376 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [chap. 



" The knives, axes, boring tools, &c., which I saw were of 

 iron and steel, and had evidently been obtained from Americans 

 or Russians. The household articles in Menka's brother's tent 

 consisted of some copper coffee-pots, which were used for 

 boiling water, a german-silver beaker with an English in- 

 scription, two teacups with saucers, flat wooden trays, and barrels. 

 The dress of the reindeer-Chukches is similar to that of the 

 coast-Chukches, only with this difference, that the former use 

 reindeer-skins exclusively, while the latter employ seal-skin in 

 addition. Some, on our arrival, put on blouses of variegated 

 cloth, probably of Russian manufacture. Among ornaments 

 may be mentioned glass-beads, strung on sinews, which were worn 

 in the ears or on the neck, chiefly by the women. These were 

 tattooed in the same way as those of the coast-Chukches. I saw 

 here, however, an old woman, who, besides the common tattooing 

 of the face, was tattooed on the shoulders, and another, who, 

 on the outside of the hands, had two parallel lines running 

 along the hand and an oblique line connecting them. The 

 men were not tattooed. Two of them carried crosses, with 

 Slavonic inscriptions, at the neck, others carried in the same 

 way forked pieces of wood. Whether these latter are to be 

 considered as their gods or as amulets I know not. 



" As we could not obtain here the reindeer that we wished 

 to purchase on account of the expedition, we betook ourselves 

 with our dogs on the afternoon of the same day along with 

 Menka to his son-in-law's encampment, which we reached at 

 8 o'clock in the evening. We were received in a very friendly 

 way, and remained here over night. All the inhabitants of the 

 tent sleep together in the bedchamber of it, which is not 

 more than 2 to 2'4 metres long, 1'8 to 2 metres broad, and 1'2 

 to 1'5 metres high. Before they lie down they take supper. 

 Men and women wear during the night only a cingulum ptcdi- 

 citicc, about fifteen centimetres broad, and are otherwise com- 

 pletely naked. In the morning the housewife rose first and 

 boiled a little flesh, which, was then served in the bedchamber, 

 before its inmates had put on their clothes. She cut the meat 

 in slices in a tray, and distributed them afterwards. In the 

 morning we saw the Clmkches catch and slaughter their reindeer. 

 Two men go into the herd, and when they have got sight of a 

 reindeer which they wish to have, they cast, at a distance of 

 nine or ten metres, a running noose over the animal's horns. 

 It now throws itself backwards and forwards in its attempts to 

 escape, and drags after it for some moments the man who holds 

 the noose. The other man in the meanthne endeavours to 

 approach the reindeer, catches the animal by the horns and 

 throws it to the ground, killing it afterwards by a knife-stab 

 behind the shoulder. The reindeer is then handed over to the 



