i6o STELLER'S JOURNAL 



Alexeiev's yurts. In front of each dwelling stood several barrels 

 which served instead of a storehouse for keeping our supply of 

 meat from the foxes. We had also erected scaffolds upon which 

 to hang all kinds of clothing and effects. By holy Christmas Day 

 most of the men had been restored to health alone by means of 

 the excellent water and the fresh meat of various sea animals,^^^ 

 and we were only concerned with gathering more and more 

 strength so as to be able by spring to start the work for our 

 delivery more vigorously. Our efforts to this end were divided 

 into three main tasks. [The] first [was], because of lack of suf- 

 ficient supplies, to kill sea animals in order to provide the greater 

 part of our food, reserving bread only as a delicacy. From the 

 middle of November to the beginning of the month of May each 

 man received monthly thirty pounds of flour; in July and August 

 even that ceased, so that we had to be satisfied with meat alone, 

 since, with the consent of all, twenty-five poods of flour were set 

 aside for our voyage to Kamchatka. Nevertheless, everybody 

 was so economical with his provisions that few were without 

 bread even during the last months^^s and every hut could still 

 make biscuits for the voyage, half of which, besides 20 poods of 

 flour, were taken to the port [Avacha]. We were only unfortunate 

 in that the flour had been lying pressed hard into leather sacks 

 for two or three years and, at the stranding of the ship, had been 

 impregnated with substances dissolved in the salt water in the 

 hold, particularly gunpowder, to such a degree that in eating it 

 one did not dare consult one's taste. Until we got used to it, our 

 bodies became distended like drums from flatulence. Because 

 no real bread could be baked, as we had no oven,"^ small cakes 

 {oladi)^^^ were fried from this [flour] in the Russian manner 



377 The MS adds: "and as a result of rest." 



378 In the MS this clause reads: "that on no day from beginning to end 

 did we entirely lack bread." 



379 The MS adds: "nor did we want to because of the menage." 



380 The published version has aladi. The word, however, is oladya, 

 sing., oladi, plur. Steller apparently always renders the initial accented 

 "o" with "a," as pronounced. The MS has: "Siberian calatsches 

 [kalaches], or cakes, were baked fresh every day." 



