Viewing page 48 of 76

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

12

not explored at all.

Everything being ready we left Lessnoi October 30th. The roads were very bad: there was but little snow in the valleys, but I could wait no longer. Four days  later we reached Podkagernaya, having crossed with great difficulty the mountains, which are high, steep and with poor vegetation. We  had to camp every night on the snow, with a temperature varying between 70° - 75° below freezing. I abstain myself of further  comments and descriptions of these sufferings.

From Podkagernaya, where we found fine coal mines, superior to those we have seen later at Ghijiga we entered on the real Koriak country, of which I ask to speak somewhat in detail.

North of Podkagernaya the Kamkhatka mountain range is divided in two branches: one runs along the coast of Penjinsk gulf as far as village Kamennoi.- the other takes an easterly direction- The mountains of the eastern branch gradually decrease in size, and fifty versts north east of Podkagernaya there is no vestige of a mountain range, the country being either rolling or perfectly level as far as the eye can reach.
 
The soil is covered with a heavy growth of moss, and in some places with