DESCENDING THE MOUNTAINS. 339 



The eight sleds were lashed together in a gang, and the deer, 

 twenty-four in number, were fastened to these sleds behind. 

 One of our party, Seaman Leach, who was unable to walk 

 owing to frosted feet, sat in the center of this body of sleds, 

 and at a given signal, with a native at each side to steer, the 

 whole raft was pushed over down the hill. It disappeared 

 amid a cloud of snow-dust around the corner of a projecting 

 ledge, and reached the bottom in safety, much to my relief. 



After this our party descended individually, rolling and 

 tumbling, but bringing up without injury. Lieutenant Dan- 

 enhower and myself started to walk down, but our feet slipped 

 out from under us and down we 'went, finally bringing up at the 

 bottom all right. This was one of the wildest parts of our 

 journey. Over this road, by a side passage, with the use of 

 pack-horses and by reindeer, are transported all the provi- 

 sions which come to supply the town of Werchoiansk and 

 other northern settlements on this line of travel. 



After getting our teams into order, we pushed on down 

 the mountains, traversing river beds now frozen, and reached 

 a wretched povarnia late at night, tired, cold, and hungry. 



This country in the summer time, or when the thawing 

 season commences, must be about impassable, as washed-out 

 banks, and stumps and logs, showed the force of the water 

 which rushed down these mountain gullies in warm weather. 

 To the geologist, and also to the naturalist, this country pre- 

 sents a very rich field. 



On Sunday, December llth, I met with a series of acci- 

 dents, being thrown off rny sled four times, smashing one 

 sled beyond repair, and breaking another one four times. 

 The last accident was just at night, when, in passing around 

 a steep place, we were thrown, with one traveler who 

 was ahead, with sleds and deer, down a gully some twenty 

 feet, in a promiscuous heap at the bottom. During the day 

 we passed three trains of 113 pack-horses, loaded with stores 

 and bound for the settlements on the Kolyma River. 



I paid a brief visit to one of three skin huts of some wan- 

 dering Tunguses, whom I noticed in traveling along. These 



