xi(.] CnUKCH GKAVES. 465 



housekeeping. Besides these there was no trace of anything 

 underlying or covering the corpse. The clothes had been torn 

 by beasts of jarey from the body ; the back was quite untouched, 

 but the face and breast were much wasted, and the arms and 

 legs almost wholly eaten up. On the knoll evident traces of 

 the wolf, the fox, and the raven were visible. Close to the 

 right side of the corpse had lain the weapons which Johnsen had 

 brought home the day before. Near the feet was found a sledge 

 comjDletely broken in pieces, evidently new and smashed on the 

 spot. Not far off, we found lying on the snow pieces of a pcsk 

 and of foot-coverings, both new and of the finest quality. 

 Beasts of prey had undoubtedly torn them off and pulled them 

 about. On the knoll there were found besides five or six other 

 graves, distinguished by small stones or a wooden block lying on 

 the even ground. Two of the graves were ornamented by a 

 collection of reindeer horns. The severe cold prevented me 

 from ascertaining whether these stones concealed the remains 

 of buried corpses. I considered that I might take the Chukch's 

 head, as otherwise the wolves would doubtless have eaten it up. 

 It was taken on board and skeletonised." 



In the spring of 1879, after the snow was melted, we had 

 further opportunities of seeing a large number of burying- 

 places, or more correctly of places where dead Chukches had 

 been laid out. They were marked by stones placed in a peculiar 

 way, and were measured and examined in detail by Dr. Stuxberg, 

 who gives the following description of them : — 



" The Chukch graves on the heights south of Pitlekaj and 

 Yinretlen, which were examined by me on the 4th and 7th 

 July, 1879, were nearly fifty in number. Every grave consisted 

 of an oval formed of large lying stones. At one end there was 

 generally a large stone raised on its edge, and from the opposite 

 end there went out one or two pieces of wood lying on the 

 ground. The area within the stone circle was sometimes over- 

 laid with small stones, sometimes free and overgrown with grass. 

 At all the graves, at a distance of four to seven paces from the 

 stone standincr on its edo-e in the longitudinal axis of the s^rave 

 or a little to the side of it, there was another smaller circle of 

 stones inclosing a heap of reindeer horns, commonly containing 

 also broken seals' skulls and other fragments of bones. Only 

 in one grave were found pieces of human bones. The graves 

 were evidently very old, for the bits of wood at the ends were 

 generally much decayed and almost wholly covered with earth, 

 and the stones were completely overgrown with lichens on the 

 ujjper side. I estimate the age of these graves at about two 

 hundred years." 



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