions upon thofe that are, both Koreki and 'Tchukotjkoi ,. killing and making them prifoners, and driving off their herds of deer. In the fummer time they fifh not only in the feas near the mouth of the Anadir^ but even come up the river a great way, when thofe people who are fubjeds to Ruffia frequently fall into their hands. The Koreki differ not only in their manners from one another, but alfo in the form of their bodies. The wandering Koreki^ as far as I could obferve, are of fmall ftature, and very lean j they have fmall heads, and black hair, which they (have every day ; their face is oval, their eyes fmall, eyebrows hanging, nofe (hort, mouth large, and their beard black and pointed, which they frequently pluck. The fixed Koreki^ though not of a very large ftature, are however taller than the former, and thicker and ftronger made ; efpecially thofe that live towards the north, who refemble a good deal the Kamtjchadales and 'Tchukotjkoi. There is befides a very great difference in their cuftoms and habits. The wandering Koreki are extremely jealous, and fometimes kill their wives upon fufpicicn only j but when any ;.i -(.''. i'C-: W' y 224 Of the 1^ A T I V E S of any are caught in adultery, both parties are certainly con- demned to death. For this reafon the women feem to take pains to make themfelves difagreeable j for they never wafh their faces or hands, nor comb their hair, and their upper gar- ments are dirty, ragged, and torn, the bed being worn under- neath. This they are obliged to do on account of the jealoufy of their hufbands j who fay, that a woman has no occafion to adorn herfelf unlefs to gain the afFettions of a ftranger, for her hulband loves her without that. On the contrary, the fixed Koreki^ and T'chukotjkoi ^ look upon it as the trueft mark of friendfliip, when they entertain a friend, to put him to bed with their wife or daughter j and a refufal of this civility they confider as the greateft affront j and are even capable of murdering a man for fuch a contempt. This happened to feveral Rujjian Coflacks before they were acquainted with the cuftoms of the people. The wives of the fixed Koreki endeavour to adorn themfelves as much as poflible, painting their faces, wearing fine cloaths, and ufing various means to let off their perfons. In their huts they fit quite naked, even in the company of ftrangers. The whole nation is rude, paflionate, revengeful, and cruel j and the wandering Koreki are alfo proud and vain : they imagine that no people in the world are {o happy as themselves, re- garding all the accounts that ftrangers give of the advantages of other countries, as fo many lies and fables j for, lay they, " If you could enjoy thefe aflvantages at home, what made you take fo much trouble to come to us ? You feem to want feveral things which we have j we, on the contrary, are fatisfied with what we poffefs, and never come to you to feek any thing". One great reafon of their pride and haughtinefs may be owing to the fettled or fixed Koreki^ who (hew the greateft fear and awe of them i fo that if one of their deer- herds Ihould come to a hut of the latter, they all run out to meet him, treat him with the greateft 3 lit'; K A M T S C H A T K A, G-r. 225 greateft ceremony, and bear every affront. It was never heard that the fettled Koreki did the leaft injury to any of the wanderers ; and this is fo firmly believed, that our tax-gatherers think themfelves entirely fafe, when they converfe with thofe who live i/i huts, if they are guarded by one of the rein- deer Koreki : which may appear very ftrange, confidering that the fettled Koreki are much their fuperiors in ftrength ; and it can only be attributed to that general refpe£t which poor people pay to the rich : for the poverty of the fettled Ko" reki is fo great, that they depend upon the others in a great meafure for their cloathing. The rein-deer Koreki call the others their flaves, and treat them accordingly j but they behave very differently to the Icbukotjkoiy who are fo terrible to them, that fifty of the rein-deer Koreki dare not ftand againft twenty of thefe J and if it was not for the protedion of the Coffacks of Anadir^ the Tchukotjkoi would have rooted them out by this time. As every nation has fomething commendable, fo the Koreki are more honeft and induftrious than the KamtfcbadaleSy and feera to have a greater fenfe of ihame. It is difficult to form an exait account of the numbers and different families of the Koreki^ but it is thought that all together they are more numerous than the Kamtjchadales. They live in fuch places as abound with mofs for their rein-deer, without re- garding the fcarcity of wood or water : in the winter time they can ufe fnow for water, and for firing mofs or grafs, of which they have plenty every where. Their manner of living, elpe- cially in the winter time, is flill more difagreeable than that of