NATIVE WINTER DWELLINGS. 145 



at the back of the fireplace. Behind the fireplace, too, are 

 the sleeping-places of the people, which in the poorer dwell- 

 ings consist only of a continuation of the straw laid in the 

 cow-house. 



In the winter they have but about five hours of day-light, 

 which penetrates as best it can through the icy windows ; 

 and in the evening all the party sit round the fire on low 

 stools, men and women smoking. The summer yourts of 

 these people arc formed of poles about 20 feet long, which 

 are united at the top into a roomy cone, covered with pieces 

 of bright yellow and perfectly flexible birch bark, which are 

 not merely joined together, but are also handsomely worked 

 along the seams with horsehair thread. The houses arc not 

 over-stocked with furniture, and the chief cooking-utensil is 

 a large iron pot. 



The Yakuts who inhabit the inclement region adjacent to 

 the Frozen Ocean have neither horses nor oxen, but breed 

 large numbers of dogs, which draw them to and fro on their 

 fishing excursions. Even those living on the 62d parallel 

 keep cattle under far greater difficulties than usual, for they 

 have to make long journeys to collect hay, and do not always 

 find enough. The cold prevents their breeding sheep, goats, 

 or poultry. Nevertheless, cattle and hunting are their chief 

 means of subsistence, for they do not in general cultivate 

 the land, though in the gardens at Yakutsk are grown pota- 

 toes, cabbages, radishes, and turnips. Some products of 

 Yakutsk industry are purchased by the Russians, particular- 

 ly floor-cloths of white and colored felts, which are cut in 

 strips and sewed together like mosaic. From the earliest 

 times they have been able to procure and work for them- 

 selves metal. The language of the Yakuts, which is largely 

 spoken by the Russians who live among them, is one of the 

 principal means by which we are led to assume their Turkish 

 origin, for Latham says their speech is intelligible at Con- 

 stantinople, and their traditions (for literature they have 

 none) bespeak a southern origin. 



Strahlenberg calls these people pagans, but the latest 



