26 
s aryts chew’s travels. 
baggage, which had been left behind, owing to the badness of 
the roads. The greatest part of our horses being totally dis¬ 
abled, it was necessary to procure a fresh set for the purpose of 
fetching the luggage. 
The fortress (Ostrog) of Werchna-kolymsk, is situated on the 
right bank of the river Jassaclina, two versts distance from its con¬ 
flux with the Kolyma. It consists of five peasants’ huts, three 
jurts, and a separate court surrounded with a paling, in the 
middle of w hich is a black log-house (isba) and some granaries. 
In this narrow spot it was no easy matter to dispose of all our 
people. Our commander chose the best isba, whilst two of 
my companions and myself took up our lodging in a jurt. The 
greater part of the crew were obliged to reside in the woods 
until a shelter could be made for them, besides which it was 
necessary to build a forge and an oven for drying the biscuit. 
In the mean time the felling and transportation of the timber 
for our vessels was commenced with vigour, although the passage 
of the river was rather impeded by the frost, which set in on 
the 27th of September; yet as soon as it w'as frozen sufficiently 
firm to admit of any weight, we conveyed the wood over the 
ice by means of horses borrowed from a small body of Jakuts, 
who had lately settled in those parts at a distance from the for¬ 
tress. These Jakuts have but a small quantity of cattle, and 
subsist principally by fishing. In the winter they travel only 
with dogs, by which they are distinguished from the rest of their 
nation. 
At the commencement of the frost, and previous to the 
closing of the river, the people w^ere busy with their nets in 
catching a particular sort of fish called tschirai. Afterwards 
they made openings in the ice, in order to catch eelpouts ; the 
largest of which weighed 25 pounds. The cold at this time, 
in the middle of October, was 30 deg. Reaumur. 
In this month, Mr. Billings and the doctor went a journey of 
40 versts up the river, to a little place inhabited by some fami¬ 
lies of the Jukagirens. This was formerly a very rich tribe, 
who had kept their neighbours in awe, and possessed dominion 
over a vast extent ot territory, until the greater part of them 
being swept away by the small-pox, and another contagious dis¬ 
order, called here kilikinska, the Kosaks and Tunguses, their 
ancient enemies, gained the upper hand, and retaliated on them 
by every act of oppression in fishing and hunting; which gave 
rise to a was that exterminated almost entirely the little residue 
of their people. The stragglers who had escaped this last ravage 
sought protection from the Russians, and took up their residence 
m the proximity of the fortress. The close intercourse thu£ 
