Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-05-28
Some Of the Queer People Visited BY Nor
deusiold.

reindeer hides.
The coast population live in villages
numbering from three to twenty tents,
| spread along the coast as near the shore
as possible, and ut few miles distance
from each other.
The Tohuktchis are divided into two
sections, each with its respective chief.
The Eastern population have for their
chief Menka, who resides at Markowo on
the Anadyr river. The Western, again,
are under the chief Amra Urgin, who re-
sides in the vicinity Of KOlyma river.
The tent of the coast Tchuktchis Con-
sists of a peculiar and cleverly construct
| cd frame Of wood the material for which
is obtained from drift-logs, with which
the shore is plentifully strewed This is
covered with q number OF seal walrus
hides carefully sewn together. Inside
the tent, and right before the entrance is
a smaller cubiform tent, made of rein
deer-skins, and used as the sleeping
| chamber. During the cold season it is
heated by bludder lamps. Even during
severe cold the atmosphere within this
tent is SO heated that the natives who
| occupy it, without distinction of sex or
age, lie almost nude. The dimensions Of
|
family. In each tent generally dwells
the sisters and brothers of the married
couple before they settle for themselves.
The Tchuktchis, the children of nature
in the Arctic regions, fostered among ice,
snow and cold, familiarized with bloody
scenes in the seal, whale and walrus
hunt, without any of the influence of
civilization, are, notwithstanding, agoOd-
natured, friendly, hospitnble and honest
people.
Although the Vega during the long win
ter was daily visited by at least twenty
natives, it was only on two or three oc-
casions that they were found guilty Of
dishonesty appropriating anything, and
these thefts were of the most tritling
description.
The Tchuktchis are people OF small
stature, although among them may be
found perfect giants; as, for instance. a
woman whom we saw six feet three inches
tall. Their complexion is sallow, the
mems being usually darker than that of
the women. Occasionally, however,
one may see, especially among the wo-
men, a complexion as fair and clear US
that Of the inhabitants of Northern
Europe. The eyes are black, and often
set obliquo like the Chinese. The hair,
which is coal-black, is worn by tho men
cut quite short while the women allow
it to grow freely, part it in the middle of
the brow, and wear it in plaits of twelve
to eighteen inches long, which hang
down at each ear. They also wear n lock
combed down and cut across which
covers half the forehead. The men also
use similar lock, and sometimes long
tuft at tho crown of the head. This tuft
is worn, SO far | could learn, only by
chiefs.
Their clothing is made principally of
reindeer-skin, and consists of pesk or
blouse reaching to the knees, with an open
ing at the top just sufficient for the head
| to pass through. In addition the men
have tight fitting trousers OF reinder-skin,
| which are tucked down into boots of the
same material, the latter with soles Of
walrus hide. The women also wear
trousers, but those are wide, ending i'm
mediately below the knee, where they are
similarly tucked into the boots.
In the outer clothing the hairy side of
the skin is always to the exterior. but. on
| the CONTRARY, the hairy side OF those
articles Worn next to the body during the
cold season il turned inward. A close
| fitting hood Of reindeer skin and mittens
of the same material complete their dress.
In this costume they defy any kind of
weather. Often SO clad, night after night.
even in the most severe cold, they pursue
their seal fishing miles away from the
shore without any other protection from
the icy winds.
The weapons of the Tchuktchis consist
of n bow and arrow, spear-which, like
the arrows, has point Of iron or of bono
"a knife and kind of sling used for
catching birds. The iron for the arrow
and spear heads is obtained from the
Americans and Russians in the bartsring
transactions They themselves have no
iron at their command nor any knowledge
of its working. To their hunting imple-
ments belong the sealing-net, made of
finely cut strips Of seal-bide, netted with
IL three-inch mesh. With these the young
seals are caught. The net is extended
between two blocks of ice. and the seals
get entangled i'll its meshes. and so become
an easy prey to the hunters.
The principal food Of the natives con-
sist of seal flesh and blubber, i'll addition
to which they use feathered game, boar
and reindeer flesh, when such can be OBJ
tanned The roots of certain shore plants,
also willow leaves, ranunculus. and saxi-
frage, etc, enter pretty largely into their
diet The leaves are collected in the lat
ter end Of summer, pressed, and consum-
ed during the winter and in these they
are provided with n powerful antiscorbu-
tie. During the winter, when getting
short Of other provisions. the bones of
seals and walruses caught during sum-
mer are crushed and prepared in the
form of broth or soup, which il consum-
ed by both men and dogs. Of the latter
there ure great number in every village,
which are chiefly employed i'll conveying
their owners by sledge from one place to
another Although these dogs arO not
large, three or four Of them can with ease
carry man long distances When the
Tchuktchis undertakes long journeys of
three hundred to five hundred miles, he
often has M many az eighteen dogs har-
messed to his sledge, with which he isable
to accomplish seventy to eighty miles Il
day.
During the first half Of the winter we
were daily visited by from twenty to
thirty natives, who got any food the crew
might have left Beside this they receiv-
ed a considerable quantity of bread from
the ships stores. They made themselves
useful in several small ways. such as saw
ing wood, carrying ice etc, etc. In the
beginning Of February. when their pro
visions began to run short, they all ro-
moved from Pitlekai (ths nearest village
to u.s. to another village farther East,
called Naskai, where they raised tempor-
ary tents, and carried on seal-tishing i'll
the open water to he found in the vicinity
About this tims the natives made great
haul, allowing to each tent twenty-five to
fifty young seals. Beside seals, they goi
in the same vicinity good catch of u fish
resembling. Lieutenant Pdtander's
larratire IN BiackWOods Magazine.