014 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [ciiAr. 



slowly, about a kilometre an hour, and with frequent rests, to 

 the place of slaughter, situated a kilometre or two from the 

 shore. Then the females and the young ones are driven away, 

 as well as the males whose skins are unserviceable. The rest 

 are first stunned with a blow on the head, and afterwards 

 stabbed with a knife. 



While the Vcija steamed down towards Behring Island we 

 met, already far from land, herds of sea-bears, which followed 

 the vessel from curiosity for long stretches. Being vmacquainted 

 with the sea-bear's mode of life, I believed from this circum- 

 stance that they had already left their summer haunts, but on 

 our arrival at the colony I was informed that this was not the 

 case, but that a very great number of animals still remained at 

 the rookery on the north-eastern point of the island. Naturally 

 one of our first excursions was to this place, situated about 

 twenty kilometres from the village. Such a journey cannot now 

 be undertaken alone and unattended, because even an involuntary 

 want of caution might easily cause much economic loss to the 

 natives, and to the company that owns the right of hunting. 

 During the journey we were accordingly accompanied by the 

 chief of the village, a black-haired stammering Aleutian, and 

 " the Cossack," a young, pleasant, and agreeable fellow, wlio on 

 solemn occasions wore a sabre nearly as long as himself, but 

 besides did not in the least correspond to the Cossack type of 

 the writers of novels and plays. 



The journey was performed in large sledges drawn by ten 

 dogs over snow-free rounded hills and hill-plateaus covered 

 with a rather scanty vegetation, and through valleys treeless 

 as the mountains, but adorned with luxuriant vegetation, rich in 

 splendid lilies, syngenesia, umbellifera,&c. The journey was some- 

 times tedious enough, but we now and then went at a whistling 

 rate, especially when the dog-team descended the steep moun- 

 tain slopes, or went through the morasses and the clay puddles 

 formed in the constantly used way. The driver was bespattered 

 from top to toe with a thick layer of mud, an inconvenience 

 attending the unusual team, which was foreseen before our 

 departure from the colony, in consequence of which our friends 

 there urged that, notwithstanding the fine weather, we should 

 all take overcoats. The dog-team was kept pretty far from 

 the shore in order not to frighten the seals, and then we 

 went on foot to the place where the sea-bears were, choosing 

 our way so that we had the wind in our faces. We could in 

 this way, without disturbing them, come very near the animals, 

 which, according to the undoubtedly somewhat exaggerated 

 statement made to us on the sjjot, were collected at the time 

 to the number of 200,000, on the promontory and the neigh- 

 bouring shores. We obtained permission to creep, accom- 



