The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-24
Adventures of the
Museum Collector
The Men Who Collect Cuos for Museums Lead Adventurous
Lives and Have Many Strange Experiences in outof.
theWay Parts of the World
BY RALPH B. CARRUTHERS.

| dense in the upper part of the hut. so
| that work that has to be done in an
| upright position becomes almost i'm
possible. Walls, ladders and household
utensils are covered with a greasy
SCOT, so that contact with them leaves
shining black spots on hands and
| clothing.
THE dim light which falls through
| the smoke-hOle is hardly sufficient for
writing and reading. The odor of blub-
| Der and of refuse is almost intolerable;
the inmates, intoxicated with fly aga
ric, add to the discomfort of the situ-
alton. The natives are infested with
vermin. AS long as we remained in
these dwellings we could not escape
| these insects, which we dreaded moro
than any of the privations of our jour-
ney.
"The winter tents of the Reindeer
Koryak are so cold that we could not
work in them; therefore, we had to
put up a tent of our own. 1t was
furnished with a small iron stove, and
there we Carried on our chronological
and anthropometrical work. At night
however, the tent was very cold, and
we slept i'm bags made of wolf skins
While on the way we spent the nights
on the snow, covered with fur blankets.
Several times we were exposed to
snowstorms, and had to wait under our
blankets covered with snow until the
gale was over"
Later on, the party proceeded on a
dangerous boat journey, and were
driven by storms into the Bay of Atty
kna, where they were penned in by
the weather for five days, almost with
out any provisions. On the fourth
day of their stay they were lucky
enough to kill two seals and thus
escaped death from starvation.
Still worse hardships were in store
for them when they had to cross over
the Stanovoi Mountains.
I'VE were the first whites to cross
the Stanovoi Mountains at the point"
said Mr.. Jochelson. I'm winter, no
madic Fungus visit this country, but
in summer it is deserted by all human
beings"
This journey was the most difficult
one that it was ever my fate to UNI
dertake. Boys, mountain torrents.
rocky passes and thick forests COM
bined to hinder our progress. Part
of our provisions consisted of bread
and dried fish. A heavy rain which
fell during the first few days of our
Journey soaked the loads of the
packhorses and caused the provis-
ions to rot. Therefore, we had to cut
down our rations from the very begin
ming.
After crossing the passes of the
Stanovo Mountains we reached the
upper course of the Korkodon river.
BY this time our horses were exhaust
ed, and it was necessary to take long
rest. Meanwhile, the cold was in
creasing day by day. and haste was
necessary If we were to reach our
destination before the closing of the
river. Therefore, / left three Yakut
with the horses and the goods and
prepared to descend the river on
raft with the rest of the party,
hoping thus to reach a camp
of the Yakughir, which is To-
Gated on the course of the Korko-
don.
1T took us one day to build
strong raft. and then we began the
descent of the river made dangerous
| by numerous rapids and short bends,
! by the rocky banks. and by jams OF
| driftwood. Our guides had intimated
that we could make the descent in two
| days, but instead we spent nine days
on the raft.
ut was my desire to leave ample
provisions with the three Yakut who
staid with the horses, and for this
reason 1 reduced our own allow
ance to the very lowest limit. Thus
it happened that three days rations
had to last us through the nine days
which we spent on the raft. For the
last six days we had to be satisfied
with forty-five pounds of -four or an
allowance of two cups day for every
person, and a little tea without sugar.
I'VE spent four days among the
Yukaghir of the Korkodon, and after
finishing our work and purchasing a
supply of fish we continued our jour-
ney to Verkhne- Kolymsk in a boat,
down the Korkodon and the Kolyma.
The journey took seven days. In the
night following the seventh day the
river froze UP while we were still for
ty miles from our goal. We left the
boat, and after a tramp of two days
reached Verkhne- Kolymsk on Oct. 3.
1901"
Edmund Otis Hovey. a geologist at
tached to the American Museum OF
Natural History, was sent down post
haste to investigate the eruptions Of
La Souffriere and Mont Pelee in the
West Indies in 1902, and to collect
specimens of the volcanic material
He made several adventurous ascents
OF the two volcanoes and narrowly
escaped death many times.
Another American museum collector
Travelled in the UNEMPLOYED parts OF
Mexico and discovered remarkable
tribe who call themselves the Huicholes
or Gods of Fire" They are fire wor-
shippers, and have weird religious GER
emonies, in which they surround them
selves with burning brushwood until II
would seem to an outsider that they
must burn to death.
Copyright. 1904. by p. e. Eastment.)