“You must know that I have been a hunter for twenty-five years, and I have made several expeditions into the north country, where the Ostiacks chiefly dwell. It is a cold and desolate region; no trees but pines and willows grow there; there is no grass, and very few shrubs. Still, it was once a good country for furs; but they are nearly gone now, and I don’t wonder at it, for these Ostiacks are such heathens. They are not Christians, but believe in little wooden images, which they will place on their tables, and lay around them snuff, willow bark, fish oil, and other things which they deem valuable. Having done this, they call upon these images, which are their gods, to make them lucky in fishing and hunting. If the gods don’t send them good luck, then these foolish people do give them such a banging! They cuff their heads, and knock them off the tables, and switch them as if they were so many naughty school-boys. “Now, for my part, I wonder that fish, or sables, or bears, or any other creatures that are useful, will stay in a country where such stupid people live. And then you must know that the Ostiacks almost worship a bear. They think that this creature is a kind of a witch or wicked god, and such horrid notions of it have they, that, when they take the oath of allegiance to the Russian government, they say, to make it very strong--‘We hope we may be devoured by bears, if we do not keep this oath.’ “Beside all this, the Ostiacks, as you see by those whom we have met, are little short people, not more than five feet high. A great many of the women are fat, and such little round dumplings I never beheld! The hair of these people is of a reddish color, and floats down their shoulders. Their faces are flat, and altogether they look like animals, rather than human creatures. Their houses are made of poles, set up in a circle, and thatched with bark. In winter, the windows are covered with expanded bladders. The fire is made on one side of the room, and the smoke circulates above, finding its way out as it can. Generally, there is but one room in a hut, and all the family are tumbled into it, by night and by day.