THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



ernment transport "Khabarovsk," which visits Gishiga once 

 every year, was employed for military purposes. 



Mr. Jochelson reports on the progress of the expedition in 

 his immediate charge as follows: 



On August 1 6, I goo, we landed in Kuslika, a small village at the 

 mouth of the Gishiga River. The condition of affairs in the district 

 of Gishiga was very sad. In the winter of 1 899-1 goo this region had 

 been visited by an epidemic of measles. According to the church 

 registers, 179 persons out of a total of 500 had died at Gishiga between 

 December 25, iSgg, and March i, 1900. When we reached Gishiga, 

 the grippe prevailed and everybody was sick abed. Contrary to my 

 expectations, there were no Koryak near Gishiga. The Reindeer 

 Koryak, who are in the habit of wintering near this place, had moved 

 far into the mountains with their herds, in order to escape the rav- 

 ages of the prevailing epidemic. Neither was it easy to reach the 

 villages of the Maritime Koryak, which are located on Penshina Bay, 

 east of Gishiga. There is no regular means of communication in 

 summer, because at that season travel across the tundra by dog- or 

 reindeer-team is impossible. Sea-going boats which could withstand 

 the heav}' seas at Cape Taigonos, between the bays of Gishiga and 

 Penshina, were not available, so that, in order not to lose the remain- 

 ing summer months, I made up my mind to attempt the tundra with 

 pack-horses. These, however, were hard tp get. There were sixty- 

 five horses in all, in the region, the jjropertv of the Russian inhabi- 

 tants of Gishiga. Most of these had been hired by a Russo-American 

 gold-mining company, which was represented by an American en- 

 gineer, Mr. Shockley. After a great deal of trouble I succeeiled in 

 hiring twenty horses, some of which were almost too voung for use. 

 Mr. Buxton staid in Kushka in order to make zoological collections, 

 while the rest of our party started on September 10. 



We were accompanied by a Cossack, an interpreter and two 

 packers, who also served as guides. The trail across the boggy tundra 

 and over the hills was very difficult. Pack-horses as well as saddle- 

 horses became mired and had to be extricated, so that we did not 

 average more than ten miles a day. One dav, while our Cossack and 

 interpreter were hunting two pack-horses that were carrying provi- 

 sions and had run away up a side vallev, 1 tried to proceed on my 

 journey, accompanied liy Mrs. Jochelson and Mr. Axelrod. We ex- 



