Viewing page 52 of 95

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

21

the latter were victorious.

This has been handed down from father to son, and greatly exaggerated at each repetition, and is now cited to prove the courage and barbarity of that race.

Mr Philpans, in his attempt to explore the Anadyr, states in his Report, that he did not proceed below the Krasnee, because the inhabitants told him there was a very wild tribe of Tchuctchus living there, who would kill them all.

I have many of these inhabitants with me now, and have seen several of them almost go into [[left margin]](10)[[/left margin]] spasms, because a mouse was thrown among them, so it seem very natural, that they should give exaggerated account of the Tchuctchus.  By this time we were entirely out of provisions, having neither tea, coffee, or flour.  We could catch no fish, but had been living upon geese, that we found in abundance on some small lakes off on the tunderas. They are moulting at this season, so we adopted the native mode of catching them, by driving them ashore with vetkas, and knocking them down with sticks, as our ammunition was exhausted on the Myan river. But now the geese have so far recovered their feathers, that we cannot longer catch them. Two days after the departure of the priest, I sent Lieut Macrae with some tobacco, to try and purchase deer from the