y until we
reached the head of Penzhinsk Gulf was barren of incident, I shall
give in this chapter all the information I could gather relative to
the language, religion, superstitions, customs, and mode of life of
the Kamchatkan Koraks.

There can be no doubt whatever that the Koraks and the powerful
Siberian tribe known as Chukchis (or Tchucktchis, according to
Wrangell) descended originally from the same stock, and migrated
together from their ancient locations to the places where they now
live. Even after several centuries of separation, they resemble each
other so closely that they can hardly be distinguished, and their
languages differ less one from the other than the Portuguese differs
from the Spanish. Our Korak interpreters found very little difficulty
in conversing with Chukchis; and a comparison of vocabularies which we
afterward made showed only a slight dialectical variation, which could
be easily accounted for by a few centuries of separation. None of
the Siberian languages with which I am acquainted are written,
and, lacking a fixed standard of reference, they change with great
rapidity. This is shown by a comparison of a modern Chukchi vocabulary
with the one compiled by M. de Lesseps in 1788. Many words have
altered so materially as to be hardly recognisable. Others, on the
contrary, such as "tin tin," ice, "oottoot," wood, "weengay," no,
"ay," yes, and most of the numerals up to ten, have undergone no
change whatever. Both Koraks and Chukchis count by fives instead of
tens, a peculiarity which is also noticeable in the language of the
Co-Yukons in Alaska. The Korak numerals are:--

Innin, One.
Nee-ak deg.h, Two.
Nee-ok deg.h, Three.
Nee-ak deg.h, Four.
Mil-li-gen, Five.
In-nin mil-li-gen, Five-one.
Nee-ak deg.h " Five-two.
Nee-ok deg.h " Five-three.
Nee-ak deg.h " Five-four.
Meen-ye-geet-k deg.hin, Ten.

After ten they count ten-one, ten-two, etc., up to fifteen, and then
ten-five-one; but their numerals become so hopelessly complicated when
they get above twenty, that is would be easier to carry a pocketful of
stones and count with them, than to pronounce the corresponding words.

Fifty-six, for instance, is
"Nee-akh-khleep-kin-meen-ye-geet-khin-par-ol-in-nin-mil-li-gen