geon, as long as a man. They seemed ready to part with all they
had, for the sake of brandy.

Thus you see how much harm the Ostyaks have learned from their
acquaintance with the Russians. The chief good they have got, has been
learning to build houses; for once they lived only in tents.

THE SAMOYEDES.

This tribe lives so far to the north, that they see very little of the
Russians, though they belong to the emperor of Russia. They live close by
the Northern Sea. Imagine how very cold it must be. The Samoyedes inhabit
tents made of reindeer skins, such as the Ostyaks used to live in. They
are a much wilder people than the Ostyaks. The women dress in a strange
fantastic manner; not contented with a reindeer dress, as the Ostyaks
are, they join furs and skins of various sorts together; and instead of
veiling their faces, they wear a gay fur hat, with lappets; and at the
back of their necks a glutton's tail hangs down, as well as long tails of
their own hair, with brass rings jingling together at the end.

But if their taste in _dress_ is laughable, their taste in _food_ is
horrible, as you will see. A traveller went with a Samoyede family for a
little while. They were drawn by reindeer, in sledges, and other reindeer
followed of their own accord. When they stopped for the night, they
pitched the tent, covering the long poles with their reindeer skins,
sewed together. The snow covered the ground inside the tent, but no one
thought of sweeping it away. It was easy to get water to fill the kettle,
as a few lumps of snow soon melted. Some of the men slept by the blazing
fire, while others went out, armed with long poles, to defend the deer
from the wolves. There was in the party a child of two years old, with
its mother. The child was allowed to help himself to porridge out of the
great kettle. The traveller offered him white sugar; but at first he
called it snow, and threw it away; soon, however, he learned to like it,
and asked for some whenever he saw the stranger at tea. At night, the
child was laid in a long basket, and was closely covered with furs; in
the same basket also, he travelled in the sledge.

One day the traveller saw a Samoyede feast. A reindeer was brought, and
killed before the tent door; and its bleeding body was taken into the
tent, and devoured, all raw as it was, with the heartiest appetite. It
was dreadful to see the Samoyedes gnawing the flesh off the bones; their
faces all stained with blood,