WRANGELL. 



237 



been known to travel a hundred miles a day without being injured by it. A 

 team consists commonly of twelve dogs, and it is of importance that they should 

 be accustomed to draw together. The quick and steady going of the team, 

 as well as the safety of the travellei*, mainly depends on the docility and sa- 

 gacity of the foremost dog or leader. No pains are tlierefoi-e spared in his edu- 

 cation, so that he may understand and obey his master's orders, and prevent the 

 rest from starting off in pui"suit of tlie stone-foxes or other animals that may 

 chance to cross their path. Their usual food is frozen fish, and ten good her- 

 rings are said to be a j^roper daily allowance for each dog while on duty. 

 When not actively employed, they are obliged to content themselves with offal, 

 and towai'ds spring, when the winter's provisions are generally exhausted, they 

 suffer the keenest hunger. 



This season is also a hard time for the wandering tribes of the neighbor- 

 hood. Then they flock to Nishne-Kolymsk, and to the other Russian settle- 

 ments on the Kolyma, but here also famine stares them in the face. There is, 

 indeed, a public corn magazine, but the price of flour is raised by the cost of 

 transport to such an exorbitant height, as to be completely beyond the reach of 

 the majority of the people. Three such dreadful springs did Wrangell pass at 

 Kolynisk, witnessing scenes of misery never to be forgotten. 



But when tlie distress of the people has reached its highest point, relief is 

 generally at hand. Troops of migratory birds come from the south, and fur- 

 nish some food for the despairing population. The supply is increased in June, 

 when the ice breaks on the Kolyma, for in spite of the faultiness of the nets 

 and the want of skill of the fishermen, the river is the principal source of plenty 

 during the summer, and supplies, moreover, the chief provisions for the follow- 

 ing winter. But with these gifts the Kolyma brings the plague of inundations, 

 so that during the summer of 1822 Wrangell was obliged to spend a whole 

 week on the flat roof of his hut. 



The chief resource of the Jukahires of the River Aniuj is the reindeer chase, 

 the success of which mainly decides wliether famine or some degree of comfort 

 is to be their lot duiing the coming winter. The passage of the reindeer takes 

 place twice a year ; in spring, when the mosquitoes compel them to seek tlic 

 sea-shore, w^here they feed on the moss of the tundra, and in autunnn, when the 

 increasing cold forces them to retire from the coast. The spring migration, 

 which begins about the middle of IVIay, is not very profitable, partly because 

 the animals are meagre, and their furs in bad condition, and partly because it 

 is more diflScult to kill them as they p{?ss the frozen rivers. The chief hunting 

 is in August and September, when the herds, consisting each of sevei'al thou- 

 sand deer, return to the forests. They invariably cross the river at a i)articular 

 spot, where a flat sandy bank makes their landing easier ; and here they press 

 more closely together, under the guidance of the strongest animals of the herd. 



The passage takes place after some hesitation, and in a few minutes the 

 river is covered with swimming reindeer. The hunters, hidden in creeks or 

 behind stones and bushes, now shoot forth in their small boats and wound as 

 many as they can. While tjiey are thus busy, they run some risk of being over- 

 turned in the turmoil, for the bucks defend themselves with their hoi-ns, their 