the Kamt/chadales : for being frequently obliged to change their habitations, the huts which they come into are all frozen j and when they begin to thaw them by the fires, which are ufually made of green ihrubs or grafs, there arifes a fmoke, ib per- nicious to the eyes, that it is enough to blind a perfon entirely in one day. G g - Their ;l i '1 |: ■ i / ■ :M 226 Of the l^ A r I V E S 9/ Their huts are made much in the fame manner as thofe of other wandering people, but lefs than thofe of the Calmucks, In the winter they cover them with raw deer-fkins, and in the fummer with tanned. They have no flooring or feparation within their huts ; in the middle only are four little ftakes driven, between which is their hearth. To thefe ftakes they commonly tie their dogs, which frequently drag the victuals out of the kettles while it is drefling ; and notwithflanding their mafters beat them very feverely, they generally come in for a ftiare of every piece. A man muft be very hungry to be able to eat with thefe people. Inflead of wafhing their kettles or platters they give them to the dogs to lick, and the very fle(h which they tear from the mouths of the dogs they throw again into the kettles without washing it. The Tchukotfioi winter huts are much preferable to thofe of the Korekij being much warmer and more roomy. Several families live in the fame hut, all having their proper benches, upon which deer-fkins are fpread, whereon they lit or deep. Upon each bench a lamp burns day and night, for which they ufe fifli-oil and a wick of mofs. They have an opening in the top, which ferves for a chimney j however they are almofl: as fmoaky as thofe of the Koreki, but fo warm, that in the coldeft places the women fit naked. The cloaths which they wear are made r^ rein-deer fkins, not differing in the lead from thofe of the Kamtfchadaks^ who purchafe them from the Koreki, They feed upon the flefh of the rein-deer, in which they very much abound, fome of the rich having ten or twenty thoufand j nay, one of the chiefs was faid to have one hundred thoufand : but yet they are fb penurious, that they are forry to kill any for their own ufe, fatisfying themfelves with fuch as die natu- rally, or are killed by the wolves. Of this carrion, indeed, they have plenty ; and they are not afhamed to excufe themfelves from entertaining travellers by telling them that none of their deer in '■ • K A M T S C H A T K A, <5?^. 227 deer arc killed or have died lately. For particular guefts, indeed, they will kill fome of their ftock, and at fuch times only they have a hearty meal. They never milk the rein-deer, nor know any ufe of milk. They eat their flefti for the moft part boiled, and what they do not confumc immediately they dry with the fmoke in their huts. One of their principal difhes is called yamgaya^ which is made thus j they put the blood of the bead mixed with fome fat into its (lomach or paunch, which they hang up and fmoke. Our Collacks reckon this a great delicacy. Befides, the Koreki eat every other animal except dogs and foxes. They ufe, in general, neither herbs, roots, nor barks of trees j but the poor feed on them in time of great fcarcity j nor will any catch fifli, except the deer-herds, and that very feldom. They make no provifion of berries for the winter, but only eat them fre(h in the fummer. They think nothing can be fweeter than cranberries beat up with the root faran and deer's fat. I had an opportunity of feeing one of their chieftains exceedingly furprifed upon the firfl fight of fugar, which he took for fait j but tafling it was fo pleafed with its fweetnefs, that he begged ome pieces to carry to his wives : but, as he was not able to reiiil the temptation of fo delicious a rarity, he ate it all up on the road; and when he came home to his houfe, although he fwore to the women that he had tafted fait fweeter than any thing he had ever tafled before, yet they would not believe him, infifling that nothing could be fweeter than cranberries with deer's fat and lilly-roots. They ride only in the winter time on fledges drawn by rein- deer, but never mount upon their backs in the fummer, as they fay the tunguji do. Their fledges are made about a fathom long : the fides are about four inches thick, but rather thinner at the fore part, where they are bent upwards : the two fide- pieces are joined together by fmall pieces of wood. They yoke two G g 2 deer if,! f ! ■I .i| ! 