492 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [chap. 



mode of life of the latter. The natives, however, complain that 

 the whalers destroy the walrus-hunting, while on the other 

 hand they see with pleasure trading vessels occasionally visiting 

 their coasts. 



During our stay off the considerable encampment, Irkaipij, 

 we believed, as I have already stated, that we had found a chief 

 in a native named Chepurin, who, to judge by his dress, appeared 

 to be somewhat better off than the others, had two wives and a 

 stately exterior. He was accordingly entertained in the gun- 

 room, got the finest presents, and was in many ways the object 

 of special attention. Chepurin took his elevation easily, and 

 showed himself worthy of it by a grave and serious, perhaps 

 somewhat condescending behaviour, which further confirmed our 

 supposition and naturally increased the number of our presents. 

 Afterwards, however, we were quite convinced that we had 

 in this case committed a complete mistake, and that now there 

 are to be found among the Chukches living at the coast neither 

 any recognised chiefs nor any trace of social organisation. 

 During the former martial period of the history of the race 

 the state of things here was perhaps different, but now the 

 most complete anarchy prevails here, if by that word we 

 may denote a state of society in which disputes, crimes, 

 and punishments are unknown, or at least exceedingly rare.^ 

 A sort of chieftainship appears, at all events, to be found among 

 the reindeer-Chukches living in the interior of the country. 

 At least there are among them men who can show commissions 

 from the Russian authorities. Such a man was the starost 

 Menka, of whose visit I have already given an account. Every- 

 thing, however, indicated that his influence was exceedingly 

 small. He could neither read, write, nor speak Russian, and he 

 had no idea of the existence of a Russian Czar. All the tribute 

 he had delivered for several years, according to receipts which he 

 showed to us, consisted of some few fox-skins, which he had 

 probably received as market-tolls at Anjui and Markova. Menka 

 was attended on his visit to the vessel by two ill-clad men with a 

 type of face differing considerably from that common among the 



^ In the accounts which were collected regarding the Chukches at 

 Anadyrsk in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it is also stated that 

 they lived without any government. On the contrary, in M. von Krusen- 

 etern's Voyage autour du monde, 1803-1806 (Paris, 1821, ii. p. 151), a report 

 of Governor Koscheleff is given on some negotiations which he had with 

 a " chief of the wliole Chukch nation." I take it for granted that the 

 chiefship was of little account, and Koscheleff's whole sketch of his 

 meeting with the supposed chief bears an altogether too lively European 

 romantic starajj to be in any degree true to nature. At the same place it is 

 also said that a brother of Governor Koschelefl:, in the winter of 1805-1806, 

 made a journey among the Chukches, on which, after his return, he sent a 

 report, accompanied by a Chukch vocabulary, to vou Krusenstern. 



