X.] NORDQUIST'S VISIT TO PIDLIN. 379 



an advance was demanded and given, but when the journey 

 should have commenced the Chukches always refused to start 

 on some pretext or other — now it was too cold, now too dark, 

 now there was no food for the dogs. The negotiations had thus 

 no other result than to make us acquainted with one of the 

 few less agreeable sides of the Chukches' disposition, namely 

 the complete untrustworthiness of these otherwise excellent 

 savages, and their peculiar idea of the binding force of an 

 agreement. 



The plans of travel just mentioned, however, led to Lieu- 

 tenant Nordquist making an excursion with dog-sledges in order 

 to be even \yith one of the natives, who had received an advance 

 for driving him to Markova, but had not kept his promise. 

 Of this journey Lieutenant Nordquist gives the following 

 account : — 



" On the 5th December, at 7.50 a.m., I started with a dog- 

 sledge for the village Pidlin, lying on Kolyutschin Bay. I was 

 driven by the Chukch Auango from Irgunnuk. He had a small, 

 light sledge, provided with runners of whalebone, drawn by six 

 dogs, of which the leader was harnessed before the other five, 

 which were fastened abreast in front of the sledge, each with its 

 drauofht belt. The do^s were weak and ill manacjed, and there- 

 fore went so slowly that I cannot estimate their speed at more 

 than two or three English miles an hour. As the journey both 

 thither and back lasted eight to nine hours, the distance between 

 Pitlekaj and Pidlin may be about twenty-five English miles. 



" Pidlin and Kolyutschin Island are the only inhabited places 

 on Kolyutschin Bay. At the former place there are four tents, 

 pitched on the eastern shore of the bay, the number of the 

 inhabitants being a little over twenty persons. I was received 

 in front of the tents by the population of the village and 

 carried to the tent, which was inhabited by Chepcho, who now 

 promised to go with me in February to Anadyrsk. My host 

 had a wife and three children. At night the children were 

 completely undressed ; the adults had short trousers on, the 

 man of tanned skin, the woman of cloth. In the oppressive 

 heat, which was kept up by two train-oil lamps burning the 

 whole night, it was difiicult to sleep even in the heavy reindeer- 

 skin dresses. Yet they covered themselves with reindeer skins. 

 Besides the heat there was a fearful stench — the Chukches 

 obeyed the calls of nature within the bedchamber — which I 

 could not stand without going out twice to get fresh air. When 

 we got up next morning our hostess served breakfast in a flat 

 tray, containing first seals' flesh and fat, with a sort of sour- 

 krout of fermented willow-leaves, then seals' liver, and finally 

 seals' blood — all frozen. 



