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 Hskimo living on Norton sound, he having 
obtained it on Bering strait. The skin must have come from the inte- 
rior of Siberia. z 
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 
Russian 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. Weretired 
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 
