﻿210 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  8 
  

  

  enter. 
  The 
  natural 
  consequence 
  is, 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  morning 
  the 
  air 
  inside 
  

   is 
  frightful 
  beyond 
  description. 
  

  

  The 
  Chukchi 
  dress 
  in 
  deerskin 
  only 
  ; 
  they 
  use 
  one 
  suit 
  with 
  the 
  hairy 
  

   side 
  in 
  and 
  one 
  with 
  the 
  hairy 
  side 
  out. 
  The 
  clothing 
  of 
  the 
  men 
  does 
  

   not 
  differ 
  essentially 
  from 
  the 
  clothing 
  of 
  the 
  Eskimos, 
  but 
  the 
  women's 
  

   dress 
  is 
  entirely 
  different. 
  The 
  Chukchi 
  women 
  wear 
  high 
  and 
  very 
  

   wide 
  deerskin 
  boots, 
  and 
  what 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  a 
  union 
  dress 
  reaching 
  

   to 
  the 
  knees. 
  Ornaments 
  on 
  the 
  dress 
  are 
  almost 
  unknown 
  ; 
  the 
  only 
  

   way 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  deer 
  Chukchi 
  try 
  to 
  give 
  their 
  dresses 
  a 
  more 
  attrac- 
  

   tive 
  appearance 
  is 
  by 
  using 
  white-spotted 
  deerskins 
  and 
  matching 
  them 
  

   so 
  that 
  the 
  white 
  spots 
  appear 
  symmetrical. 
  

  

  The 
  reindeer 
  supply 
  practically 
  all 
  the 
  natives' 
  food. 
  A 
  few 
  roots 
  

   are 
  dug 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  and 
  eaten, 
  and 
  the 
  boiled 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  

   reindeer's 
  paunch 
  is 
  regarded 
  as 
  delicious, 
  but 
  with 
  these 
  exceptions, 
  

   the 
  diet 
  is 
  a 
  pure 
  meat 
  diet. 
  The 
  Chukchi 
  obtain 
  the 
  necessary 
  variety 
  

   in 
  their 
  food 
  by 
  eating 
  almost 
  every 
  part 
  of 
  deer, 
  from 
  the 
  meat 
  to 
  

   the 
  marrow. 
  

  

  Furthermore, 
  the 
  reindeer 
  are 
  the 
  beasts 
  of 
  burden; 
  they 
  have 
  to 
  

   pull 
  the 
  clumsy 
  sledges 
  on 
  which 
  all 
  the 
  belongings 
  of 
  the 
  natives 
  are 
  

   packed, 
  when 
  they 
  move 
  from 
  one 
  place 
  to 
  another. 
  When 
  they 
  are 
  

   moving 
  or 
  living 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  place, 
  the 
  task 
  of 
  the 
  men 
  is 
  to 
  attend 
  to 
  

   the 
  sledges, 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  reindeer 
  herd 
  together, 
  and 
  the 
  wolves 
  away. 
  

   The 
  latter 
  is 
  the 
  task 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  men, 
  who 
  sometimes 
  lead 
  a 
  strenu- 
  

   ous 
  life. 
  Occasionally 
  it 
  happens 
  that 
  for 
  weeks 
  at 
  a 
  time 
  they 
  do 
  

   not 
  sleep 
  under 
  shelter, 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  the 
  elder 
  men 
  do 
  not 
  

   leave 
  the 
  tents. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  a 
  man 
  has 
  a 
  son, 
  who 
  is 
  old 
  enough 
  to 
  

   take 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  reindeer, 
  he 
  himself 
  quits. 
  The 
  highest 
  ambition 
  of 
  a 
  

   man 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  son, 
  or 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  son-in-law. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  men 
  handle 
  the 
  lassos 
  with 
  wonderful 
  skill, 
  and 
  have 
  an 
  

   astonishing 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  deer. 
  The 
  average 
  number 
  of 
  reindeer 
  

   belonging 
  to 
  one 
  household 
  is 
  about 
  400 
  or 
  500, 
  and 
  a 
  young 
  boy 
  

   knows 
  by 
  sight 
  not 
  only 
  his 
  and 
  his 
  father's 
  reindeer, 
  but 
  also 
  all 
  

   belonging 
  to 
  the 
  neighbors, 
  which 
  may 
  mean 
  several 
  thousands. 
  

   Curiously 
  enough, 
  he 
  is 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  tell 
  how 
  many 
  he 
  knows, 
  because 
  

   the 
  highest 
  figure 
  a 
  Chukchi 
  is 
  able 
  to 
  handle 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  200 
  — 
  20 
  

   times 
  10. 
  The 
  task 
  of 
  the 
  women 
  is 
  to 
  tan 
  the 
  deerskins, 
  make 
  new 
  

   clothes, 
  mend 
  old 
  ones, 
  to 
  cook, 
  and 
  to 
  do 
  do 
  what 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  general 
  

   housework. 
  The 
  same 
  rule 
  applies 
  to 
  the 
  women 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  men, 
  

   namely, 
  that 
  the 
  younger 
  have 
  to 
  do 
  the 
  work, 
  the 
  older 
  may 
  do 
  what 
  

   they 
  like. 
  

  

  