CHAPTER IX.

The Samojedes--Their degrading superstitions--Samojede idol at Waigatz--The _Tadebtsios_, or spirits--Influence of the _Tadibe_, or sorcerer--His mode of incantation--Customs of the Samojedes--The Ostiaks--Their _Schaïtans_ and _Schamans_--Residence of the Ostiaks--Hunting the white bear--Kamtschatka described--Its inhabitants--Their physical peculiarities--The dog of Kamtschatka--His qualities--His usefulness--How he is trained--Siberia and its tribes--The Jakuts--Their _jarts_, or huts--Their hardy horses--The character of the Jakuts--Jakut travellers--Jakut merchants and their caravans--Dreariness of the country they inhabit--Hunting the reindeer--At Kolymsk--The Tungusi--His mode of travelling--His food--The Tchuktche, and their land--Their activity as traders--Tobacco, a staple of commerce--Visit to a Tchuktche family--The Tenngyk and the Oukilon 208–221