'I^>| 228 Of de l^ A T I V E S of deer before every fledge. The harnefs is fomewhat like that they ufe for reins of the dogs ; the harnefs of that deer which is ca the right fide being failened to the left Hde of the fledge, and that of the deer on the left fide to the right fide of the fledge. Their bridles and reins are fomething like the collars of horfes. Upon the deer's forehead they have four little bones, made like teeth, but very iharp, which are ufed as bits to pull them in when they run too fail ; for thefe (harp bones piercing the fldn itop them at once. The right hand deer only has thefe bones ; for if that is flopped, the deer upon the left has not flrength to run away. The drivers fit near the fore part of the fledge ; and if they want to turn to the right they only draw the rein, but when they would turn to the left they beat the right fide of the deer. They drive them with a goad, which is about four feet long, having a iharp piece of bone at one end, and at the other a hook : with the bone they prick the deer to go forwards, and with the hook they lift up the harnefs when it happens to fall down. Travelling with rein-deer is much fwiftcr than with dogs: good cattle will go 1 50 verfls a day ; but you mufl take care to feed them frequently, and to flop often to allow them to flale j for you may kill them in one day, or at leafl make them good for nothing. Deer that are ufed for draught are bred to it, as horfes. The male they geld, which is done by piercing the fpermatick veflels, and tying them tight with thongs. The rein-deer which the Koreki ufe for draught feed along with the others ; and when they want to part them, they drive them all home ; then crying aloud in a particular manner, the draught cattle feparate themfelves from the refl j and if any of them fhould remain, they are beat mofl unmercifully. The fettled Koreki have likewife fome rein-deer, but very few, and thofe fuch as they only ufe for drawing. The Tchu- kotjkoi KAMTSCHATKA, &c. 229 kotfioi have great herds, and yet feed for the mod part upon fea animals. The Koreki would be miferable if they wanted the rein-deer : for they know no way of keeping themfelves alive^ as they do not underftand how to catch fi(h j and if they did, could not foon provide themfelves with boats, nets, or dogs : fo that the poorer fort are employed by the richer in feeding their deer, for which they receive meat and cloaths ; and if they have any fmall ftock of their own, they are allowed to feed them with their mafter's cattle. The rein-deer Koreki exchange their deer and deer-fklns wicli the neighbouring people for the very fineft furrs, of which they have always a large ftock by them. The religion of the Koreki is more abfurd than that of the KamtJchadaleSy at leaft that little chief, of whom I had my in- formation, feemed to have fcarce any idea of a God j they feem more to refpedt evil fpirits, which, according to their opinion, inhabit the rivers and woods: this refpedtfeems to be owing to their fear. The fettled Koreki acknowledge for their God, the Kuta of the Kamtfchadales. They have no fixt time of wor(hip or offering facrifices j but, whenever they pleafe, they kill either a rein-deer or a dog, which they fix upon a ftake, turning its face towards the eaft, leaving only the deer's head and tongue upon the ftake. They themfelves do not know to whom they make thefe facrifices, and only ufe theCe words, Fio coing yack ne la lu^ ban he vau j that is. This to you, and may you fend us fome- thing that is good. The time of facrificing is when they are going to pafs any river or wafte, which they think the devils in- habit ; then they kill one of their deer, and eating the fle(h, they faften the bones of the head upon a pole, which they fix oppofite to the habitation of the fpirits. When the Koreki are afraid of any infedtious diftemper, they kill a dog, and winding the guts upon two poles, they pafs between them. During ■l-ii '^i n:^ . ri ri' I' I In i 230 0/ the IJ A r I y E S of During their facrifices their fhamans or forcerers beat a little drum like that ufed by xh^yakut/ki^ and the neighbouring nations. Some of the Shamam are reckoned phyficians, and are thought, by beating upon the drum, to drive away diftempers. In the year 1739 I had an opportunity of feeing, at the lower Kamtf- chatkoi fort, the moft famous Shaman Carmlachay who was not only of great reputation among thefe wild people, but was alfb refpe(5ted by our Colfacks, for the mar^y extraordinary feats that he performed ; particularly that of (tabbing his belly with a knife, and letting a great quantity of blood run out, which he drank : however this be performed in fuch an awkward manner, that any one, who was not blinded by fuperftition, might eafily difcover the trick. At firft, fitting upon his knees, and beating fome time upon his drum, he ftruck his knife into his belly, and then, from below his furred coat, he drew out a handful 'of blood, which he eat, licking his fingers. I could not help laugh- ing at the fimplicity of the trick, which the pooreft player of legerdemain would have been afliamed of. One might fee him flip the knife down below his furr, and that he fqueezed the blood out of a bladder which he had in his bofom. After all this conjuration he thought ftill to furprife us more by fliewing us his belly all bloody, pretending