We stopped at seven o’clock. It was necessary to gain a mountain well known to our Koriacs, and which had been marked in our itinerary as our first stage. I should in vain have wished to seek shelter in a wood, as had been my custom when drawn by dogs. The convenience of the traveller is left out of the account in the choice of a resting place; that of the rein deer only is consulted, and the spot that most abounds with moss is invariably preferred. Half way up the mountain our steeds were unharnessed, and no other care taken of them than that of tying them with leathern thongs. I saw them instantly scrape away the snow, under which they well knew how to come at their food. At a short distance we made a fire, and set on our kettle, and the length of our supper answered to its frugality. I admitted my Koriac prince to my mess, who appeared to be highly flattered with the honour. I then laid myself down on the snow, and was permitted to sleep a few hours; but when the time was expired, they awoke me without compunction to proceed on our journey. It is necessary to observe that the Koriacs will travel four, five, or six days incessantly without taking scarcely any repose. The rein deer are habituated to run day and night. In every two or three hours they are unharnessed, and allowed the interval of an hour to feed, after which they set off again with equal ardour; and this mode is repeated till they arrive at the end of the journey. It may be supposed from this account, that I considered myself as fortunate, when the night came, to be indulged with two hours uninterrupted sleep. The favour however was not long accorded to me, and by degrees I was obliged to accustom myself to the practice of my inflexible conductors, though it was not without extreme difficulty. Before I remounted, Eviava informed me that he was under the necessity of lightening our vehicle, the weight of two persons being for a continuance too much for our steeds, and that if I wished to make the experiment of being my own charioteer, he would take one of the empty sledges, with which we were furnished as a resource in case of accident, or the loss of any of our deer. The proposal coincided too well with my inclination for me to hesitate a moment in accepting it, and I instantly seized the reins, and began my new apprenticeship.