■779- falmon, which we faw pufhing, in great numbers, through
Sep tem b e r . _ ’ • ,
v— ^ the fu r f into a fmall river. I could not help obfervtng, how
much inferior our Kamtfchadales were at this method o f
fiihing, to the people at Oonalafhka; nor were their inftru-
ments, although pointed with iron, near fo good for the
purpofe, nor to be compared in neatnefs, to thofe o f the
Americans, though pointed only with bone. On in quiring
into the reafon o f this inferiority, I was informed by the
corporal, who had lived many years amongft the Americans,
that formerly the Kamtfchadales made ufe o f the fame kin d
o f darts and fpears with the Americans, headed and barbed
w ith bone, and were not lefs dexterous in the management
o f them than the latter. We could-not underftand one another
fufficiently for me to learn the caufe o f this change ;
probably it was one o f the not unufual effects o f a forced
and imp er fed ftate o f improvement. It fell out ve ry opportunely,
that the water afforded 113 a little prey ; for befides
our ill fuccefs in the chace by land, we had alfo been difap-
pointed in our exportations o f fhooting wild fow l, on a
fupply o f which we had in fome meafure depended for our
fubfillence ; and on its failure, began to think that we had
been fu ll long abfent from head-quarters.
Our Kamtfchadales now difcovered, that the want o f fuccefs,
in not meeting with game, was owin g to the party
be in g too large, and to the unavoidable noife that was the
confequence o f it. We therefore agreed to feparate ; Iva-
fkin, the corporal, and myfelf, forming one party ; Captain
Gore, and the reft o f the company, the other.
Accordingly, after pafftng the night under our tent, we
Sunday ig. fet out on the morning o f the 19th, by different routes,
meaning to take a circuit round the country, and meet at
Saint
Saint Peter and Saint Paul. T h e party to which I belonged, Sept7e7^ er
took the courfe o f the river, at the mouth o f which we had — -v— >
fifhed for the fa lm on ; and, after be in g thoroughly foaked
by the heavy rains that fe ll all the morning, we came about
three in the afternoon to fome old balagans, where a Kamtf-
chadale v illa g e had been formerly fituated, without meetin
g with a fingle bear during the whole o f a long and tedious
walk. It was our firft intention to have remained here
all night, in order to have refumed our chace early the next
m o rn in g ; but the weather clearing, and-at the fame time
a frefh breeze fpringing up from a quarter unfavourable to
our defigns, the Hofpodin, whom former fufferings had
made very unfit to bear much fatigue, and who feemed, at
prefent, more particularly diftrefled from having emptied
his fnuff-box, began to be very importunate with us to return
home. It was fome time before the old corporal confented,
allegin g, that we were at a great diftance from the h a rb ou r;
and that, on account o f the badnefs o f the way, the night
would probably overtake us before we reached the end o f
our journey. At length; however, he yielded to Ivafkin’s
intreaties, and conduited us along the fide o f a number o f
fmall lakes, with w hich the flat part o f this country feems
much to abound. Thefe lakes are from h a lf a mile to two
miles in length, and about h a lf a mile broad ; the water is
frefh and clear, and they are fu ll o f a red coloured fifh, re-
fembling, both in fhape and fize, a fmall fa lm o n ; o f which
a more particular defcription w ill be given hereafter. T he
banks o f thefe lakes were covered with the fragments o f
fifh that the bears had h a lf eaten, and which caufed an in tolerable
flench. We often came upon the fpots which the
bears had ju ft'le ft, but were never able even to come within
fight o f them.
(V q 2 . It