among the natives crowded round the chest screaming and shouting.
For the Chukches had observed that the raven, having been only
stunned by the shot, had begun to scream and flutter in the chest,
and they now indicated by word and gesture that a great misfortune
was about to happen. Pity is not, as is well known, one of the good
qualities of the savage. It was clear that in this case too it was
not this feeling, but fear of the evil which the wounded crow could
bring about, that caused this scene, and when a sailor immediately
after twisted the neck of the bird, the Chukches had no objection to
receive and eat it.

The winter of 1878-1879 appears to have been uncommonly severe, and
hunting less productive than usual. This was ascribed to our
presence. The Chukches asked us anxiously several times, whether we
intended to raise the water so high that the sea would reach their
tents. When on the 11th February, after the hunting had failed for a
long time, they succeeded at last in catching a number of seals,
they threw water in their mouths before they were carried into the
tents. This was done, they said, in order that the open "leads" in
the ice should not close too soon.

[Illustration: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
1. Whistle-pipe, natural size.
2. Whistle-instrument, one-eighth of natural size;
_a._ mouth-hole. ]

Besides the drum the Chukches also use as a musical instrument a
piece of wood, cloven into two halves, and again united after the
crack has been somewhat widened in the middle, with a piece of
whalebone inserted between the two halves. They also during the
course of the winter made several attempts to make violins after
patterns seen on board, and actually succeeded in making a better
sounding-box than could have been expected beforehand. On the
draught-strap of the dog sledge there was often a small bell bought
from the Russians, and the reindeer-Chukches are said sometimes to
wear bells in the belt.

The dance I saw consisted in two women or children taking each other
by the shoulders, and then hopping now on the one foot now on the
other. When many took part in the dance, they placed themselves in
rows, sang a monotonous, meaningless song, hopped in time, turned
the eyes out and in, and threw themselves with spasmodic movements,
clearly denoting pleasure and pain, now to the right, now to the
left "La saison" for dance and song, the time of slaughtering
reindeer, however, did not happen during our stay