THE

HE Russian Government had long had it in contemplation to make a survey of the north shores of Siberia, and M. Sarytchoff was despatched for this object; but his researches were very confined in their range. He only described a part of the coasts of Siberia, to a distance of nearly 100 versts* beyond the eastern part of the river Kolyma, and declared that a description of any thing beyond that was not possible.

About the year 1820, it was determined that another expedition to explore those regions should be sent. Messrs. Wranguel, Anjou, and Matuchkin, all three young officers, were appointed to take charge of it. They remained four years upon the station, and fully justified the confidence of the government, fulfilling their mission with all the zeal, courage, and prudence which it was possible to employ. They succeeded in giving a description of all the north coast of Siberia, notwithstanding the numerous obstacles, the extreme severity of the climate, and the dangers to which they were exposed; for the Tchouktchis had already exterminated two detachments that had been previously sent with the same view.

M. Anjou has described the shore from the chain of mountains of Ourals, or from the river Oby as far as Kolyma; and M. Wranguel and M. Matuchkin from the Kolyma to the Cape of Tchouketch. Not satisfied with merely exploring the shore, these travellers made excursions towards the north, upon an immense extent of thick ice, as far as the place where the sea is open, which is nearly 500 versts from the coast of Beehring's Straits. It was in this place, which faces the eastern part of the north coast, inhabited by the Rein-deer Tchouktchis (Olenny-Tchouktchi,) that they perceived mountains at a distance of nearly one hundred versts. M. Wranguel conceived the idea of reaching them; and he had nearly succeeded, when the piece of ice on which he was placed separated from the mass, he was tossed about for five successive days, with

* A verst is about 1100 yards in English.

seven other persons, his dogs, and his equipage, till at length, after having had several narrow escapes of being swallowed up, the sheet became once again united to the mass. There ex ists amongst the Tchouktchis a tradition, which says, that the strait that separates them from the opposite shore, towards the north, was at one period not covered with ice; and that the inhabitants crossed the strait in baydars (a kind of barks.) They relate, that at a period not far distant (for all the inhabitants recollect it,) some Tchoukichis, to the number of seven or eight, accompanied by a woman, crossed the ice to go into the neighbourhood of these mountains, to fish for the morse, or sea-horse; and that, after a considerable time, the woman returned into the country by the islands called the Kouriles. She reported, that her companions had all been massacred by a rein-deer people, who inhabit a country with the existence of which they are acquainted. This woman was sold into a strange nation; and after having passed from hand to hand, she was conducted into the country of Prince Wallis, from which she found means of returning home. Judging by this tradition, it may be supposed that the lands which M. Wranguel wished to reach, are merely islands, a supposition which is the more probable, as it has some relation with the discoveries of Captain Parry, who is of opinion that all the countries north of America are formed of islands. The nations who inhabit the islands nearest to Siberia make use of rein-deer, which gives the idea that they are composed of emigrated Tchouktchis,) particularly as their idioms have a great resemblance to each other. The Tchouktchis are in general tall and well-formed, with regular features; their nose is not flat, but their cheek-bones are very prominent. The travellers also saw other islands, called New Siberia: the road which they took to reach them is laid down in the map of the famous foot-traveller, Cochrane, where it is traced with tol erable accuracy; but the land which is there marked out, and which Ser

jeant Andréef pretends he saw, is according to the testimony of these gentlemen, a fancied and chimerical region. They made wide excursions in all directions, but did not perceive any such shore. In their land journies, they rode horses or rein-deer; but they preferred the former as the latter are very inconvenient, owing to the practice of placing the saddle on the fore part of the os humeri, without fixing it by a girth. Travelling on sledges, drawn by the rein-deer, is a very convenient mode. To cross the sea, in other words the ice, they made use of a sort of carriage, called narta, drawn by 12 or 13 dogs. These animals were always extremely serviceable to them, as well in defending them from the black and white bears and the wolves, as by their astonishing intelligence; their instinct always guided them in the best track; and when the travellers thought they had gone astray, the dogs led them again into the right course. The sagacity of the dogs was so great, that when they happened to trace a road in the form of an angle, they made a diagonal line in returning. The travellers passed several weeks on the ice, between the sea and the land, sometimes upon enormous masses of ice, covered with thick beds of grey snow, sometimes upon small sheets, which often sank down and detached themselves from the material of congelation, so that they were carried away by the current and beaten about by the waves.

On all these occasions, the dogs rendered them innumerable services. In the places where the ice was thick and without danger, they ran rapidly upon the snow, barked, bit each other, and appeared indocile; but the moment the track became dangerous, they were gentle, cautious, and docile, walking frequently with the greatest precaution upon pieces of ice not more than half an inch thick, and seeming to advance by the order of the individual seated in the sledge. M. Wranguel and M. Matuchkin remained, at one period, 70 days upon the ice, at a distance of some hundred versts from the shore; they were accompanied by several nartas, laden with provisions. They buried these provisions under the

snow and the ice, and continued their way, only taking as much as was pecessary for immediate consumption, returning to procure fresh supplies from those which were buried, as soon as their stock was exhausted. Whenever they had the power of doing so, they made astronomical observations; but the fogs often hindered them from doing this. These fogs are so thick that the travellers were sometimes unable to see the dogs in their sledges. Occasionally heavy avalanches of snow overthrew the tents which served as their abodes; and they had great difficulty, when the weather calmed, in clearing away the snow and getting their tents free again.

The months of November, December, and January, when the rigour of the cold became intolerable, our travellers passed in cabins or in furred tents, in which the water froze upon the floor, and the ice arose to the height of an archine; a mass of ice, of about three verchoks in thickness, served instead of glass to their windows, and sufficed for the whole winter. The maximum of heat in the middle of the summer is 10 to 15 degrees by the thermometer of Reaumur; it freezes during the night, or when the sun is on the decline. The continual whiteness of the snow produces diseases in the eyes. The inhabitants wear a vizor, formed of the bark of trees, in which are pierced, opposite the eyes, very narrow openings. The Russian officers wore a crape folded four times; at first they neglected to double it at all, which rendered them almost blind, but they cured the disease by dropping oil of tobacco into their eyes. This remedy, although efficacious, possesses the disadvantage of causing the most acute pain. Their usual food consisted of fish, and the flesh of deer and bears. The latter tended to strengthen them, but at the same time it produced violent agitations in the blood, and prevented them from sleeping. The inhabitants are extremely poor, and are not acquainted with any trade; all their industry is employed in hunting and fishing, yet Russian merchant's are met with who visit these countries for the purposes of trade.-Communicated by M. de Tolstoy.