236 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



among the bushes ; little snipes are busy among the brooks. In the morasses 

 the crows gather round the huts of the natives ; and when the sun shines in 

 spring, the traveller may even sometimes hear the note of the finch, and in au- 

 tumn that of the thrush. But the landscape remains dreary and dead; all de- 

 notes that here the limits of the habitable earth are passed, and one asks with 

 astonishment what could induce human beings to take up their abode in so 

 comfortless a region ? 



In the district of Kolymsk, which surpasses in size many a European king- 

 dom, the population, at the time of Wrangell's visit, consisted of 325 Russians, 

 1034 Jakuts, and 1139 Jukahires of the male sex, of whom 2173 had to pay the 

 /assa^, consisting of 803 fox and 28 sable skins, worth 6*704 roubles, besides 

 which they were taxed to the amount of 10,847 roubles in money Thus the 

 Russian double-eagle made, and no doubt still makes, the poor people of Kolymsk 

 pay rather dear for the honor of living under the protection of its talons. 



The Cossacks, in virtue of their descent from the original conquerors of 

 the country, enjoy the enviable privilege of being tax free; thty are, however, 

 obliged to render military service when required. They form the small gar- 

 rison of Nishne-Kolymsk, and every year twenty-five of them repair to the fai*- 

 of Ostrownoje, to keep the wild Tchuktchi in check. The Russians are chiefly 

 the descendants of fur-hunters or of exiles ; and though they have adopted the 

 native clothing and mode of life, they are still distinguishable by their more 

 muscular frame. The women, who are somewhat better-looking than the fe- 

 male Jakuts and Jukahires, are fond of music, and their traditional songs 

 dwell on the beauties of nature — the rustling brook, the flowery mead, the 

 nightingale's note — all things belonging to a world of which they have no idea. 



The dwellings of the Russians are hardly to be distinguished from the yourts 

 of the native tribes. They are made of drift-wood, and, as may easily be im- 

 agined, are very small and low. The interstices are carefully stopped up with 

 moss, and the outside is covered with a thick layer of clay. An external mud 

 wall rises to the height of the roof to keep off the wind. In a hut like this 

 Wrangeil spent many a winter month, but when the cold was very intense, he 

 was not able to lay aside any part of his fur clothing, though sitting close to a 

 large fire. When he wanted to write he had to keep the inkstand in hot water ; 

 and at night, when the fire was allowed to go out for a short time, his bedclothes 

 were always covered with a thick snow-like rime. 



The existence of the people of Kolymsk depends upon fishing and hunting, 

 in which they are assisted by their dogs. These faithful, but cruelly-treated 

 animals, are said to resemble the wolf, having long, pointed, projecting noses, 

 sharp and upright ears, and long bushy tails. Their color is black, brown, 

 reddish-brown, white, and spotted, their howling that of a wolf. In summer 

 they dig holes in the ground for coolness, or lie in the water to escape the mos« 

 quitoes ; in winter they burrow in the snow, and lie curled up, with their noses 

 covered with their bushy tails. The preparation of these animals for a journey 

 must be carefully attended to ; for a fortnight at least they should be put on a 

 small allowance of hard food, to convert their superfluous fat into firm flesh ; 

 they must also be driven from ten to twenty miles daily, after which they havo 



