DIFFICULTIES IN TRAVELLING. 25 
however, succeeded, after a tormenting search ior 60 versts, in 
finding a Jakutish track over meadows, that promised to bring 
us to an inhabited spot: but in this we were disappointed ; for 
after a journey of 18 versts farther we came to some empty Ja¬ 
kutish jurts, from whence the road took five different directions. 
I dispatched some of my people in several directions, and ob¬ 
tained the next morning, to my no small satisfaction, a Jakut, 
who offered to conduct us to the jurts of the Jakutish knask. 
He fulfilled his promise, and carried us in nine days to the de¬ 
sired spot, where we found Captain Billings waiting for us. 
Here we were obliged to stop five da^s for fresh horses, which 
were to be collected from the distant jurts. 
On the 29 th, we pursued our journey in two distinct parties; 
Captain Billings proceeding forwards with one sailor and three 
chasseurs. The first day we waded through the river Omekon, 
and passed along two other rivers, until we reached the 
Atschugui-taryn-urach, or little icy stream, which is so called 
from its being continually covered with ice of an almost incre¬ 
dible thickness. Sixty versts farther, after wading through the 
Ulachan-taryn-urach, or large icy river, we fyad to ascend two 
high mountains, about a verst distant from each other. The 
former is covered with small larches, moss, and cedar shrubs, 
which do not rise above two fathoms in height, and yield fruit 
but every other year. The latter, which is higher than any in 
that quarter, extending from south-east to north-west, is covered 
only half way up with moss, the rest consisting of naked rock. 
We effected our ascent and descent with the utmost difficulty, 
being obliged, from its exceeding steepness, to creep rather than 
walk, for fear of roiling down. The horses, though very tame 
and accustomed to such roads, were not all able to keep their 
feet. Our course then led us alternately over beautiful mea¬ 
dows and large rivers, or through woody and mountainous coun¬ 
tries. TheTunguses usually repair in the summer to the open 
summits of these mountains to catch the wild sheep which fre¬ 
quent those parts, or to. graze their reindeer, which are here 
less tormented by the insects than in the forests. 
Our guides being unable to conduct us farther, I was obliged 
to wait some few versts distance from Werchno-kolymsk, until 
a suitable person could arrive from the neighbouring Jakutish 
jurts, called Kysgyl Balyktach, after the name of a peculiar 
fish, which is caught by the inhabitants in their lake. The fa¬ 
tigues of the journey were rather increased than diminished to-r 
wards the close. The roads, which were either sandy or 
marshy, exhausted our horses to that degree, that we sometimes 
despaired of reaching the point of destination. On our arrival 
we found Captain Billings ami his attendants, but none ©f the 
SARYTSCHEW.] B 
