The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-07-20
THE.LENARDELTA.
Houses, Food and Means Of Travel
in Siberia.

The winter hut, or balbigan, is q
structure about sixteen feet square
and seven. or eight feet in height. Gov
cred with mud and sod. The inclined
sides of plank rest against frame
supported at each corner by q stout
poat set into the ground. the roof Or
covering OF this frame being also log.
or heavy, roughly-hewn planks.
Near the small door, and generally o
little to the right OF it, the semi clrci !
lar chimney, made of sticks covered
with mad, rises from the large, square
mud Fireplace, situated so that the
heat ia radia.ei toward the ak hunks,
which, raised above the wooden or
mud floor. are arranged along the
side OF the hut, two on each wall
except the front, where the store OF
fireWood lie kept. There are usually
three windows or square holes in the
sides over the hunks, which in the
sumraer are closed with fsh-skins
stretched over a frame. and in the
winter With blocks OF ice six inches
in thickness. The entrance is pro,
tected by one or two long, tunnel
shaped log structures or storm doors,
on either side OF which suall store-
houses for fish are located. Besides
these there are usually one or two
square log storehouses detached from
and near the dwelling.houss.
In winter these huts are almost
showed under, care being taken how
ever, to keep the snow clear of the
ice windows. The most conspicuous
objects in village are the chimneys,
which rise two or three feet above the
snow-coyered roof. It is customary
among the natives. in order to avoid
the trouble OF entering the hut when
one Wishes to make a short communi.
cation with his neighbor, to simply
step upon the roof and use the chirn-
ney as a speaking-tube. The sum.
mer hut, CALLED urassa, is generally
cone-shaped, rough aud hurridly built
OF driftwood, covered with sod. There
is Fireplace in the centre, but NO
chimney, and the smoke finds egress
through hole at the top OF the atruc-
ture.
The feed OF these people consist
principally OF fish, which are either
cooked in large copper kettles, or
eaten raw, both in summer and wiz
ter. Reindeer meat is considered
luxury, it bsing generally hard to
obtain, owing to the lack OF effective
fire arms. Ths geese, which they
kill during the moulting time, they
string upon wooden frames or scat
folding, and eat them usually after
they have been exposed undrawn to
the sun during the en ire summer.
They obtain brick tea, of which al
are very fond. tobacco. and horse. air
for making and repsiring fish nets,
from the traders who travel among
Them during the winter. Som etimes
they also manage to get little -four,
mixed with water, they boil,
making sort of mush of it.
The natives do their summer travel
ing is small, trimly-bull. dugout
canoes. These they make from legs
Or driitwood, using an axe and gouge
in working the sides and bottom down
10 thickness OF oEe-quarter of an
inch. After being properly followed
cut the boat ia placed over the fire
and stretched by STICKS. Or compressed
BY lashings into the required wedge
shape. They are extremely sharp
the wides: part being very
pear the stern. They are than usually
blackeped on the outside, and any
cracks or other leaks-stopped with
pitch, which is extracted from drift.
wood. In the bow a forksd stick 10
placed, in which the iron-headed
spear used 10 killing reindeer habiru-
ally rests. The little boats. worked
with double bladed paddle, are very
swift. and are generally large enough
to carry two persons comfortably.
The women are transported ron
place to place in large, rudely con
structed, oIinksr-built boats, which
they themselves propel with oars re-
sembling aspade in shape. Into
these are packed the children, dogs,
fishonets and the few household u.en.
sils necessary for summer trsqal in
the delta. the msn in their can ,es
forming sort of escort 10 the noisy
thropg IN the larger boats.
For winter travel dog sleds are used.
the reindeer one occasionally meets
at Buikoff belonging to the inhabit-
ants farther south. who use them for
transporting their fish to Kumaebsurt
and Bulun. The dog slees are usual
ly about fourteen feet long and twenty
inches wide. The runners are bircn.
onerhalf inch thick and three inches
in width; the bed of the sled is nude
OF thin boards, resting on cross pieces
!enoned and dashed to the middle Of
four uprights on either side. To
these uprights or stsnchions, the
runners are also lsshed, which is
thus kept in place. To the W >oden
bow at the forward end the line to
which the dogs are hitched is fastened
For long journeys the team is gen.
orally thirteen to fifteen dogs, hitched
in rairs, With a leader. Whips are
not used, the changes of direction,
etc.. being governed by the leading
dog, who is controlled BY the word O.