ains, under the shelter of an overhanging rock, there being no trees. At daybreak the thermometer was -4°. We were now to cros the Werchojansk, which is unquestionably the most difficult and dangerous part of the whole road from Jakuzk to the Kolyma. We had to climb steep precipices, where, from the giving way of the snow, we were often in danger of falling to the bottom; and, when we came to hollows and narrow ravines, we had great labour in clearing away the snow sufficiently to force a passage.

ran.

er.

Our guides told us that the gusts of wind from the valleys were sometimes so sudden and violent, that whole parties had been precipitated by them into the abysses, along the margin of which the path We were particularly favoured by the weathThe sky was cloudless, and, when we were at the summit of the pass,* the ice-coated rocks around sparkled in the beams of the noonday sun as if studded with the most brilliant diamonds. Below us, to the north, opened the valley of the Jana, which flows into the Polar Sea, while bluff rocks shut in our prospect to the south: it was indeed a wild scene.

This range divides the tributaries of the Lena from those of the Jana: it consists chiefly of pure black slate, and is steeper on the south side than on the north. It is in latitude 64° 20′, according to our observations, and forms a remarkable line of separation in respect to vegetation. Neither pines, firtrees, nor aspens (eberäschen), which last had been occasionally met with hitherto, are found to the north of it. Larches, poplars, birches, and willows continue as far as 680; indeed, the latter grow in

The highest part of the pass is, according to barometrical measurements by Lieutenant Anjou, 2100 feet above the level of the nearest point on the Tukulan, thirty wersts distant. The summits above us seemed to be 800 or 1000 feet higher than the pass.

VALLEY OF THE JANA.

45

sheltered places even near the Omolon and the Aniuj rivers.

Some Tungusi, whom we met farther on, assured us that a fish known here by the name of charjus (salmo thymallus) was abundant in the lake in which the Jana takes its rise.

There is scarcely a worse route in Siberia (with the exception of dangerous mountain-passes) than that from the Aldan to this place, across morasses, forests, torrents, and rocks, and entirely without shelter; whereas, on the other side of these hills, the path has been conducted over the most favourable ground, avoiding the worst morasses, and has been, in places, widened or otherwise improved. The route is, notwithstanding, one of some importance, as salt and provisions have to be sent by it yearly to the settlements on the Jana and Indigirka. Another great advantage on the northern side consists in the erection, at certain intervals, of huts, built of rough logs, and called powarni, or cookinghouses. There is no regular fireplace in them, but a sort of hearth, and an opening in the roof serves to let out the smoke: the traveller through these wild wastes at night, or when overtaken by a snowstorm, knows how to value this rude shelter.

The valley of the Jana has a northern direction, and is bounded to the east and west by peaked mountains, which connect to the south with the Werchojansk range, and to the north gradually sink into lower hills, scattered over a marshy plain. Another chain of some importance extends from this place in a W.N. W. direction towards the Polar Sea, and divides the valleys of the Lena and Jana. It is called the Orulganski Chain, and consists, like all the heights I had hitherto seen, of clay slate, of which the strata run W.N.W., sloping alternately to the east and to the west.

We proceeded along the left bank of the Jana, and on the 25th, near one of the above-mentioned po

warni, we came upon a little hut formed of branches of trees, which at first we thought could not be inhabited. To our astonishment, however, there came out of it a Tungusian, who had settled in this desert for the purpose of hunting reindeer, with his daughter and a couple of dogs. One must have known the climate, and seen the country and the half-transparent hut, to imagine the situation of these two persons. The poor girl was most to be pitied: often alone for days together, while her father was absent in pursuit of game, in this wretched abode, which could scarcely afford sufficient shelter from the wind and rain even in summer, thus helplessly exposed in entire solitude to the most intense cold, frequently to hunger, and in entire inactivity. This Tungusian was one of those who, having had the misfortune to lose their tame reindeer, are obliged to separate from the rest of their tribe, and to seek subsistence by themselves in the wilderness. They are called by their countrymen "fortune-hunters :" few of them long survive the continued conflict with cold, hunger, and dangers of every description. The case of these unhappy men, who are frequently met with in the forests, has attracted the attention of the government, which has recently taken measures for settling them along the banks of the great rivers, and providing them with the means of obtaining subsistence by fishing.

