thout backs. In a storehouse
there was a Fairbanks' scale, somewhat worn and rusty, and I found a
tuneless melodeon from Boston and a coffee mill from New York.

The town of Ghijiga is on the bank of the river, twelve miles from the
light-house, and the route thither was overland or by water, at one's
choice. Overland there was a footpath crossing a hill and a wet
tundra. The journey by water was upon the Ghijiga river; five versts
of rowing and thirteen of towing by men or dogs. As it was impossible
to hire a horse, I repudiated the overland route altogether, and tried
a brief journey on the river, but could not reach the town and return
in time for certain engagements. Ghijiga has a population of less
than three hundred, and closely resembles Petropavlovsk. Two or three
foreign merchants go there annually with goods to exchange for furs
which the Russian traders gather. The inhabitants are Russians or half
breeds, the former predominating. The half breeds are said to possess
all the vices of both races with the virtues of neither.

Mr. Bilzukavitch, the Ispravnik of Ghijiga, was a native of Poland,
and governed seventy-two thousand square miles of territory, with a
population of sixteen hundred taxed males. His military force
comprised thirty Cossacks with five muskets, of which three were
unserviceable. The native tribes included in the district of Ghijiga
are the Koriaks and Chukchees; the Koriaks readily pay tribute and
acknowledge the Russian authority, but the Chukchees are not yet
fairly subdued. They were long in open war with the Russians, and
though peace is now established, many of them are not tributary. Those
who visit the Russian towns are compelled to pay tribute and become
Imperial subjects before selling or purchasing goods. The Ispravnik is
an artist of unusual merit, as evinced by an album of his sketches
illustrating life in Northern Siberia. Some of them appeared like
steel engravings, and testified to the skill and patience of the man
who made them.

On my second day at Ghijiga I tried a river journey with a dog team.
The bottom of the boat was on the 'dug-out' principle, and the sides
were two planks meeting in sharp and high points at the ends. I had a
seat on some bearskins on the plank flooring, and found it reasonably
comfortable. One man steered the boat, another in the bow managed the
towline, and a third, who walked on land, drove the dogs. We had seven
canines--three pairs and a leader