The most favourable seasons for hunting foxes are autumn, winter, and spring. There are four different species. 1. The whitish red fox, which is least esteemed. 2. The red or bright red fox. 3. The fox called sévadouschka, the colour of which is a mixture of red, black, and grey. 4. The black fox, which is the scarcest and most valuable: it is really of a deep and entire black, except that at the extremity of the fur upon the back, which is the longest; a grey tint is sometimes perceptible. Some of this species are singularly valuable. There are two other species of the fox that may be added to these, though they are not regarded as such in this country, the blue fox and the white fox. They are called in Russia galouboy pessets, and beloy pessets; their fur is thicker than that of the rest of the species. The foxes of the continent are in general more beautiful than those caught in the different islands of the east[49], and produce an infinitely higher price.
Rein deer are hunted in winter, and argali in autumn. Otters are extremely scarce in this country; but there is a great abundance of ermines, though, I know not for what reason, no pains are taken to catch them; one would suppose they were of no value.
The Kamtschadales have different seasons also 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.
They seldom use seines, but almost always common nets[50], or a kind of harpoon, which they manage with great dexterity. Seines serve only for sea wolves; they are made of leather straps, and the meshes are very large. They have another mode of fishing, by closing up the river with stakes and branches of trees, so as to leave only a narrow passage for the fish, or sometimes several, where they place baskets, so constructed that, if the fish once enter, it is impossible for them to retreat.
Horses are very scarce in Kamtschatka. I saw some at Bolcheretsk belonging to government, and intrusted to the care of the Cossacs. 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[51], 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[52], and the team consists of four or five dogs. The harness[53] 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.
The form of the sledge is like that of an oblong basket, the two extremities of which are elevated in a curve. Its length is about three feet, and its breadth scarcely exceeds a foot. This kind of basket, which composes the body of the sledge, is of very thin wood; the sides are of open work, and ornamented with straps of different colours. The seat of the charioteer is covered with bear's skin, and elevated three feet from the ground, upon four legs, which diverge towards the lower extremity, and are fastened to two parallel planks, three or four inches broad. These planks are not thick, but so long as to extend beyond the body of the sledge, to which they serve as supports and and as skates. For this purpose they are furnished underneath, in time of thaw, with three or four long pieces of whale-bone, all of them of the same breadth, and fastened to the skates with leathern thongs. In front these planks bend upward, and so meet the poles of the sledge, which gradually lower for that purpose, and are adapted to receive a part of the baggage. The front of the sledge is farther adorned with floating reins or shreds of leather, which are of no use. The charioteer has nothing in his hand but a curved stick, which serves him both for rudder and whip. Iron rings are suspended at one end of the stick, as much for ornament, as to encourage the dogs by the noise which these kind of bells make, and which are frequently jingled for that purpose; the other end is sometimes pointed with iron, to make an easier impression on the ice, and serves at the same time to guide the ardour of these animals. Dogs, that are well trained, have no need to hear the voice of the conductor; if he strike the ice with his stick, they will go to the left; if he strike the legs of the sledge, they will go to the right; and when he wishes them to stop, he has only to place the stick between the snow and the front of the sledge. When they slacken their pace, and become careless and inattentive to the signals, or to his voice, he throws his stick at them[54]; but then the utmost address is necessary to regain it, as he proceeds rapidly along; and this is one of the strongest tests of the skill of the conductor. The Kamtschadales are singularly expert in this exercise. I was in general astonished at the dexterity they displayed in driving their sledges, and as I was soon to have the happiness of travelling in this vehicle, I conceived that I ought to practice, not so much to reconcile myself to it, as to learn to be my own guide. It was in vain they represented to me the risks I should run, by exposing myself alone in a sledge, before I had acquired sufficient skill to know how to conduct it; at my age we are all confident, and I listened not to their cautions. The lightness of my carriage, which scarcely exceeded ten pounds, its elevation, which rendered it more liable to be overturned, the difficulty of preserving the equilibrium, and, in short, the consequences that might attend a fall, if I lost my hold of the sledge[55]; all these considerations, which were exposed to my view, could neither intimidate nor dissuade me from so dangerous an apprenticeship. I mounted one day my new car, consenting however to be followed, and a multitude of sledges attended me. It was not long before the company saw their predictions realized; I had advanced a very little way, when I exhibited a complete fall. Scarcely remounted, I repeated the scene, and occasioned a new burst of laughter: in spite of this, I did not lose my courage, but quickly recovered myself to be overturned again as quickly. I had sufficient reason to be inured to these accidents, for in every attempt I paid the tribute of inexperience. Seven times did I fall in taking my first lesson, but without receiving any injury; and I only returned with more eagerness to take a second, then a third, then a fourth; in short, a day scarcely passed, without my making some progress. The number of my falls diminished, in proportion as I acquired more knowledge and skill, and my success rendered me such an amateur of this exercise, that in a short time I acquired a degree of reputation; it cost me, however, considerable pains to habituate myself to the observance of the necessary equilibrium. The body is, as it were, in continual motion. Here we must lean to the right, because the sledge inclines to the left; there we must suddenly change to the left, because it leans to the right: the next minute, perhaps our posture must be erect; and if we fail in quickness or attention, it is seldom that an immediate overthrow is not the consequence. In falling, it is still necessary not to quit the vehicle, but to hold it as firm as possible, in order to create a sufficient weight to impede the dogs, who, as I have already said, will otherwise advance full speed. The common mode of sitting in a sledge is side ways, as a lady rides on horseback; we may also sit astride; but the point of main difficulty, the ne plus ultra of address and of grace, is to be able to stand upon one leg: it is excellent to see an adept in this striking attitude.
For myself, I was no sooner able to drive, than I abandoned every other mode of conveyance. Always accompanied, because of the roads, I sometimes took a ride, and sometimes went a hunting. The tracks of hares and partridges were perceptible on the snow[56], and to such a degree, that it appeared full of holes like a sieve. The snow was frequently so deep in the woods, that it was impossible to proceed a step without sinking in; our resource in that case was to quit our sledges, which were no longer serviceable to us, and turn them upon their side. Having taking this precaution, which was sufficient to retain our dogs, who immediately laid themselves down in a circular form upon the snow, and patiently waited the return of their guides; we fastened to the soles of our feet, with leathern thongs, rackets, made of thin board[57], six or eight inches wide and four feet long, the front of which turned up like skates, and the bottom was covered with the skin of the sea wolf or rein deer. Furnished with these kind of shoes, we continued our chace; I had at first some difficulty to accustom myself to them, and I fell more than once both upon my back and my face; but the pleasure of a good chase made me soon forget these accidents. Though it was difficult to perceive the hares and partridges, whose whiteness equalled that of the snow, I did not fail, after a little practice, and some instructions from my companions, to bring home a tolerable number.