to have cured the wound which he had not made. He told us, that the evil fpirits appeared to him in diiFerent forms, and came from different places j fome came from the fea, others out of the burning mountains; fome of them were very large, and fome very fmall j fome had no hands, and fome were half burned j the fpirits of the lea were much finer dreflfed than the others, and appeared to him as it were in a dream, and at fuch a time they tormented him fo much, that he was almoft out of his fenfes. When the forcerers pretend to cure any diftemper by their conjurations, fometimes they order a dog to be killed, at other times ^^u^ K A M T C H A T K A. t^c. 231 times to fet little rods round their huts. When they kill a dog, one perfon holds it by the head, another by the tail, and a third ftabs it in the fide ; when it is dead they ftick it upon a flake, turning its face towards the neareft burning mountain. Their civil policy, is as rude as their religious ; they know nothing of dividing the year into months ; they have names indeed for the four feafons. They have only names for the four cardinal winds. Of the conftellations they know the Great Bear, v;hich they call, in their language, the wild rein-deer j the Pleiades they name the duck's nell i and the Milky Way the icattered river. The diftancc of places they reckon by their day's journey, which is between 30 and 50 verfts. Before they were fubjedt to the Empire of Rtijia they never had any government or chief magiftrate among them, only thofe that were rich had fome fort of authority over the poor ; nor before that did they know any thing of an oath. At prefent, inftead of fwearing upon the crofs or gofpel, our Coflacks oblige them to hold a mufquet by the barrel, threatening, that whoever does not obferve this oath will certainly be (hot by a ball. This they are fo much afraid of, that rather than clear themfelves by this oath, if guilty, they will confefs their crime. They are quite ignorant of all good manners, not only in com- mon compliments, but in receiving ftrangers, whom they treat with an air of fuperiority. When they entertain their guefts they don't oblige them to over-eat themfelves, as the Kamtfchadales do, but give them what they have in fufficient plenty j their beft vic- tuals is fat meat, and all thefe barbarous nations are excefllvely fond of fat. The Jakut/ki would lofe an eye for a piece of fat horfe fliefti, and the ^chukotjkoi for a fat dog. The Jakutfii know that the flealing of any cattle is punifhed with the lofs of all their goods j yet, if they have an opportunity, they can't re- ftrain themfelves from ftealing a fat horie, comforting themfelves amidil vi \il 232 Of the NATIVES of amidft all their misfortunes, with the plcafurc of having once In their life made a delicious meal. Amongft all tiiefc barbarous nations, excepting the ^<7W//iWtf/fJ, theft is reputable, provided they do not (leal in their own tribe, or if done with fuch art as to prevent difcovery ; on the other hand, it is punifhed very feverely if difcovered, not for the theft, but for want of addrefs in the art of ftealing. A Icbukotjkoi girl cannot be njarried before (lie has (hewn her dexterity in this way. ' : Murder is not looked upon as a great crime unlefs it be in their own tribe, and then the relations of the murdered gene- rally revenge it, but no one elfe takes any notice of it. In their marriages the rich match with the rich, and the poor with the poor, with little regard either to beauty or any other ac- compli(hment. They marry for the moft part into their own family, iuchas with a (irft coufin, an aunt, or mother-in-law { and, in (hort, with any relation except their own mother or daughter. The ceremonies of court(hip are the fame as among the KamtJ- chadales. Although the bridegroom (hould be very rich, yet he is obliged to ferve three or five years for his bride ; during which time they allow them to fleep together, though the form of catching the bride (hould not be performed, which they leavie 'till the marriage be 'slebrated, and that is done without any great ceremony. They have fometimes two, and fometime?; three wives, whom they keep at different places, giving them a herd of deer and a keeper. Their greateft pleafure is to go from place to place and examine their cattle ; and it is furpridng that the Korekiy notwithftanding their herds are fo numerous, and they are quite ignorant of arithmetick, can immediately difcover the leaft lofs, and even defcribe all the marks of the deer that is miding. They have a great fondnefs for their children, and breed them up from their infancy to labour and oeconomy. Thofc that fi K A M T S C H A T K A, &c'. 