E. Ys B RANT S 
D E 
have thefe Idols placed in their Huts, which are made 
of Barks of Trees, fewed together with Harts 
On one Side of the God hangs a Bunch of human and 
horfe Hair, and next that a wooden Veffel with Milk 
Pap, with which they daily fupply their Idols, and 
thruft it into their Mouths with a Spoon made for that 
Purpofe j but in as much as thefe Idols cannot fwallow 
this their Milk Diet, it runs out again at^ both Sides of 
their Mouth, down their whole Bodies, in fuch a filthy 
Manner as is fufficient to difguft one from eating of 
that Food. When this nice God is to be worfiiipped or 
prayed to, his Adorers ftand bolt upright, and tols their 
Head up and down, without bending their Backs m 
the leaf]; i befides which, they chirrup or whiftle thro’ 
the Lips^ as we do when we call a Dog j and in thefe 
Fooleries confifl their Devotion. 
They call their Gods Saitan^ and might indeed Very 
well fay Satan. Once feveral OJiiacks came on . board 
the Ship in which I was, to fell us Fifb, and one of my 
Servants had a Nurenburg Bear in Clock-work, which, 
when wound up, drummed and turned his Head back- 
ward and forward, continually moving his Eyes till the 
Work was down. Our People fet the Bear at Play a^ 
little j and as foon as ever the Ofiiacks faw it, all of 
them performed to it their cuftomary Religious Wor- 
fhip, and danced exceffively to the Honour of the Bear, 
nodding their Heads, and whiffling at a great Rate. 
They confidered our Bear as a right Saitan^ crying 
out, What are our Saltans which we make ? If we had 
fuch a Saitan, we would hang him all over with Sables 
and Black Fox Skins. They alfo asked, whether this 
Clock-work was to be fold ; but I ordered it out of 
their Sight, to avoid adminiftring any Occafion to 
Idolatry. 
As for what farther concerns thefe Heathens, they 
have as many Wives as they can maintain, and marry 
their near Relations without any Scruple ; If a Rela- 
tion dies, they cry inceffantiy for feveral Days, cover- 
ing their Heads, and fitting on their Knees in their 
Huts, and will not fuffer themfelves to be feen ; but 
they carry the Corps on Poles to the Ground to be 
buried. They are a poor People, and live very mi- 
ferable in forty Huts. They might, indeed, live very 
happily and well, fince all Parts near the Oby abound 
whth great Quantities of rich Furrs ; befides that, there 
is extraordinary good Fifhing in that River, in which 
are very fine Sturgeons, Jacks, Cfc. infomuch that 
twenty great Stdrgeons may be bought of them for 
th ree Penny-worth of Tobacco ; but they are fo horrid 
lazy, that they do not defire to get any more than will 
barely fuffice them annually for the Winter : For when 
they travel, they eat moftly Fifh, efpecialjy when they 
are on the Water fifhing, for then they live on nothing 
elfe. They are all of a middle Stature, moff of them 
yellowifh or red hair’d, and their Faces and Nofes dif- 
agreeably broad ; they are weak and unable to labour 
hard, not at all inclined to Wars, and unfit for Mili- 
tary Exercifes. Bows and Arrows are their Weapons, 
with which they flioot wild Bealls, tho’ they are not 
much addidfed to thi^ neither. Their Cloaths confift 
of Sturgeon and other Fifh Skins ; they ufe neither 
Linnen nor Woollen *, their Shoes and Stockens are 
faftened together, and they wear a fhort Coat with a 
Cape and Hood, which in Cafe of Rain they pull over 
their Heads. Their Shoes are alfo made of Fifh-fkins, 
and are fowed faff to their Stockens, but not clofely ; 
fo that their Feet muft necelTarily be always wet. When 
they are upon the Water, notwithftanding the Thin- 
nefs of their Cloathing, they will bear extraordinary 
great Cold ; for if it be but a common Winter, they 
are no better clad than has been mentioned ; but if 
the Winter prove hard, thofe who are thus clad are 
compelled to put another Coat of the fame Sort of 
Fifh-fkins over that ; and they exprefs this fevere Wea- 
ther amongfl one another, by faying. Do you like the 
Winter that forces one to wear two Coats of Skins ? They 
fometimes go a Hunting in the Winter with a fingle 
Coat only, and their Breafts bare, depending upon 
warming themfelves quickly with fliding and running 
over the Ice in their Schaits or fliding Shoes ^ but if, 
as it feveral Times happens, they are overtaken by an 
extraordinary fevere Frofl, and it feems utterly impro- 
bable to efcape it, or fave their Lives, they with the 
utmoft Hafte throw off their Fifli-fl^in Coat, fling 
themfelves into the deep Snow, and voluntarily freeze 
to Death ; the Reafon why they pull off their Coat is, 
only that they may die the fooner, and with Icfs Pain. 
