146 KAMSGHATKA. [chap. 



of them were clothed in leather breeches and the boots I have 

 already described, with the ordinary loose blue shirt of the Eussiau 

 peasant, but some had already commenced to wear the ;parka. 

 These are not all of reindeer, which is not a common animal except 

 among the Koriaks, but are also made of bear and dog fur, although 

 the dogs are not grown for the purpose, as is the case in Lapland. 



If leprosy be in any way connected with a diet in which fish is 

 one of the chief constituents, as is by some supposed to be the case, 

 in no country in the world should it be more prevalent than in 

 Kamschatka. Dr. Dybowski had assured me that it was very 

 common, and had shown me photographs in which the expression 

 of the disorder appeared identical with that unfortunately so 

 frequent in Norway. But the only case which came under our 

 notice was at this place, and since the sufferers do not appear to be 

 secluded in any way, it is only fair to conclude that, in the interior 

 of the coimtry at least, the disease cannot be very prevalent. 

 Syphilis is, unhappily, very general, but its effects are now far less 

 terrible than on its first introduction. 



We paddled merrily down stream in spite of the still unsettled 

 arguments as to the price we were to pay our men. Below 

 Mashura the pines become more numerous, and the perpendicular 

 mud cliffs are a characteristic feature of the river. Beneath these 

 we found the depth of the stream to be often as much as eighteen 

 or twenty feet, but the mean depth is probably not more than half 

 as great. Huge piles of driftwood block the banks of every low 

 promontory, and testify to the enormous force and volume of the 

 stream upon the breaking up of the ice, — a phenomenon which can 

 dimly be realised from the wonderfully graphic description of ]\Ir. 

 Seebolim in his " Siberia in Asia." Owing to the increased depth 

 of the water, snags became less frequent and navigation easier ; but 

 the size of our rafts prevented us from making more than five 

 versts an hour, a rate that our log, frequently heaved and with 

 corrections applied for the current, told us to be fairly constant. 



Hitherto we had been able with the greatest ease to shoot as 