On the 26th of September we reached the first post-station, called Baralas.* It is 157 wersts from the mountains we had passed, and is, according to our observations, in latitude 65° 51'. We were delighted to find here a good, roomy jurte, prepared for travellers, and kept in excellent order. Near the door were pieces of transparent ice ranged along on clean snow, ready for the soup or the teakettle. The interior was well swept, clean hay was laid on

* Barglas in the map.

ENTERTAINMENT AT A JURTE.

47

the benches round the walls, and a bright fire was blazing on the hearth. The windows were closed with smooth, transparent panes of ice, carefully cemented with the same convenient material. After having been nine days and nights in the open air, in snow and cold, afraid to take off our clothes, or even to wash ourselves, lest we should be frostbitten, we thought ourselves in a palace, and a thorough toilet seemed to give us new life. Our worthy host, for want of personal experience, appeared hardly able to appreciate our hearty thanks for so great an enjoyment. He then placed before us a good meal of Siberian delicacies, such as frozen Jakutian butter without salt, struganina, or thin slices of frozen fish, and, lastly, fresh raw reindeer marrow. We were

too well pleased with our entertainer to show any dislike to his fare. In the sequel we grew more used to such food; and, indeed, I must own that I now prefer fresh struganina before it thaws, seasoned with salt and pepper, to dressed fish.

On the 27th we left Baralas for the next station, Tabalog, 300 wersts distant. We quitted the ordinary postroad, and took one which the trading caravans follow, and which is nearly 100 wersts short

er.

About twenty wersts beyond Baralas we had to cross the Jana, which is here 140 yards broad. The ice was as smooth as a mirror, and our horses, not being rough-shod, could not get on, even when their loads were taken off. The guides were therefore obliged to ride back to Baralas to fetch some sacks of ashes and sand to strew on the ice to make it passable.

Along the flat banks of the Jana, and under shelter of the hills, there are many larch and birch-trees on the route we followed, but they are stunted in their growth.

The country offers very little variety: on the plain there are many lakes, connected with each other by streams of various sizes. On the 3d of

October we came to the station of Tabalog, which is surrounded by lakes well supplied with fish, and by good pasturages. We also found here a comfortable jurte, having had no other shelter for the night since we left Baralas than occasional uninhabited and half-ruined huts.

To my great joy, we met here Dr. Tomaschewski, who was returning (much to his own satisfaction) from a three years' tour of duty at Kolymsk.

To the eastward we saw a range of serrated hills running north and south, with little conical points looking like excrescences. These hills form the dividing ridge between the waters of the Jana and the Indigirka. At eighty-five wersts from Tabalog we passed through a valley between these hills. I had no opportunity of ascertaining their composition, but from the numerous fragments of granite, consisting of white feldspar, mica, and quartz, which we met with, I conclude they are of that nature. We afterward came to a large circular valley, still called the Valley of Death, from a tradition that, during the conquest of Siberia, a numerous tribe of reindeer Tungusi retreated to this place, where they made a valiant stand against their pursuers, which ended in the whole horde being slain. A singular accident happened to me here: I had quitted the party to gain a better view of the country, and was rejoining it by what I thought a much straighter and shorter path, when, in crossing a frozen stream, the ice in the middle gave way: my horse immediately disappeared, while I just managed to spring from his back to the ice, and reached the bank in safety. I conIcluded the animal was drowned; but our native guides, who had seen the accident at a distance, came running to my aid, and laughingly assured me I should find him again both safe and dry. They immediately went to work to enlarge the opening, and soon brought out the horse, very little the worse for his fall. It often happens in this country that,