Sketch of Siberia, <^^e. 29 



" These regions are traversed, rather than peopled, by men who 

 belong to no nation," for between the Jana and the Kolyma the coun- 

 try is one vast desert. 



The commissariat of Kolyma has for its capital Nishney Kolymsk, 

 an island in the Kolyma, opposite its junction with the river Annuiy, 

 and almost the most easterly part of Asia, in 70° N. lat. Capt. 

 Cochrane states that, both from his own observation, and as appears 

 from registers kept by others, tlie cold is many degrees greater here 

 than in corresponding parallels in the Western hemisphere : and that 

 even at Irkutsk, the cold was as intense as was at any time remarked 

 on Bear Lake, or Melville Island. Nishney Kolymsk is famous for 

 the high rank of its convicts, and contains the tombs of some illustri- 

 ous exiles. Slate hills occur on the right bank of the Annuiy, thirty- 

 five miles east of the Kolyma, while the left is a vast alluvial deposit. 

 At Ostroonaga, a fortress on the Annuiy, in about 68° N. lat. and 

 one hundred and fifty miles east of Kolymsk, an annual fair is held, 

 for the sale of furs. A commissary presides, who instals two savage 

 chiefs, decorating them with medals and swords, and receiving at 

 the same time a tribute. The following morning, these persons, 

 arrayed in their gayest attire, in sledges drawn by reindeer, precede 

 a long cavalcade of followers, when, after some religious ceremonies, 

 the commissary declares that the fair cannot proceed without a trib- 

 ute in advance for the Emperor ; on which the principal traders 

 come forward and lay each a red fox skin at the feet of the commis- 

 sary. The fair then proceeds ; die natives are astute and exact in 

 their dealings, and barter their furs for laiives, swords, a few imple- 

 ments and utensils, and some trinkets ; but the main object of desire 

 with them is tobacco, for which they exchange their fiery fox skins, 

 and their best sea-horse teeth, which make the finest ivory in the 

 world. Savages from the American continent attend this fair, and 

 bring a great variety of furs, which the vicinity of the fortress could 

 not supply. The Asiatic tribes are each headed by their chiefs, and 

 are from Shelatskoi Noss — from the east sea coast — and from the bor- 

 ders of the river Anadyr, south-east, towards Karaschatka. There 

 are wandering hordes, who live by hunting, fishing, and trafficking in 

 ivory and furs, and they strongly resemble the American savages in 

 their language, superstitions, dress, and many of their customs. 

 They are honest and hospitable, but bold, irascible, suspicious, and 

 far more spirited and sagacious, and more rude and wild than the 

 Esquimaux, but yet bear a greater resemblance to them, than to any 



