186 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



of the river appear above their surface, and the savage erects his summer hut 

 close to its stream. This hovel has generally a quadrangular form, low walls, 

 and a high pointed roof, made of willow-branches covered with large pieces of 

 bark. These, having first been softened by boiling, are sewn together, so as to 

 form large mats or carpets, easily rolled up and transported. The hearth, a 

 mere hole inclosed by a few stones, is in the centre, and the smoke escapes 

 through an aperture at the top. Close to the hut there is also, generally, a 

 small store-house erected on high poles, as in Lapland ; for the provisions must 

 be secured against the attacks of the glutton, the wolf, or the owner's dogs. 



Although the Obi and its tributaries — the Irtysch, the Wach, the Wasju- 

 gan — abundantly provide for the wants of the Ostiaks, yet those who are ex- 

 clusively fishermen vegetate in a state of the greatest poverty, in indolence, 

 drunkenness, and vice. The wily Russian settlers have got them completely 

 in their power, by advancing them goods on credit, and thus securing the prod- 

 uce of their fisheries from year to year. During the whole summer Russian 

 speculators from Obdorsk, Beresow, and Tobolsk sail about on the Obi, to re- 

 ceive from their Ostiak debtors the salmon and sturgeon which they have 

 caught, or to fish on their own account, which, as having better nets and more 

 assistance, they do with much greater success than the poor savages. 



The Russian Government has, indeed, confirmed the Ostiaks in the posses- 

 sion of almost all the land and water in the territories of the Lower Obi and 

 Irtysch, but the Russian traders find means to monopolize the best part of the 

 fisheries ; for ignorance and stupidity, in spite of all laws in their favor, are 

 nowhere a match for mercantile cunning. 



At the beginning of winter the Ostiaks retire into the woods, where they 

 find at least some protection against the Arctic blasts, and are busy hunting 

 the sable or the squirrel ; but as fishing affords them at all times their chief 

 food, they take care to establish their winter huts on some eminence above the 

 reach of the spring inundations, near some small river, which, through holes 

 made in the ice, affords their nets and anglers a precarious supply. Their 

 winter yourt is somewhat more solidly constructed than their summer resi- 

 dence, as it is not removed every year. It is low and small, and its walls are 

 plastered with clay. Light is admitted through a piece of ice inserted in the 

 wall or on the roof. In the better sort of huts, the space along one or several 

 of the walls is hung with mats made of sedges, and here the family sits or 

 sleeps. Sometimes a small antechamber serves to hang up the clothes, or is 

 used as a repository for household utensils. Besides those who live solely upon 

 fishes and birds of passage, there are other Ostiaks who possess reindeer herds, 

 and wander in summer to the border of the Polar sea, where they also catch 

 seals and fish. When winter approaches, they slowly return to the woods. 

 Finally, in the more southerly districts, there are some Ostiaks who, having 

 entirely adopted the Russian mode of life, cultivate the soil, keep cattle, or earn 

 their livelihood as carriers. 



In general, however, the Ostiak, like the Samoiiede, obstinately withstands 

 all innovations, and remains true to the customs of his forefathers. He has 

 been so often deceived by the Russians that he is loth to receive the gifts of 



