The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-19

| should return to Kitach at the north mouth,
| walt for the river freeze, and then prosecute
| the search with dog-sledges along the coast.
! We left Bulun the day after our arrival and
i'll native boat, accompanied by the Cossack,
kalin Kin who was de tailed to assist us by the
Governor OF Yakoutsk. We reached kitach
at the extreme north OF the delta alter five
| days. The weather was now cold, thermom-
eter at freezing, but we now think that
| quite comfortable temperature, as we have
had the delight of experiencing forty
| degrees Reaumur (nearly sixty de-
greeS below zero by Fahrenhet)
since then. We reached Kitach on Sept 81,
| but there were no natives there. We there
fore went over to the Russian meteorological
station, about one mile distant, and sent
Kalin Kin to the natives, about fifteen versts
away, to engage reindeer clothing for us.
The natives were reported starving, the rein
| deer catch having failed. However, when
the rivers closed soon after, the natives re-
| turn to the villages and the fish came in in
abundance. We had some difficulty in chas-
| ing up sufficient skins for clothing, but by
| the time we were ready to travel we were
well provided. We were obliged to remain
! until the 18th of October at Kitach, and
made a search with dog-sledges 10 the east
ward to Baskin, and then southwark to
Seemovaasch; thence to Bulun, where
met HARDER. For the greater part of the
! time, after our supply of reindeer skins had
been obtained, we lived with the officers of
the Russian polar station which have men
toned. They have a comfortable log house.
which was built in Yakoutsk, and in it 1 en-
joyed the first comfortable bed had mad for
many month. We had met the officers
| both in Yakoutsk and Irkutsk, and their
| hospitable kindness to us can never be
forgotten. The officers are Reubenauer
Jingens, Russian imperial navy; DR.. Bunge
and Mr.. Eigner, mathematicians, They are
all from the Baltic provinces and speak Ger
man perfectly. In fact, the two latter are
| really Germans, although Russian subjects.
They had plenty of books and also some
| music, q small organ being part of the outfit.
! The Lena delta may be described as treeless
plain of about 5000 square miles, cut in
every conceivable direction by the branches
of the river, thus forming countless num-
Der of islands. The banks are ordinarily not
over ten to fifteen feet in height, and the
tops of the islands are covered with different
kinds of moss and short grass, the ground
having the appearance OF a newly plowed
field, forming what is called tundra. Two
feet below the surface the ground is frozen
| hard, even in the heat of summer. The
Arctic willow is plentiful but grows only
about one foot high. The leaves of this plant
DE Long and his party used as a substitute
for tea. In winter, covered with snow, the
delta is the most lonely, barren unprotected
region one can imagine. The tree limit is
about forty miles up the river on the island
of Tit Arru (tree island). The trees are pine
and fir, very small and stunted, and look as
if some one had sat down on top and fat
tened them out
KINDNESS OF THE NATIVES.
The natives throughout our travels have
been kind and very hospitable. They are
all, without exception, members of the
Greek church, and at every village one finds
a small log house which is used for divine
service. The priest OF the district lives at
Bulun, and in the winter months he makes
a circuit of the villages, baptizes the chill
dren, unites in marriage, and, fancy, collects
large fees. When Tumguse youth wishes
to marry he makes a contract with the father
of the intended. According to the fathers
wealth the price of the daughter is set the
latter's wishes in the matter being left out of
the question. The price of wife varies
from SIS to $50, and dogs, reindeer skins,
fish, etc, may be given in lieu OF money.
From the time that the agreement is made
until the marriage the engaged are not per-
mtted to see each other, and. moreover, the
couple are not permitted to live i'll the same
house with the wifes parents. Thus even
these rude people appreciate the incon-
venience OF Il mother-in-law.
Ensign Hunt and the men, five in number
with the interpreter, had left Bulun for
| made the search from SagaStyr to BaSkin
| and thence TO Seemovialasch. accompanied
by the Cossack, and after being detained four
days by storm at the latter place reached
Buun one week after Harper. The north
ern and eastern part OF the delta is entirely
deserted by the natives, as stated before, and
even in summer the hunting is confined to
the eastern coast and islands. The first
night we spent in the hut called Belock,
where De Long and party soiOurned for sew
eral days. about ten miles from where they
deserted their boat. These temporary
dwelling places of the natives have no Chin
| neys. but simply n raised fireplace in the
middle, and hole in the roof for the smoke
to escape. AS a rule they full of smoke,
| and before one becomes used TO it frequent
visits to the open air are necessary to pre-
vent suffocation. The natives, however, are
not Inconvenience but show the effect of
their carelessness in weak eyes, and in great
many cases total blindness is the result.
had for guide an old native, Nicolai
Karechin, who prides himself as being the
only man in the delta who has made jour
uey to the New Siberian islands His knowl-
| edge of the delta is remarkable. With moth
ing to guide him. in Il binding snow-storm
over perfectly Hat country, we ran from
one hut thirty miles to another, the only
one for miles around. with the same GER
tainty that a train runs from station to sta
ton. When Ncolai thought the distance
had been accomplished he ordered q stop,
took look about and disappeared in the
driving snow to our left A few minutes
after he halted the other drivers. and swing
ing off to the lett there was our hut, fifty
yards from where we had stopped. We had
a tent along, but we're obliged to use it once
only, as at other times travelling down
through the east delta we occupied the sum-
mer huts On reaching camp the dogs are
unhitched, given large frozen fish apiece
and permitted to spend the night the best
they know how In the morning they are
usually found showed under, with
nothing visible but the tips of their
noses. They are wolf-like look
ing animals, but anything but the
wolf in nature. After the dogs have been
attended to, which takes but a few minutes,
& roaring fire is built, ice is melted in a tea
kettle and soon after one enjoys q few