233 that are rich, as foon as the child is born, fet apart for him a certain number of rein-deer, which however he cannot claim 'till he comes to maturity. The old women give names to the children, with the following ceremonies :— They fet up two little rods, which they tie together with threads, to the middle of which they hang a ftone wrapped in a piece of (heep-lkin ; then they afk of the (lone in a muttering voice the name they fliall give, and runniq^ over thofe of feveral of their relations, whatever name the ftonc (hakes at they give to the child. The child-bed woman does not fhew herfelf nor come out of the hut for ten days ; if they are obliged to remove their habitations during that time, (he is carried in a covered fledge. They give their children the breafl: 'till they are three years old and upwards j but they ufe neither cradle nor fwaddling cloaths. They carefully attend thofe who are fick, and their Shamans, or conjurers, treat them in the manner above related ; but they know nothing of the virtues of drugs or plants. They burn their dead in the following manner : — Having firft: drefled them in their fineft apparel, they draw them with thofe deer which they think were their favourites to the place where they are to be burned. Here they credt a great pile of wood, into which are thrown the arms of the deceafed and fome houfliold furniture, fuch as their fpear, quiver and arrows, knives, hatchets, kettles, &c. Then they fet fire to the pile; and while it is burning, kill the deer that drew the corps, upon which they feaft, and throw the fragments into the fire. They celebrate the memory of the dead only once, and that a year after their death. All the relations then afiTem- ble } and taking two young rein-dcers that have never been in the draught, and a great many deers' horns, which they have been coUeding through the whole year for that purpofe, they go to the place where the body was burned, if near, or if at a dillance, to fome other high place, where they kill the deer ; H h and ':r h'|;l -834 Of the NATIVES of and the Shaman, driving the horns into the earth, pretends that he fends a herd of deer to the dead. After this they return home, and in order to purify thcmfelvcs, they pafs between two rods winch are fixed in the ground ; the Shaman, at the fame time beating them with another, conjures the dead not to take them away. In all other cufloms and ceremonies they agree with the Kamtjcbadales -, as in making war, which is generally by fur- prifing their enemies. Their arms confift in bows, arrows, and fpears, formerly pointed with bones or flint. Their women are employed in dre/Hng their furrs, making cloaths and (hoes. The Koreki women, indeed, arc employed in cookery, which thofe of Kamtfcbatka arc not, CHAP. '■]■'< K A M T S C II A T K A. ^f. 335 CHAP. XXII. ACCOU NT 0/ the Nation of the KURILES. THE manners of the Kiinks refcmble thofc of the Kamtf- chadales fo much, that we rtiould have taken no notice of them feparately if their external appearance and* lan- guage were not very different. We can give no account of their origin more than of the other inhabitants of Kamtfchatka. Thefe people are of a fmall ftature, black haired, round vifaged, fomewhat fwarthy, and withal more well-favoured than any of" their neighbours. Their beards are thick, and their whole body is covered with hair, in which they particularly differ from all the other Kamtjchjdales. The men (have their heads as far back as the crown, allowing the other hair to grow to its full length. This cuftom they have probably taken from the Ja- panefe^ with whom they have fome commerce. The women only cut the fore part of their hair, that it may not fall into their eyes. The lips of the men are blackened about the middle •» the women's are entirely black, and ftained round j their arms are likewife ftained with different figures as far as the elbows. This cuftom they have in common with the I'chukofjkoi and Tu?igufi. Both men and women wear filver rings in their ears, which they get from the Japanefe. Their cloaths are made of the ikins of lea fowls, foxes, fea beavers, and other fea animals j and are generally compofed of the (kins of very different creatures, fo that it is rare to fee a whole fuit made of the ilime fort of ikins. The fafliion refembles H h 2 more •1\'M :l ' k ■ 1 1 ■ M 2^6 0/ /;&^ N A T I V E S of more that of the Tungu/iy than the Kamtfchadaks. Though they are fo little regardful of uniformity in their own country cloathing, they are very proud to acquire fuch as are made of cloth, ferge, or filk, particularly thofe of a fcarlct colour ; but fo little care do they take of them when they have got them, that they will wear them when employed about the dirtieft work. Their huts are much the fame as thofe of the Kamtfchadaks^ only they keep them a little cleaner, covering generally the floor and vails with mats made of grafs. They feed for the moft part upon iea animals, and very little upon fifh. They are as ignorant of a deity as the Kamtfchadaks, In their huts they have idols made of chips or (havings curioufly