YUKAGHIRS AND TUNGUSES. 143 



whatever time of the day it be, find himself drinking a 



ti 



glass of tea with his host. 



Along with the dwellings of the Russians, the tents of the 

 natives, or "Asiatics," are often seen; and near them are 

 generally a large number of dogs, which a re used in summer 

 for towing boats, and in winter for drawing sledges. 



OSTYAK TENTS MADE OF BIRCH BARK. 



Very little is known of the Yukaghirs, who roam over the 

 northern portion of the tundra ; their numbers are few, 

 although at one time, as their legend says, there were more 

 hearths of Yukaghirs on the banks of the Kolyma than 

 stars in the sky. They were no doubt once a powerful race, 

 and on the rivers Yana and Indigirka tumuli and ancient 

 burial-places are pointed out containing, with the remains of 

 the natives, bows, arrows, spears, and the magic drum. 



The Tunguses wander over a larger area than any other 

 tribe in Siberia, stretching through Manchuria across the 

 district of the Amoor, and northeast and west to the sea of 

 Okhotsk and to the Yenisei. Of the Tunguse family the 

 Manchu is the most civilized, while in Siberia we have them 



