mime ballets were well executed; and they assured me that the dancers were the best in the country, and that the cries, gait, and various attitudes of the bear, were as accurate as life. Meanwhile, without offence to the amateurs, these. dances are, in my opinion, not less fatiguing to the spectators than to the performers. It is a real pain to see them distort their hips, dislocate every limb, and wear out their lungs, to express the excess of pleasure which they take in these strange balls, which, I repeat it, resemble the absurd diversions of savages: the Kamtschadales may indeed, in many respects, be considered as of that rank.

• Having given an account of the address with which these people counterfeit the postures and motions of the bear, who may be called their dancing master, it may not be unpleasing to relate in what manner they hunt this animal. There is a mode, very much adopted in this country, to which equal strength and courage are necessary. A Kamtschadale goes. out, either alone or in company, to find a bear. He has no other arms than his gun, a kind of carabine, whose but-end is very small; a lance or spear; and his knife. His stock of provision is made up in a bundle containing about 20 fish. Thus lightly equipped, he penetrates into the thickest part of the woods, and every place that is likely to be the haunt of this animal. It is commonly in the briars, or among the rushes on the borders of lakes and rivers, that the Kamtseha dale posts himself, and waits the approach of his adversary with patience and intrepidity; if it be necessary, he will re main thus in ambuscade for a whole week together, till the bear makes his appearance. The moment it comes within his reach, he fixes in the ground a forked stick belonging to his gun, by means of which he takes a truer aim, and shoots with more certainty. It is seldom that, with the smallest ball, he does not strike the bear in the head, or near the shoulder, which is the tenderest part. But he is obliged to charge again instantly, because the bear, if the first shot has not disabled him, runs at the hunter, who has not always time for a second shot. He has then recourse to his lance, with which he quickly arms himself to contend with the beast, who attacks

him in his turn. His life is in danger if he does not give the bear a mortal thrust; and in such combats, it may be supposed the man is not always the conqueror; but this does not prevent the inhabitants of this country from daily exposing their lives; the frequent examples of the death of their countrymen has no effect upon them: indeed they never go out, without considering before hand that it is either to conquer or to die; and this severe alternative neither stops nor terrifies them.

They hunt other animals nearly in the same manner, such as rein deer, argali, or wild sheep, called in Russia diki-barani, foxes, otters, beavers, sables, hares, &c. but they have not the same dangers to encounter; sometimes they make use of snares, constructed of wood or iron, resembling in their simplicity our pitfalls; no other attention is necessary than that of visiting them from time to time. The Kamtschadales sometimes lie in ambush, armed in the manner I have described; and the only hardship they experience results from their provision being exhausted in consequence of the long duration of their chace. They frequently submit to suffer hunger for many days together, rather than quit their stations till they have obtained the end of their pursuit; but they amply repay themselves for their fasting, by immediately devouring the flesh of the animals, and by the pleasure with which they count over the skins they obtain from them.

The Kamtschadales have different seasons for fishing. Their salmon and trout season is in June, their herring season in May, and that of the sea wolf in spring and summer, but principally in autumn.

Horses are very scarce in Kamtschatka. I saw some at Bolcheretsk belonging to government, and intrusted to the care of the Cossacks. They merely serve during summer for the carriage of merchandize and other effects of the crown, and for the convenience of travellers.

'Dogs however abound in this country, and are so serviceable to the Kamtschadales, as to render the privation of the other domestic animals less felt by them. They serve all the purposes of carriage, and are fed without difficulty or expence, their food consisting entirely of the offals, or such decayed fish

as are rejected by their masters; and even these are not allowed, unless when it is necessary. In summer, which is their season of rest, little care is taken of them; the dogs well know how to provide for themselves, by ranging over the country and along the sides of lakes and rivers; and the punctuality with which they return, is one of the most striking proofs of the fidelity of these animals. When winter arrives, they dearly pay for the liberty and temporary repose they have enjoyed. Their labour and slavery begin anew, and these dogs must have extreme vigour to be able to support them. Meanwhile they are not remarkably large, and resemble pretty exactly our mountain dogs, or such as are commonly used by shepherds. There is not an individual inhabitant, Russian or native, that has less than five. They make use of them when they travel, when they go to the forests to cut wood, and for the conveyance of their effects and provisions, as well as their persons. In short, these dogs conduct travellers from place to place, and horses could not in reality be more serviceable. They are harnessed to a sledge two and two together, with a single one before as a leader. This honour is bestowed on the most intelligent, or the best trained dog, and he understands wonderfully the terms used by the conductor to direct his course. The cry of " tagtag, tagtag," turns him to the right, and "kougha, kougha," to the left; the intelligent animal understands it immediately, and gives to the rest the example of obedience: " ah, ah," stops them, and "ha," makes them set off. The number of dogs that it is necessary to harness, depends upon the load; when it is little more than the weight of the person who mounts the sledge, it is considered as a common sledge, or saunka, and the team consists of four or five dogs: the sledges for baggage are called narta,' and are drawn by 10 dogs. The harness is made of leather. It passes under the neck, that is, upon the breast of these steeds, and is joined to the sledge by a strap three feet long, in the manner of a trace: the dogs are also fastened together by couples passed through their collars; these collars are frequently covered with bear's skin, by way of ornament,