curled. Thefe idols they call higmly and are faid to venerate them in fome degree, but whether as good or evil fpirits I never could learn. They facrifice to them the firft animal which they catch, eating the flefli themfelves, they hang up the ikin before the image j and when they change their huts they leave the fkin and the idol there. If they make any dangerous voyage they take their idol along with themj which, in cafe of imminent danger, they throw into the fea, expeding by this method to pacify the ftorm j and with this protedtor they think themfelves fafe in all their excurfions. They travel in the fummer time in boats, in the winter in fnow fhoes. The men are employed in catching of fea animals, the women in fewing, during the winter j but in the fummer they go out with their hulbands to hunt. They are more civilized than the neighbouring people, being fteady honeft, and peaceable j their way of fpeaking is foft and modeftj they have a refpedl for old people, and an afFedion for each other, particularly their relations. It is a pleafure to fee with what hofpitality they receive fuch as come to vhlt them from other iflands : thofe that come in boats, K A M T S C H A T K A, ^c. 237 boats, and thofe that receive ihem from thr huts, march in great ceremony, dreffed in all their warlike accoutrements, fliak- ing their fwords and fpears, and bending their bows, as if they were going into an engagement, and dancing up to each other 'till they meet, ftiewing the greateft iigns of delight, embracing and hugging one another, and fhedding tears of joy. The people of the huts then carry the vifitants into their habitation, where they entertain them in the beft manner, {landing and hearing them relate all the adventures that have happened to them in their voyage. The honour of this relation is referved for the oldeft, who is always the orator ; he informs them of every thing that has happened fince the laft meeting, how they have been em- ployed, how they lived, where they travelled, whom they faw, what good fortune or misfortune has happened to them, who have been fick, or who are dead. This relation fometimes continues for three hours. When the ftranger has ended, the oldeft of the people who are vifited gives him an equal information of every thing that has happened to them. Before this the reft muft not fpeak to one another ; then, according as circumftances are, they cither condole with, or congratulate, each other, and finifli the entertainment with eating, dancing, finging, and telling of ftories. In their courtfhips, marriages, and the education o£ children, they differ very little from the other Kamtfchadales. They have two or three wives, with whom they never publickly fleep, but fteal to them privately in the night time. They have an extra- ordinary way of punilhing adultery : the huft)and of the adulte- refs challenges the adulterer to a combat, which is performed in the following manner: both the combatants are ftripped quite naked, and the challenger gives the challenged a club about three feet long, and near as thick as one's arm j then the challenger is obliged to receive three ftrokes upon his back from the challenged, who then returns him the club, and is treated in the fame man- ner > ':!':! 238 Of the NATIVES cf ner j this they perform three times, and the refult is generally tlie death of both the combatants ; but it is reckoned as great diflionour to refufe this combat, as to refufe an invitation to a, duel among the people of Europe. If any one prefers his life or fafety to his honour, the adulterer then is obliged to pay to the hulband of the aduUerefs whatever he demands, either in fkins, cloaths, provifjons, or other things. The women have a harder time in child-bearing than the Kamtfchadaks, for they fay, the Kuriles women do not recover after child-bearing for three months. The midwives give names to the children when they are born, which they always keep. If they have twins they deftroy one. Such as die in the winter they bury in the fnow j but in the fummer they are buried in the earth. Self-murder is as frequent here as among the Kamtfchadaks, #'«-*.,^w'^. O F )fl(|)8( 686 ^ 6So ^J)^ OF THE CON QU E S T of Kamtfchatka. 'tki^m^mik^'mmmikwtimmm'^'*^^^ «««•»««« ^ftivioHKNH* PART IV. CHAP. I. ^r:1r (y/y&^/r/? DISCOVERIES made of Kamtfchatka, and the Planting of RufHan Colonies there. 3e(<*'§'*»)9( H O' the Rufjian tef fltofies upon the Frozen Ocean, «*» T * ^^ovti the river Lena eaft to the river Anadir, were <( ^ of prodigious extent, yet it was judged proper to M'*'V'*'M gjyg orders to every commiirary to inform himfelf of the countries beyond the Anadir^ and to endeavour to bring the inhabitants- under fubjedion. By this means a knowledge of Kamtfchath-a^ and of the different people who inhabit it, was long ago obtained j efpecially fmce the Koreki, which live upon ;1 ■!, '■■;■:, ml ' ill I l'