478 



THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 



[chap. 



beads are fixed amulets, wooden tongs, small bone heads 



or bone figures, pieces of metal, 

 coins, &c. One child had sus- 

 pended from its neck an old 

 Chinese coin with a square 

 hole in the middle, together 

 with a new American five- 

 cent piece. 



In former times beautiful 

 and good weapons were pro- 

 bably highly prized by so war- 

 like a people as the Chukches, 

 but now weapons are properly 

 scarce antiquities, which, how- 

 ever, are still regarded with a 

 certain respect, and therefore 

 are not readily parted with. 

 The lance which was found 

 beside the corpse (fig. 2 on 

 p. 477) shows by its still par- 

 tially preserved gold decora- 

 tions that it had been forged 

 by the hand of an artist. 

 Probably it has formed part 

 of the booty v/on long ago in 

 the fights with the Cossacks. 

 I procured by barter an ivory 

 coat of mail (fig. 7 on p. 477), 

 and remains of another. The 

 ivory plates of the coat of mail 

 are twelve centimetres in 

 length, four in breadth, and 

 nearly one in thickness, holes 

 being bored at their edges 

 for the leather thongs by 

 which the plates are bound 

 together. This binding has 

 been so arranged that the 

 whole coat of mail, when not 

 in use, may be rolled together. 

 Alorig with the spear and 

 the coat of mail the old 

 Chukches used the bow for 

 martial purposes. Now this 

 weapon is employed only for 

 hunting, but it appears as if 



CHTTKCH BOW AND QUIVER. ^^^^^ fj"^, ^^As pUrDOSC It WOUld 



(One-eighth of the natural size.) ■■• ■■• 



