LOSS OF THE ST. PETER, - 295 
clothes. They were so inconceivably ingenious as to roll down 
our casks of provisions, several poods* in weight, and then 
steal the meat out of them so ably, that at first we could not 
bring ourselves to ascribe the theft to them. As Ave have strip- 
ped an animal of its skin, it has often happened that we could 
not avoid stabbing two or three foxes, from their rapacity in 
taking the flesh out of our hands. 
" If we buried it ever so carefully, and even added stones to 
the weight of earth that was upon it, they not only found it out, 
but with their shoulders shoved away the stones, lying under 
them and helping one another with all their might. If, in or- 
der to secure it, we put an animal on the top of a high post in 
the air, they either dug up the earth at the bottom, and thus 
tumbled the whole down, or one of them clambered up, and 
with incredible artifice and dexterity threw down what was 
upon it. 
" They watched all our motions, and accompanied us in what- 
ever we were about to do. If the sea threw up an animal of 
any kind, they devoured it before we could get up to rescue it 
from them ; if they could not consume the whole of it at once, 
they dragged it in portions to the mountains, where they buried 
it under stones before our eyes, running to and fro as long as 
any thing remained to be conveyed away. While this was 
doing others stood on guard and watched us. If they saw 
any thing coming at a distance, the vrhole troop would com- 
bine at once and begin digging all together in the sand, till a 
beaver or sea-bear would be so completely buried under the 
surface that not a trace of it could be seen. In the night, when 
we were asleep, they came and pulled off our nightcaps, and 
stole our clothes from under our heads, with the beaver cover- 
ings and the skins we lay upon. In consequence of this we 
ahvays slept with our clubs in our hands, so that if they awoke 
us we might drive them away or knock them down. 
"When we made a halt to rest by the way, they gathered 
around us and played a thousand tricks in our view, and when 
we sat still they approached so near that they gnawed the thongs 
of our shoes. If we lay down as intending to sleep, they came 
and smelt at our noses, to try whether Ave AA'ere dead or aliA^e ; 
if Ave held our breath they gaA'e us such a tug by the nose 
as if they Avould bite it off. On our first arriA^al they bit off 
the toes, fingers, and noses of the dead Avhile we Avere pre- 
paring the grave, and thronged in such a manner about the 
* The pood is equal to forty Russian pounds, each of which is some- 
what less than an English pound. 
