300 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, every article had been raised several hundred per cent., and that 
nothing of reasonable value would induce them to part with either 
^^^ows ; so that our generosity of the preceding day had not 
left any durable impression. 
Every visit to these parties furnished some new insight into 
their manners, though it was but trifling: on this occasion we wit- 
nessed a smoking party in which the women and children partook 
equally with the men. The pipe used on this occasion was small, 
and would contain no more tobacco than could be consumed at a 
whiff To these instruments there were attached a pricker and a strip 
of dog s skin, from the last of which they tore off a few hairs, and 
placed them at the bottom of the bowl of the pipe to prevent the to- 
bacco, which was chopped up very fine, being drawn into the mouth 
with the smoke. The tobacco which they used had pieces of wood 
cut up fine with it, a custom which is no doubt derived from the 
Tschutschi, who use the bark of the birch- tree in this manner, and 
imagine it improves the quality of the herb *. The pipe being charged 
with about a pinch of this material, the senior person present took 
his whiff and passed the empty pipe to the next, who replenished it 
and passed it on, each person in his turn inflating himself to the fullest 
extent, and gradually dissipating the fumes through the nostrils. The 
pungency of the smoke, and the time necessary to hold the breath, 
occasioned considerable coughing with some of the party, but they 
nevertheless appeared greatly to enjoy the feast. 
On the 8th, Spafarief Bay, which had been but little explored by 
Captain Kotzebue, underwent a satisfactory examination, and was found 
to terminate in a small creek navigable a very short distance, and that 
by boats only. Its whole extent inland is about three miles, when it 
separates into a number of small branches communicating with several 
lakes, w'hich, in the spring, no doubt, discharge a large quantity of fresh 
water into the sound, though at this dry season of the year they w^ere 
of inconsiderable size. A little to the northw^ard of the creek there is 
a pointed hill just 640 feet high by measurement, from whence we 
* Dobell’s Travels in Siberia. 
