CHUKCHE AMUSEMENTS. 431 



it by chewing. Even the dogs will chew perhaps for half 

 a day upon a small piece of walrus hide hanging from a bag 

 of meat, and fail to detach it. This is, therefore, cut into 

 very small pieces by the hostess, and finishes the meal. It 

 is really the most palatable dish of the meal, and furnishes 

 something for the stomach to act upon that generally occu- 

 pies its attention till the following meal; but it is astonish- 

 ing how easily a meat diet is digested. 



There are usually two meals a day in a well provided 

 Chukche's household the breakfast just described and din- 

 ner, which comes on late in the evening. The dinner is 

 almost identical in form with the breakfast, except that 

 there is most always some hot cooked meat that follows the 

 course of walrus hide. Some times the second course at 

 breakfast or dinner may be frozen seal or reindeer meat, but 

 the first and third courses are invariable unless changed by 

 force of circumstances beyond the control of the house- 

 holder. Besides those two meals there is always a similar 

 service to any guest who may arrive during the day from a 

 distance, and all present share his luncheon with him, and 

 not unfrequently beat him out unless he watches closely and 

 keeps himself well provided. 



The evening after dinner is often devoted to games. They 

 do not play chess or billiards, but we used to see w r ho could 

 walk the furthest on his hands, with his bodv held horizon- 



> 



tally from the hips, or upon his knees, while his feet were 

 held in his hands behind him. Or perhaps the lights were 

 extinguished and some one played upon the drum or yarar, 

 and sang or chanted a most lugubrious melody, increasing 

 in volume from an almost imperceptible sound into the 

 loudest noise possible, accompanying the drum with a howl 

 like a bear at bay, the most frightful noise he could make ; 

 and it did sound prodigious in the dark. During this time 

 the landlord would occasionally shout 'Ay-hek, a.y-he'k,' 

 which seemed to inspire the drummer to renewed exertion. 

 The drum is a wooden hoop over which is tightly drawn a 

 thin membrane from the skin of the reindeer. It has a 



