﻿462 T^rof. Milne — Across, Europe and Ada. 



river, which were in fact sections of the great alluvial plain of this 

 portion of Siberia. These sections, which are generally made np of 

 fine sand, now contained in addition some bands of a bluish clay. 

 This clay, which was very slippery to walk on, and plastic in its 

 nature, could be often seen to mei'ge into the sandy beds amongst 

 which it was intercalated. 



On the 29th I was told that we had entered the Obi. For some 

 time a dense fog prevented me from seeing where we were. One 

 thing was, however, certain — that we now had a strong current run- 

 ning in a contrary direction to that in which we were steaming. 

 "When the mist cleared, I saw myself in a stream about three-quarters 

 of a mile in breadth, bounded by banks ten to fourteen feet in height. 

 On the 30th we drew up to take in wood near the village of Soor- 

 goot (or Surgut), the position of which was indicated by a church 

 tower a few miles distant. Here I saw a number of Ostiacks, who 

 came with boat loads of fish to try and trade. Some of the fish 

 they had were like small pike, and called " stchooke " [Esox lucius). 

 These were from three to six lbs. in weight. Others they had 

 were called "nalym" (Lota vulgaris.') 



The Ostiacks, whom I frequently saw during several succeeding 

 days, were short in stature, had large heads, heavy bodies, and 

 thin legs. Their eyes, which point inwards and downwards, are 

 not deeply sunk in their heads, but are so placed that the eye- 

 lids run smoothly up to the eyebrows, which latter are well up 

 above the eyes themselves. Notwithstanding a general chubbiness 

 in their face, the cheek-bones are very prominent. Their hair is 

 long and black, and their complexion chocolate. 



Their canoes or boats, in which the}- swarmed round our ship, 

 were, from their graceful appearance and lightness, very striking. 

 They are cut from a solid block of wood, which I think is a kind 

 of poplar, the Eussian name of which is " oseena." Both stem and 

 stern are sharply pointed, and they sweep elegantly from end to 

 end. A midship section is nearly semicircular, but at either end 

 it would be V-shaped. The sides are kept from shrinking inwards 

 bv means of two or three transverse stretchers. One small canoe 

 which I measured was ten feet long, one foot nine inches broad, 

 and nine inches deep in the centre. It was so light that I could lift 

 it and carry it easily with one hand. The paddles look somewhat 

 like spades, there being at one end a large flat blade, and at the 

 other a transverse handle. These are only used on one side of the 

 boat. 



The dresses of these people, such as they were, were made of 

 sheepskin, and of a coarse brown material like sacking. It was, 

 however, difficult to ascertain their real nature, they were so very 

 dirty. At one of our landing places I saw several of the houses 

 in which these people live. One which I examined was about 

 twelve feet square, with perpendicular walls about three feet high. 

 From two of the side walls there was a sloping roof, meeting 

 in a ridge running from back to front, making the highest point 

 in the house only five feet eight inches in height. The frame- 



