894 



ASIATIC RUSSIA. 



much humanity and probity in their conduct, and are courteous and hospitable. They are 

 chiefly employed in hunting, taking sea-animals and vvliales, and catching fowl. 



Between the eastern coast of Kamschaika and the western coast of America, are various 

 groups of islands, divided into four ])rincipal groups, the first two of which are called the Aleu- 

 tian Islands. The first group, which is called by some of the islanders Sasignam, comprehends, 

 1. Behring's Islands, which is 90 miles in length, and 25 in breadth; 2. Copper Island ; 

 3. Otma ; 4. Samyra, or Shemyia ; 5. Anakta. The second group is called Khao, and 

 comprises Immak and 7 other islands. The third general name is J\'€gho^ and comprehends 

 the islands known to the Russians under the name of Andreanoliski Ostrova, 16 of which are 

 mentioned by geographers. The fourth group is called Kavalang^ and also includes 16 islands, 

 which are denominated Lyssic Ostrova, or the Fox Islands. 



Some of these islands are only inhabited occasionally, and for several months in the year, and 

 others are very thinly peopled ; but some have a great number of inhabitants, who constantly 

 reside in them. Copper Island received its name from the copper which the sea throws upon 

 its coasts. The inhabitants of these islands are in general of a short stature, with stout, robust 

 limbs, but free and supple. They have lank, black hair, and little beard, flattish faces, and fair 

 skins. They are for the most part well-made, and of strong constitutions, suited to the boister- 

 ous climate of their isles. The Fox Islands are so called from the great number- of black, gray, 

 and red foxes with which they abound. The dress of a native consists of a cap, and a fur coat 

 which reaches down to the knees. Some of them wear common caps of a parti-colored bird- 

 skin, upon which they leave part of the wings and tail. On the fore part of their hunting and 

 fishing caps, they place a small board like a screen, adorned with the jaw-bones of sea-bears, 

 and ornamented with glass beads, which they receive in barter from the Russians. 



12. Inhabitants. This vast country contains more than 100 tribes, difiering in manners, 

 language, and religion. The Russians, Cossacks, and other settlers from Europe are chiefly 

 in the towns and military stations. There are many Tartars, and colonies of them north of the 

 Caspian and the Caucasus. The Calmucks are perhaps the most peculiar race in the empire. 

 They are of a dark color and athletic form. Thuy have high cheek bones, small eyes, distant 

 from each other, and enormous ears. There are some tribes of Monguls and Manshurs, or 

 Mantchoos. The latter are a branch of the Tungooses, occupying the central parts of Siberia, 

 about a third of the whole. In the northern regions, there are Finns and Samoieds ; the latter 

 are short in stature, seldom exceeding 5 feet, and often but 4. They Jiave short legs, large, 

 flat heads, wide mouths, large ears, small, angularly-placed eyes, and black and bristly hair. 

 Their complexion is an olive. The Yakouts are a large tribe on the river Lena. The Geor- 

 gians and Circassians are a well-formed race of men, and the females are renowned for beauty. 



They have fair complexions, regular features, and commanding 

 forms. The Circassians have slender waists, and these in the 

 men are rendered more so by a light sword-belt, which they con- 

 stantly wear. Besides these tribes or people, which are a small 

 part of the whole, there are many foreigners, as Germans, Poles, 

 Swedes, Armenians, together with a few Hindoos, Gypsies, and 

 Jews. 



The form of dress is nearly as various as the people. In the 

 northern countries, it consists for a great part of the year in furs ; 

 while the Calmucks have scarcely any clothing but a strip of cloth 

 about the waist. The dress of the Tartars is chiefly a striped 

 silk and cotton shirt, a short tunic, and over this a caftan or east- 

 ern robe, girded with a sash. Short boots and loose drawers are 

 worn. In summer, the head is covered with a turban ; in winter, 

 with a helmet of wood. All Tartars shave their beards. The 

 languages are various, and that of Georgia is radically difierent from all others. The dwellings 

 are of almost every form, though there is little good architecture. In Siberian towns, the Rus- 

 sian mode of building is somewhat followed. The Tartars have neat cottages, whitewashed, 

 and with gardens attached. The Tungooses dwell in tents. The Kamschadales live in vil- 

 lages, built like those of Russia. Many Georgians dwell in huts half sunk in the earth, and the 

 Circassians in cottages of wood and plaited osiers. The food is different in various parts. In 

 Siberia, fish forms a great article of food. The Tartars eat the flesh of horses, or whatever 



Circassians. 



