mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i6-004

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explain to the chiefs through the interpreter the error
of such behavior, persuading them to reprove the thief. But
evidently the chiefs did not have this right, or perhaps, they
themselves regretted that the thief did not succeed in his in-
tention, but they did not do anything. Otherwise, they con-
ducted themselves honestly, and traded willingly.

"To supply the crew with fresh food, which they had not
had for a long time, I asked the chiefs to sell us a few deer,
promising to pay them liberally, but they answered that at the
present time the deer grazed far in the interior of the land,
and it would take a long time to go after them.

"Upon our questioning of whether or not they had heard
that the Russians sail northward from Kolyma they answered,
we do not know. Concerning sailing into the Arctic Ocean, they
said that there must be much ice there because St. Lawrence
Bay only recently was cleared of it, and at that, not entirely.

"The same day, I and a few officers went ashore and we
visited two settlements, the larger of which was called
'Nuniagma.'

"We had not seen any winter yurts, and the summer ones
of which there were 12 in place, in two separate groups,
were all made the same: conically shaped, the diameter of the
base being from two and a half to four sazhens/consisting of
rows of slender poles, whale ribs, and whalebone
covered with walrus and sealskins, often torn ones, which
facilitate the easy outlet of smoke from the ever-smoking
fire inside. Inside, one side of the yurt is partitioned off