174 SMOKING. 



of the whale, in which the ends of the bone lay still 

 embedded, and I do not hesitate to declare that this 

 was perfectly delicious, its flavour being, as nearly as 

 I can find a parallel, like that of cream cheese. This, 

 which the Tuski call their sugar, was the wind-up to 

 the repast and ourselves, and we were fain to admit 

 that, after the rather unpleasant auspices with which 

 our feast commenced, the finale was by no means to 

 be contemned. 



Each of those who had borne a part in the 

 proceedings of the evening now threw himself back 

 in an evident condition of complacency ; ourselves 

 only, unused to such a tahJe d'hote, experienced 

 symptoms of slight oppression. 



A new medium of luxury was now put in requi- 

 sition — I mean the practice of smoking — which 

 demands a special notice. Before our visit to this 

 people all the tobacco they used was obtained from 

 the Russians by barter, principally at the settlement 

 of Kolyma, but also, I conjecture, at the fort on the 

 Anadyr. It is of course very sparingly supplied, 

 and having been brought so great a distance, is much 

 valued. In order to eke out the scanty quantity 

 as far as compatible with its enjoyment, it is broken 

 up into minute fragments, and mixed with wood, 

 similarly small, but differently manufactured, and 



