264 FROM KOTZEBUE*S SOUND 



catch it, obliges it, by pouring water into one of the 

 openings, to come out of the other. We also met 

 with a particular kind of mice, which live under 

 ground. There appear to be no land-birds, as 

 we did not see a single one. 



When a Tschukutskoi admires any thing, he 

 several times repeats the word, Mezenld ; when he 

 calls any body, he says, Tumutum, Our vene- 

 rable friend informed us, that the time of violent 

 storms was near ; and that the last had only been 

 a faint wind. He gave us to understand, that in 

 a real storm, no body w^as able to stand on their 

 legs, but that they were obliged to lay themselves 

 flat on the ground. 



The rubbing of the nose in saluting is not cus- 

 tomary here. The whale which had been lately 

 caught, was washed from the shore by the high 

 water, in the late storm, and ran a-ground not far 

 from land, in our neighbourhood ; and as they had 

 cut much flesh and blubber from the head, the back 

 part had the preponderance, and sunktothe bottom. 

 It was there about seven fathoms deep, which was 

 about two-thirds of the length of the fish. To me 

 it appeared enormously large ; but I was informed 

 at Oonalashka that they were sometimes thirty 

 fathoms long. They are called there, Aliamak; and 

 I was told, that the people engaged at the opposite 

 ends of the fish must halloo very loud, to be able to 

 understand each other. 



The latitude of our anchoring-place, according 



