flooding the
coast with "tanglefoot,"[59] his own poison was probably seized by the
islanders, who, when intoxicated, murdered its manufacturer.

[Footnote 59: A slang term for whisky on the Alaskan coast.]

Teneskin, the chief of Whalen, was, luckily for ourselves, a very
different type of man to the ruffian Koari; and his stalwart sons,
Yemanko and Mooflowi, who were, like their father, teetotalers, became
our powerful allies when the demon of drink was rampant. Yemanko, the
elder, spoke English fairly well, and the comparative comfort in which
we lived here was chiefly due to his intelligence, for he managed to
persuade his father that my cheques, or rather receipts for food, would
be honoured by the commander of the _Thetis_ on her arrival. This was
our only way out of a tight corner, and I awaited the chief's verdict
with intense anxiety, for should his decision be unfavourable starvation
stared us in the face, and the worst kind of starvation, in the midst of
plenty. For Billy told me that Teneskin received a yearly consignment of
goods, in exchange for native produce, from the whalers, and that a shed
adjoining his hut was packed from floor to ceiling with canned
provisions, groceries and other luxuries. To my great relief the
conclave, which lasted for several hours, terminated satisfactorily, and
it was agreed that every article furnished by Teneskin should on her
arrival be doubly repaid from the store-room of the Revenue cutter. And
notwithstanding some anxious qualms as to subsequent repayment which
occasionally assailed our host, this plan worked well, for while here we
never once suffered from actual hunger. Stepan alone was disgusted with
the preliminary discussion regarding the food supply. These Tchuktchis
were subjects of the Tsar, he urged, and should therefore be compelled
to furnish goods free of cost to the illustrious travellers under His
Majesty's protection. The Cossack even donned his uniform cap with the
gold double eagle in order to impress the natives with a sense of our
official importance. But although the head-dress was at once removed by
irreverent hands and passed round with some amusement, I regret to say
that its effect (from an awe-inspiring point of view) was a total
failure.

As a matter of fact the Tchuktchis know nothing whatever about Russia,
and even the Great White Tsar has less influence here than a skipper of
the grimiest Yankee whaler. For the latter is the unfailing sou