mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-030

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drive them back. We could not waste that much time; there-
fore, we wanted to weigh anchor immediately and go farther
according to the given commission, but we were forced to post-
pone this plan because of a lack of wind.

Having dined, we went ashore to a nearby settlement to
spend the time and to get acquainted with the domestic life
of the Chukchi, upon their invitation. It [the settlement]
consisted of seven skin yurts, similar to those seen by us
the previous year in Kotzebue Sound and on St. Lawrence Is-
land, with the sole difference that these yurts were much
roomier on the inside, and were also divided into two parts,
of which one, serving as the family's bedroom, was covered on
the walls and floor with bear skins, and so low that it was
impossible to stand, but crawling in, one had to sit or lie
down. In this part, whale fat constantly burned in a clay
bowl, heating the air so much that the Chukchi, upon crawling
in there, immediately undress completely. Whale fat consti-
tuted their only heating because very little driftwood is
deposited upon the Asiatic shore, and it is used by them
for various handicrafts such as building of sleds, for yurts,
baidars, and weapons.

Returning again to the sloop, we found a large number of
baidars at its side. They came from other settlements situ-
ated near the bay, and were trading their fox furs, weapons,
and clothing for kettles, axes, knives, scissors, needles,
and tobacco, but the latter they took only as a supplement to
the other things because they snuff it, but do not smoke, or