> Sketch of Kamschatka, &§c. cal 
south part of the government of Okotsk from the peninsular of Kam- 
schatka, which is a mountainous sterile region, with bold coasts, and 
various, and sometimes grand and romantic scenery. It extends 
from lat. 52° to 64°, and is not more than eighty or one hundred 
miles wide in the broadest part. A magnificent range of mountains 
stretches through the whole length of the peninsula, equidistant from 
the east and west coasts. The river Kamschatka, navigable for ves- 
sels of one hundred tons for one hundred and fifty miles, passes from 
south to north until it reaches the 57° N. lat. when it turns suddenly 
east, and falls into the sea of Kamschatka, which is that part of the 
Pacific Ocean between the N. E. shores of Asia, and the N. W. 
coasts of America. A broad steppe of Arctic desert separates it on 
the north from the Anadyr, and the Asiatic coast tends north east 
from the mouth of that river, beyond which a field remains for the 
examination of future explorers. On that part of the peninsula north 
of the mouth of the Kamschatka river, commences the country of 
the Koriaks, a fierce and barbarous race, differing materially from 
the servile and cowardly Kamschatdales. ‘The country is thinly in- 
habited, and civilization has not improved their condition much be- 
yond that of their arctic neighbors. The riches of the whole penin- 
sula consist in furs, which exist in immense quantities ; so prodigious 
is the number of animals, that there are not inhabitants sufficient ta 
take them. Foxes and Sables are the most valuable, particularly 
the fiery red fox, the finest of the species. Bears, wolves, reindeer, 
argali or mountain sheep, otters, beavers, lynxes, and foxes of every 
variety, are found in the greatest plenty, and aquatic birds are hunt- 
ed for their feathers, flesh, and eggs. The mode of travelling ir 
Kamschatka and Koriaka, is with sledges drawn by dogs, and next 
in importance to the furs, are the dogs, who perform the labor of 
horses, and who almost outnumber the people. The winters are 
milder than in Siberia, but the climate is unfriendly to corn and 
vegetables, though timber arrives at perfection i in the southern part. 
e summer is extremely disagreeable, owing to the heavy rains 
and fogs, and the torrents which descend from the mountains. On 
the east side of the river Kamschatka are four active volcanos,* rising 
from the level surface in insulated peaks, many miles apart. 
Pedlars roam over the peninsula, bartering Chinese cottons, teas, 
tobacco, spirits, and trinkets, for furs, which are first carried to 
= 
* De Lesseps. 
