The Nome nugget., 1901-12-11
Interesting Facts About a \ Peculiar People.
B VAST COUNTRY
The Reindeer Nomad3 of the Adjoining Siberian Coast and the Interior of That Great COuntry-Its Mineral Possibilities a Closed Book.

section of like extent about which there is as little really known at the present day as about Northeastern Si- beria, or Tchutchee or ChOwchu land. Extending from the Bering sea, right across from our shores, way to the Kolymske river, and from the Arctic ocean way south of the Anadir, which river pours into the Boring sea volumes of water nearly equaling those of the mighty Yukon, it comprises within these boundaries an area of over one million square miles. The coast lines of this vast empire have been nearly correctly determined; of the interior very little outside of the general geo. graphical conditions is known. On a few occasions it has been hurriedly traversed by venturesOme travellers over certian routes. Its geological formation is practically closed book. Politically, as part of Siberia, it is claimed by the Russian empire, but Russia has never been able as yet to exercise any control whatsoever over it's warlike native inhabitants, the Chowchuan.
 mads. In the possession of vast herds of domestic reindeer-I have met indi- viduals who claimed to own 30,O00 of these animals-they are independent and self-sustaining, their reindeer fur nishing them with all they need. Con- servative to the extreme, they will quickly resent any encroachments. Some hundred years ago they fought a number of pitched battles with the Russian Cossacks, who then Overrun all Siberia, and their battle songs to- day abound in allusions to the Over- whelming victories they gained over these. A number of times since Russia has tried to establish and maintain mili- tary posts between them, but these were always quickly again abandoned. The Chowchuan would not stand for them, and the game. perhaps, was not thought worth the candle byRussia. .AtMarkowa, 8 Russian trading post on the Anadir river, trading was literally done at the point of lance not so very long ago. The Chowchu would tender his furs at the sharp point of his lOng-poled lance to the barricaded trader, who would in return fling to him out of small window the desired articles, according to the value of the rendered furs. The trading post at Nishne Kolymske few years ago was raided and burned to the ground by the Chowchuan in retalia- tion for some fancied wrongs, and the Russian traders concluded it safer to rebuild further up the river. We, too, found the Chowchuan very far from being tractable people, when we stayed among them in post erected at the head of St. Lawrence bay in the winter of 1897-9S as agents for the United States government for the pur- chase of domestic reindeer for intro- duction into Alaska. But that is an- other story.
 To the ethnologist the Chowchuan would form very interesting study. He would be at some trouble to deter- mine their race and origin. saw be- tween them types closely resembling caucasians with blonde hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. From these down the whole scale of Asiatic types seemed to be represented between them, from Tartars down to Afghans and India border tribes. It struck me that they must have been swept successively in wave after wave during the many political cOnvulsions Asia underwent in bygone ages to the northern extremity of this continent, and there in time be- came amalgamated into nation. For a nation, the Chowchuan are imbued with strongly developed national feel. ing. "G'om :Chowchu; am g Chow. chu," they will say as proudly us ever any Englishman proclaimed that he IweA nglish.
 @>!The Same language is spoken over the whole length and width of this empire. It is rich and melodiou. language, not like the agglutinative iliom of the Eskimo, but it is spoken ir well-fOrmed sentences, condensed anG full of meaning. Withal they are very interesting people, hospitable to { fault, courageous and independent, ant 1t sometimes seems pity that the! will soon have to give way to the ad vancing march of civilization.
 The lands they occupy are, withou
 doubt, predominating mineral. Durin. the winter we staid among them man! specimens of highly miueralized rock
 aud, some good looking ores wer'