The bear of Kamschatka had to be skinned next. But it was necessary to
catch one before he could be skinned; and also necessary to go to
Kamschatka before he could be caught. To get to Kamschatka was not so
difficult as it may sound to the ear. Our travellers were just in the
place, from which it was possible to, proceed direct to this Asiatic
peninsula. Vessels belonging to the Russian Fur Company every year
collect the furs along the north-west coast of America, and among the
Fox and Aleutian islands--Sitka being their port of rendezvous. Thence
proceeding to the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
(Petropaulouski), on the coast of Kamschatka, they complete their
cargoes with the "skin crop" that during the winter has been collected
throughout the peninsula. Thence to China a portion of these furs are
taken--especially skins of the sable, which the Chinese mandarins use
extensively for trimming their costly robes; and for which, teas, silk,
lacquer-ware, and other articles of Chinese manufacture are given in
exchange.
The Japanese also, and other wealthy Oriental nations, buy up quantities
of costly furs; but by far the greater portion of this produce is
consumed by the Russians themselves--in whose cold climate some sort of
a fur coat is almost a necessity. Even most of the furs collected by
the Hudson's Bay Company find their way into Russia: for the consumption
of these goods in Great Britain is extremely limited, compared with that
of many other articles _de luxe_.
In the fur ship our travellers proceeded from Sitka to the port of
Petropaulouski, which is situated on Avatcha bay, near the southern end
of the peninsula.
As Avatcha bay is nearly land-locked, it forms one of the most sheltered
harbours on that side of the Pacific; but unfortunately during winter
the bay freezes over; and then ships can neither get into nor out of it.
The vessel which carried our adventurers arrived at Petropaulouski late
in the spring; but, as the winter had been unusually prolonged, the bay
was still blocked up with ice, and the ship could not get up to the
little town. This did not hinder them from landing. Dog-sledges were
brought out upon the ice by the inhabitants; and upon these our
travellers were carried to the town, or "ostrog" as it is called--such
being the name given to the villages of Kamschatka.
In Petropaulouski, many curious objects and customs came under the
observation of our travellers. They saw no less than three kinds of
houses--first, the "isbas," built of logs, and not unlike the log-cabins
of America. These are the best sort of dwellings; and belong to the
Russian merchants and officials, who reside there--as well as to the
Cossack soldiers, who are kept by the Russian Government in Kamschatka.
The native Kamschatdales have two kinds of houses of indigenous
architecture--one for summer, the "balagan," and another to which they
retire during the winter, called the "jourt." The balagan is
constructed of poles and thatch upon a raised platform--to which the
Kamschatdale climbs up by means of a notched trunk of a tree. There is
only one story of the house itself--which is merely the sloping thatched
roof--with a hole in the top to give passage to the smoke--and resembles
a rough tent or hayrick set upon an elevated stand. The space under the
platform is left open; and serves as a store-house for the dried fish,
that forms the staple food of all sorts of people in Kamschatka. Here,
too, the sledges and sledge harness are kept; and the dogs, of which
every family owns a large pack, use this lower story as a sleeping
place.
The winter-house or "jourt," is constructed very differently. It is a
great hole sunk in the ground to the depth of eight or ten feet, lined
round the sides with pieces of timber, and roofed over above the surface
of the ground--so as to look like the rounded dome of a large bake-oven.
A hole at the apex is intended for the chimney, but it is also the
door: Since there is no other mode of entrance into the jourt, and the
interior is reached by descending a notched tree trunk--similar to that
used in climbing up to the balagan.
The curious fur dresses of the Kamschatdales; their thin yellowish white
dogs, resembling the Pomeranian breed; their dog-sledges, which they use
for travelling in winter; the customs and habits of these singular
people; all formed an interesting study to our travellers, and enriched
their journal with notes and observations. We find it recorded there,
how these people spend their time and obtain their subsistence. Very
little agriculture is practised by them--the climate being unfavourable
to the growth of the cereals. In some parts barley and rye are
cultivated; but only to a _very_ limited extent. Cattle are scarce--a
few only being kept by the Russian and Cossack settlers; and horses are
equally rare, such as there are belonging to the officials of the
Government, and used for Government purposes. The common or "native"
people subsist almost entirely on a fish diet--their lakes and rivers
furnishing them with abundance of fish; and the whole of the summer is
spent in catching and drying these for their winter provision. Several
wild vegetable productions are added--roots and berries, and even the
bark of trees--all of which are eaten along with the dried fish. Wild
animals also furnish part of their subsistence; and it is by the skins
of these--especially the sable--that the people pay their annual tax, or
tribute, to the Russian Government. From animals, too, their clothing
is chiefly manufactured; and many other articles used in their domestic
economy. The peninsula is rich in the fur-bearing quadrupeds, and some
of these furnish the very best quality of furs that are known to
commerce. The sable of Kamschatka is of a superior kind as also the
many varieties of the fox. They have, besides, the wolverine and wolf,
the ermine and Arctic fox, the marmot and polar hare, and several
smaller animals that yield furs of commercial value. The sea otter is
common upon the coasts of Kamschatka; and this is also an object of the
chase--its skin being among the costliest of "peltries." The great
_argali_, or wild sheep, and the reindeer, furnish them both with flesh
and skins; but one of the chief objects of the chase is that great
quadruped for which our young hunters had come all the way to
Kamschatka, the bear. Into his presence they would find no difficulty
in introducing themselves: for perhaps in no country in the world does
master Bruin's family muster so strongly as in this very peninsula.