"The children are from their tenderest years set apart for each other, thus Etughi, Erere's second son, who was little more than eight, was set apart for Keipteka, a girl of six or seven. Etughi and Keipteka slept under the same roof, though apart. "When they grow bigger," said Erere to me, "then sleeping-places will be put alongside each other". At what age this takes place I have not ascertained, but I suppose that it is very early, as is common with all Oriental races.
"Right opposite Tjapka lies a small island, by the natives called Idlidlja, which is about 800 metres in circumference. Its shores rise perpendicularly on all sides except that which is opposite Tjapka, in which direction it sinks with a steep slope. On the north end of it we found three or four whales' bones and some pieces of driftwood, but nothing to indicate that there had been any Onkilon dwellings there. The island swarmed with hares, which the inhabitants of Tjapka hunt with the bow. For this hunting they are accustomed to build circular walls of snow, pierced with loopholes, through which they shoot the unsuspecting animals.
"Regarding life in the tent I have still the following notes. The most troublesome work is given to the older women. They rise early to light and attend to the lamps, yoke the dogs, and go fishing. The young women, on the other hand, sleep far into the day. The housewives return at noon, then work is then finished, if we do not consider as work the constant motion of the tongue in talk and gossip. The younger people have it assigned to them to sew clothes, arrange the fishing-lines and nets, prepare skins, &c. Sewing-thread is made from the back sinews of the reindeer, which they procure by barter from the reindeer-Chukches, giving for them fish and seal-blubber.
"One cannot, without having seen it, form any idea of the large quantity of food they can consume. One evening I saw eight persons, including one child, eat about 30 lbs. of food. The bill of fare was: 1, raw fish; 2, soup; 3, boiled fish; 4, seal-blubber; 5, seal-flesh. The raw fish commonly consists of frozen cod. The soup is made partly of vegetables, partly of seal-blood; I saw both kinds. Vegetable soup was prepared by boiling equal quantities of water and vegetables, till the mixture formed a thick pap. The blood soup is cooked by boiling the blood together with water, fish, and fat. They are very fond of this soup. The seal-blubber they eat by stuffing into the mouth the piece which has been served to them, and then cutting a suitable mouthful with the knife, which they bring close to the lips. In the same way they do with the flesh.
"With the exception of the old women's gossip the greatest quietness prevails in the sleeping-chamber. It is not uncommon for men to visit each other. Thus the first night we spent at Najtskaj the tent where we lodged was full of people, but without the least disturbance arising. If one had anything to say he talked in quite a low tone, as if he were shy. He was listened to attentively, without any interruption. First when he had finished another began.
"Affection between spouses and parents and children is particularly strong. I have seen fathers kiss and caress their children before they went to rest, and what I found most remarkable was that the children never abused this tender treatment. Whatever one gave them, it was their first thought to divide it with their parents. In this respect and in many others they were far in advance of a large number of European children."
Lieutenant Bove's Report on an Excursion along with Dr. Almquist to the Interior of the Chukch Peninsula, from the 13th to the 17th June, 1879.
"We started from the vessel on the morning of the 13th June with a view to penetrate as far as possible into the interior of the Chukch peninsula. For the journey we had hired, for a liberal payment, two sledges drawn by dogs from Rotschitlen, a Chukch at Irgunnuk. The dogs and sledges surpassed our expectation. In fourteen hours we traversed a distance of nearly forty minutes, including bends, which corresponds to a speed of three, perhaps four, English miles an hour, if we deduct the rests which were caused by the objects of the journey—scientific researches. This speed strikes me as not inconsiderable, if we consider the weight which the dogs must draw, and the badness and unevenness of the way. For the ground was undulating, like a sea agitated by a storm. But pleased as we were with our sledges and dogs, we were as dissatisfied with Rotschitlen, a faint-hearted youth, without activity or experience. With another driver we might have been able in a few days to penetrate as far as the bottom of Kolyutschin Bay, which differs greatly in its form, from that which Russian, English, and German maps give to it. It is not improbable that it is almost connected by lakes, lagoons, and rivers with St. Lawrence Bay or Metschigme Bay, whose inner parts are not yet investigated.