230 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANN. 18 



try to another beads and other articles of use or ornament, as well as 

 pieces of jadeite, which material, according to some of the Eskimo, is 

 found in the mountains inland from Kotzebue sound and also on Kaviak 

 peninsula. Small articles, such as green and red paint and wooden 

 dishes, were sent out from the lower Yukon; and the people of other 

 localities who have a surplus of seal oil, dried fish, and skins of various 

 animals, take them to points where they can be exchanged for other 

 desirable commodities. 



During one winter at St Michael the skin of a Siberian squirrel was 

 brought to me by an Eskimo living on Norton sound, he having 

 obtained it on Bering strait. The skin must have come from the inte 

 rior of Siberia. 



In the month of August, 1879, we were visited at St Michael by an 

 umiak from Cape Prince of Wales, and another from King island. In 

 July, 1881, a number of umiaks arrived from the former place. These 

 all brought deerskins and tanned hides of seal and walrus for trade. 

 The umiaks in full sail, crowded with fur-clad people, dogs, and their 

 various possessions, made a very picturesque sight. Among the men 

 were some Chukchi from the northern coast of Siberia. These were 

 recognized by our officers, who had spent a couple of weeks with them 

 earlier in the season. The Chukchi generally start out on their trad 

 ing voyages in May, traveling along the shore with dog sleds, hauling 

 on them their umiaks, which are folded, until they reach open water, 

 when the sleds are left at some point and the umiaks set up; then, tak 

 ing the dogs and goods on board, they coast along the shore of Bering 

 sound and over to the American side. Some of them even visit the 

 liussian fair at Ghigiga, near Anadyr river, during the winter to dis 

 pose of the furs they have gathered on their summer trading voyages. 



During one season an umiak came to St Michael from King island, 

 but the people were poorly supplied with goods for trading, having 

 only dried salmon and seal oil. As usual, they were very difficult to 

 trade with on account of their slowness in closing a bargain. A man 

 would bring in a bunch of dried fish, throw it on the floor, and then 

 stand about as if he had no interest in anything going on, until asked 

 what he wished; when the regular price was offered he would almost 

 invariably refuse, and then a long talk would ensue, which ended either 

 by his accepting what was offered or by taking away the fish. This 

 slowness is common with these people. 



I was at a trading station on the head of Norton bay one winter 

 when a Malemut chief wished to exchange some reindeer skins for 

 various articles. It was in the evening, and after prolonged haggling, 

 and changing one article for another, which lasted until 3 oclock next 

 morning, half a dozen skins were finally bought from him. We retired 

 and were hardly in bed before the man came back to exchange for other 

 things some of the goods which he had taken. Finally the trader put 

 him off until next day, when he again occupied a couple of hours before 



