1779. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 341 



piled horizontally, the ends being let into one another, 

 and the seams calked with moss. The roof is sloping 

 like that of our common cottage houses, and thatched 

 with coarse grass or rushes. The inside consists of 

 three apartments. At one end is what may be called 

 the entry, which runs the whole width and height of 

 the house, and is the receptacle of their sledges, 

 harness, and other more bulky gears and household 

 stuff. This communicates with the middle and best 

 apartment, furnished with broad benches for the 

 purpose, as hath been above mentioned, of both eat- 

 ing and sleeping upon. Out of this is a door into 

 the kitchen, one half of which is taken up by the 

 oven or fire-place, so contrived, by being let into the 

 wall that separates the kitchen and the middle apart- 

 ment, as to warm both at the same time. Over the 

 middle apartment and kitchen are two lofts, to which 

 they ascend by a ladder placed in the entry. There 

 are two small windows in each apartment made of 

 talc, and, in the houses of the poorer sort, of fish- 

 skin. The beams and boards of the cieling are 

 dubbed smooth with a hatchet (for they are unac- 

 quainted with the plane) ; and, from the effects of the 

 smoke, are as black and shining as jet. 



A town of Kamtschatka is called an ostrog, and 

 consists of several of the three sorts of houses above 

 described ; but of which balagans are much the most 

 numerous ; and I must observe, that I never met 

 with a house of any kind detached from an ostrog. 

 Saint Peter and Saint Paul consists of seven log- 

 houses, or isbas, nineteen balagans, and three joarts. 

 Paratounca is of about the same size. Karatchin 

 and Natchekin contain fewer log-houses, but full as 

 many jourts and balagans as the former ; from 

 whence I conclude, that such is the usual size of the 

 ostrogs. 



Having already had occasion to mention the dress 

 of the Kamtschadale women, I shall here confine 

 myself to a description of that of the men. 



z 3 



