lOG 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[CHAr. 
Embroidery of very pleasing 
patterns is also employed. In 
order to embellish the jpeslcs 
strips of skin or marmots’ and 
squirrels’ tails, &c., are sewed 
upon them. Often a variega¬ 
ted artificial tail of different 
skins is fixed to the hood be¬ 
hind, or the skin of the hood 
is so chosen that the ears of 
the animal project on both 
sides of the head. Along with 
the beads are fixed amulets, 
wooden tongs, small bone heads 
or bone figures, pieces of metal, 
coins, &c. One child had sus¬ 
pended from its neck an old 
Chinese coin with a square 
hole in the middle, together 
with a new American five- 
cent piece. 
In former times beautiful 
and good weapons were pro¬ 
bably highly prized by so war¬ 
like a people as the Chukches, 
but now weapons are properly 
.scarce antiquities, which, how¬ 
ever, are still regarded with a 
certain respect, and therefore 
are not readily parted with. 
The lance which was found 
beside the corpse (fig. 2 on 
p. 105) shows by its still par¬ 
tially preserved gold decora¬ 
tions that it had been forged 
by the hand of an artist. 
