The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-05-07
PROFESSOR noRpENsuoLps REPORT
or the First Successful Attempt to MAKE 'he
Northeast Passage.


or the First Successful Attempt 10
Northeast Passage.
Translated for the NEW NoRrH WEsr By Ole Biorke'
Emporia, Kansas
VISIT TO MENKA.
An the ice continued unchanged deemed
Il inappropriate to neglect an opportunity
thus offered to obtain some knowledge OF
the interior Of the country. 1t was with
great pleasure, therefore, gave Leuten-
ants Nordquist and Horgaurd permission to
to accompany Menka to his tentage Codge).
They started on the morning OF October
9Th and gave Of their adventure the follow
ing account. Lieut.. Nordquist writes
Tuesday, Oct. 9th, lot o'clock a. m. LIT.
Horgaurd, the Tsch chief and myself left
Pitleksj In sleighs, attached (harnessed) to
dogs. We traversed the country IN s.s. Il.
direction. Horgaurd and myself had each
our Tsch to drive, and Menka Was accom-
panied BY servant who ran ahead almost
the whole trip. acting as guide. The sleigh
my associate used was the heaviest and wss
drawn by 10 dogs. Mine had eight, and
Menka's-tbe lightest-only five. Gener-
ally the Tsch appear to allow four to FIVE to
team for one person. The country We
passed through 10 full Of swamps and water
courses, and raised little from level; but
n We progressed toward tho interior It be-
came more and more broken, and when We
reached our destination-Menka's camp
ct 8 next morning, We found ourselves In
valley surrounded BY mountains, some OF
which arose 1000 feet above the valley
level. Through the thin snow that covered
the ground could still DO discerned the car
pet Of vegetable growth upon the tundra .
The most common floral representatives
to be found on the bare places were the
Aira alpha and Poa alpha and on lower
ground the Glyesria psdieularn and the
Lsdum palostrs. The P<tasitis Jrigidd and
. variety Of the salir appeared everywhere;
the latter especially grew In great clusters,
covering plats on the declivities OF several
hundred square feet in area; IN many places
1t grew to height Of three to four feet.
The prevailing rock 10 the granite. The
bottom of the valley consists Of partertiary
formations, frequently represented by sand
and pebbles-this 10 the case, for example,
where Menka's brother has fixed his resi-.
dence.
OUR WELCOME.
When We arrived In the morning We were
met by some OF the Tsch dignitaries. They
greeted Menka according to Russian eti
quette, that is to say by = Wholesale oseu
lation. They kissed each other frst OF
each cheek, then on the mouth. 1t seemed
however, they were somewhat embarrassed
In the observation Of this custom. Espec
tally was this the case In the local reciprocal
lions, the mutual conclusions being avoid,
Cd or, rather, mufisd. They greeted US IL
the ordinary way BY extending their hands
and bowling. The greeting over, We en-
tered the tent belonging to Menka's broth
or, and soon the whole population assem-
bled to inspect us. The village consisted
Of Is tents pitched on both sides Of the river
which flows through the valley. The oc
oupants are Reindeer Tsch who entertair
transit-trade Literally inter-oommerce) be
tween tho Russians at Kalyma and people
settled beyond Behring's Strait which they
nsmo Iekareauls We saw around theil
tents . great number Of sloighs, Loaded
and empty. Some of these were low ant
light, for travelling purposes, with up-ant
back-bent runners. Some were made o.
heavier material for freight purposes, viii
runners not bent back. Some OF the ligh'
sleighs we're provided with rain covers made
of shingles which were further covered b!
deer skins. Others were full-decked ant
provided with only one entrance forward.
The knives, axes, augers, etc., which
saw were OF iron and steel, and were evi
IDENTIFY of American or Russian workman
ship. The household and kitchen utensils
which saw In the tent Of Menka's brothe
were some common coffee pots Of copper
and which are used to boil water In. Their
was I'm alfeid chalice, bearing English 10
scriptions, couple OF cups and saucers,
plain wooden tray "a trough, and woode1
bowls. .a....
POLAR CIRCLE FASHIONS AND CUSTOMS.
The costume of tho Rein-Tsch 10 simila
10 that In use among the Coast Tsch, wit
this difference, that the former use IN thei
manufacture the skins Of the reindeer o.
olusively, whereas the latter use those
seals. Some of the people, on our arriva
douned parti-colored cotton blouses, probs
bly, of Russian manufacture. OF ornament
may DO mentioned glass beads, which
strung on cat gut, arc worn, by the VI
men particularly, (preferably), In the ear
and around the neck. The women u
tattooed similarly to their sisters on Ii
coast. law, however, an aged womal
who, In addition to the ordinary tattt
mark on the face, exhibited the like orn
mentation on the shoulder, while anoth'
woman showed parallel lines on the back
tho hand with cross line interesting the q
ner. The men were not tattooed. ] -
two of them who wore crosses around the
nscks. inscribed with Sclavonic legend
Similarly, others wore twain limbed CIV
pronged, double-armed, bifurcated) piec
Of wood. I am ignorant whether the latt
ornaments are also considered - gods,
merely ~ amulets.
Az We could not hero procure reindee
which wo were commissioned to purcha
for account OF the expedition, We proceed'
In the afternoon on the Same day, In COL
pany with Menka, to the camp Of his %
in-law, where We arrived ut 8 O'Clock
the evening and remained there over nigt
Our reception was very friendly. All {
inmates Of the tent slept together In o
apartment which was not above to Il
long, 9 Z wide and 4 to high. Tn
sup before they retire, and men, WON
and children sleep together nudsum nal
rails !; On dsshabis absolu-the only rel
TO this being . cinguIum oudicttid OF .
six inches width. In tho morning the b
tess arose Hrst cooked Some meat and ssrv
II In tho sleepiug-room before the inua'
"a A~~~~~d The rnauvar ~ shi9 hrNs