B A I 



202 



B A I 



l'.aiV I. 



I j* come out of the water to bask and sloop in the 

 sunshine. The hunters, who arc perfectly acquaint- 

 ed with their haunts, place themselves in small 

 sledges, which they conceal with a screen of white 

 linen. As this screen perfectly resembles the ice, it 

 can be moved towards the seals without alarming 

 them ; and the hunters, who are provided with mus- 

 kets, can thus approach so near as to fire upon them 

 without the possibility of missing their aim. Ano- 

 ther mode of catching these animals was employed 

 when that country was visited by Mr Bell of Anter- 

 mony. Holes were cut in the ice at certain dis- 

 tances, and nets were extended from one hole to ano- 

 ther by means of long poles. The seals, unable to 

 remain long under the ice, come to these apertures 

 for air, and thus entangling themselves in the nets, 

 became an easy prey. 



But the most important fish in this lake is the 

 Omul, which, both from its abundance and its excel- 

 lent quality, is of inestimable benefit to all the sur- 

 rounding country. The Omuls vary in size in different 

 parts of the lake. Those caught near the mouth of 

 the Selenga, rarely exceed two spans in length ; while 

 those which frequent the bay of Tschivirkoui, are re- 

 presented by Pallas as enormous, though he does not 

 state their particular dimensions. They bear a con- 

 siderable resemblance to the herring, though Gmelin 

 asserts, that the only property which they have in 

 common with that fish, is the glittering of their 

 scales. Their flesh is white and tender ; and they 

 are so extremely delicate, that they die as soon as 

 they are taken out of the water. They are general 

 ly caught in the month of October, and, instead ot 

 being salted, are left by the fishermen to stiffen with 

 the Frost, which enables them to convey them fresh 

 to the various markets, and to sell them at a higher 

 price. Towards the middle of August, they begin 

 to divide into shoals, and to ascend the rivers for the 

 ruirpose of spawning. It is remarkable, that they 

 generally resort to the same stream in which they 

 themselves were spawned, and there are some rivers 

 that flow into the Baikal, which they never visit, 

 though shoals of them may be seen near their mouths. 

 They advance up the rivers very slowly, halting regu- 

 larly where the current is least rapid ; and when they 

 reach the ice, they are compelled to return. This 

 fish, to which naturalists have given the name of sal- 

 mo migratorius, is not confined to the Baikal. They 

 are supposed, indeed, to have come originally from the 

 Frozen Ocean, from which they force themselves up 

 the Yenissey, and several other rivers. Besides the spe- 

 cies of fish which we have already mentioned, several 

 other varieties are found in the Baikal, such as stur- 

 geon, carp, and tench, devil's lampreys, (called by 

 naturalists salmo oxyrritic/ms,) and lonki, or salmo 

 talvelinus. 



The fishery of this lake is farmed, and is ex- 

 tremely productive and valuable. It is prosecu- 

 ted during the whole summer, with large drag nets 

 upwards of two hundred fathoms long, to which is 

 fastened a strong cord of about fifteen hundred feet. 

 The net is drawn up by means of a windlass, to which 

 the cord is attached. Pallas describes a net which is 

 likewise employed on the Baikal, and which is pre- 

 cisely the same as the stake-nets use-d in our salmon 

 fisheries. " These nets," says he, " are formed by 



a small enclosure (or park,) with branches which ex- 

 tend some fathoms into the water. At the extremity 

 of this park there are other small ones, which form 

 two oval chambers, which are entered by a sharp 

 angle. This angle is formed by the two chambers 

 and the park which descend from the shore. The 

 fish, entering the park, proceed towards the bottom ; 

 they find at the angles a passage to penetrate into the 

 chambers ; they cannot get out, because thebranches, 

 or rods, are pointed at the opening, as in a net. This 

 invention bears the name of Kotsi. It is not known 

 elsewhere." () 



BAIKAL Mountains. These mountains follow 

 nearly the same direction with the lake, accompanying 

 it on both sides from south to north and north-east ; 

 and flattening on the west into a morassy steppe, or 

 plain, of prodigious extent : to the east they stretch 

 from the source of the Lena, along both sides of the 

 river, till at length they dwindle away into a spacious 

 ridge of floctz. This range is generally very high 

 and craggy, consisting partly of granite, partly of 

 flint-breccia, and lime-stone. Coal is frequently 

 found in the lower regions of the Angara and Lena, 

 where the floctz mountain greatly declines. A branch 

 of this range seems to run westward through the re- 

 gion between the Podkammenia, and the Nishnaia 

 Tunguska, away over the Yenissey ; this branch 

 probably consists of mere floctz mountains. Along 

 the north-eastern part of the Baikal, the upper An- 

 gara, and the river Vitim, where lie the famous pits 

 of Muscovy-glass, the mountain is wholly composed 

 of granite. The mineral contents of these mountains 

 are far from being thoroughly known. The princi- 

 pal minerals discovered in them are coals, asphaltum, 

 sulphur sources, native sulphur, alum, common salt 

 sources, lapis lazuli, Muscovy-glass, cornelians, natu- 

 ral prussian blue, and specimens of iron, copper, and 

 lead. Some of the Baikal mountains are so high, 

 that they are clad in eternal snows. Some of the 

 cliffs which tower above the surface of the lake, con- 

 sist of solid white quartz. The mountains, though 

 partly bare, are in general covered with forests, and 

 present many scenes no less beautiful than, sublime. 

 They contain the sources of many noble rivers, the 

 principal of which are the Selenga, the Angara, the 

 Lena, the Vilui, and the Tungusa. See Tookc's 

 Vieiv of the Russian Empire, vol. i. p. 166, 170, 

 211, '212} and vol. hi, p. 170, 171. Voyage de Pal- 

 las, octavo, vol. v. p. 220, 226 ; and vol. vi. p. 108, 

 12j. Gmelin's Voyage, apud J list aire Generate des 

 Voyages, torn, xviii. p. 226, 229, 2lil. Bell's Tra- 

 vels, 'vol. i. p. 2.5765. (/.) 



BAIL, in law, (from the Fr. bailler, to deliver), 

 signifies the security given for the defendant's appear- 

 ance in a process. 



Bail is given both in civil and in criminal actions. 

 In civil cases, bail is either common or special. Com- 

 mon bail is taken when the defendant has been served 

 with a writ of capias, by the sheriff or his officer, 

 and with notice to appear by his attorney in court, 

 to defend the action. If the defendant thinks proper 

 to appear upon this notice, his appearance is recorded, 

 and he puts in sureties for his future attendance and 

 obedience. These sureties are called common bail, 

 being the same two imaginary persons, John Doe, 

 and Riclwrd Roc, that were pledges for the plaintiffs 