The Womens Cloaths are almoft like the Mens 5 the 
Mens greateft Diverfion is Bear-hunting, to which Sport 
they gather together in Crouds, armed with no other 
Weapon than a fliarp Iron like a large Knife, fixed to 
a Stick about a Fathom long. As foon as they have 
put up a Bear, they run at him with thefe fliort Spears, 
and having killed him, they cut off his Head, flick it 
upon a Tree, run round it, and pay the profoundeft 
Refped. to it : After which, they run to the dcaa Body 
with repeated Cries, asking the Bear, If bo killed you ? 
The Ruffians.^ they anfwer, themfelves. Who. cut off 
your Head i* A Ruffian A>:. Who cut up your Belly ? 
A Knife which a Ruffian made. And more fuch-like 
Follies. In a Word, the Ruffians bear all the Blame, 
and they are entirely innocent of the Murther of the 
Bear. 
II. They have a Sort of Petty Princes amongfl 
them, one of which is called Kneska., or Prince Kurza 
Muganaffi whofe Authority extends over fome Hun- 
dreds of Fluts ; and he lays on and colledls the Tri- 
bute which they are obliged to pay to the Waiwodes of 
his Czarifh Majefly. This Potentate came with ail his 
Princely Family and Servants on board me, paid his 
Compliment, and brought me a Parcel of frefh Fifh 
as a Prefent j which I requited by prefenring him with 
fome Brandy and Tobacco, with which he went on 
Shoar very well contented ; but returned immediately, 
and invited me to his Princely Palace. I being very 
curious to fee this great Lord in his fumptuous Place of 
Refidence, went thither, though I had no great Appe- 
tite to his Entertainment. Coming on Shoar, the in- 
troduiflory Ceremonies were not very particular. He 
adled the Mafler of the Ceremonies himfclf, and with- 
out much Solemnity brought me to his magnificent 
Apartment, which, like the other Huts of the OJiiacks^ 
was compofed only of Barks of Trees flighdy fewed 
together. I found here four of his Wives, two old and 
two young ; one of the young ones had a red Cloth 
Coat on, and was fet off with all Sorts of Glafs Corals 
about her Neck and her Middle, and in the Curls of 
her Hair, which hung down on both Sides of her 
Head in two Rows *, fhe had alfo in her Ears great 
Thread-wrought Rings, with long Strings of Coral 
hanging at them. Each of thefe Princeffes prefented me 
with a Barrel made of Birch- Bark fewed together, and 
full of dry Fifh ; but the youngefl gave me a Barrel 
of Sturgeon Fat, which was as yellow as Gold. After 
I had received thefe Prefents, I caufed them to be 
treated with Brandy and Tobacco, which is a great 
Delicacy amongfl them. In this whole Princely Build- 
ing, 1 faw no other Furniture than fome Cradles and 
Chefls made of Barks of Trees fewed together, in 
which the Bed-Cloaths lay, being of planed Wood- 
Shavings, which yet were almoft as foft as Feathers. 
Thefe Cradles ftand at one End of the Hut, to avoid 
the Fire which is kindled in the Middle, and the Chil- 
dren lie naked in them. I alfo faw a Copper Kettle 
there, and fome other Kettles compofed of Barks of 
Trees fewed together, in which they boil their Viduals 
on the live Coals or EmSers, for in the Flame they 
cannon do it. 
To fmoke Tobacco, (to which all, both Men and 
Women, are very much addicted) inftead of Pipes 
they ufe a Stone Kettle, in which they flick a Pipe 
made for that Purpofe, and at two or three Drawings, 
after they have taken fome Water in their Mouths, can 
fuck out a whole Pipe ; and they fwallow the Smoak, 
after which they fall down and lie infenfible, like dead 
Men, with diftorted Eyes, both Hands and Feet 
trembling For about Half an Hour. They foam at the 
Mouth, fo that they fall into a Sort of Epilepfy i and 
we could not obferve where the Smoak vented itfelf, 
and in this Manner feveral of them are loft. For as 
they 
