In hunting this beast they endeavor to capture him alive; once taken and securely bound he is placed in a cage in the middle of a village, and there fattened upon fish.  On fete-days he is led, or rather dragged, in procession, and of course is thoroughly muzzled and bound.  Finally a great day arrives on which Bruin takes a prominent part in the festival by being killed.  There are many superstitious ceremonies carefully observed on such occasions.  The ears, jawbones, and skull of the bear are hung upon trees to ward off evil spirits, and the flesh is eaten, as it is supposed to make all who partake of it both fortunate and courageous.

I did not have the pleasure of witnessing any of these ursine festivals, but I saw several bear cages and looked upon a bear while he lunched on cold salmon.  If the bear were more gentle in his manners he might become a household pet among the Gilyaks; but at present he is not in favor, especially where there are small children.

Ermines were formerly domesticated for catching rats, the high price of cats confining their possession to the wealthy.  Cats have a half-religious character and are treated with great respect.  Since the advent of the Russians the supply is very good.  Before they came the Manjour merchants used to bring only male cats that could not trouble themselves about posterity.  The price was sometimes a hundred roubles for a single mouser, and by curtailing the supply the Manjours kept the market good.

The Gilyaks, like nearly all the natives of Northern Asia, are addicted to Shamanism.  The shaman combines the double function of priest and doctor, ministering to the physical and spiritual being at the same time.  When a man is taken sick he is supposed to be attacked by an evil spirit and the shaman is called to practice exorcism.  There is a distinct spirit for every disease and he must be propitiated in a particular manner.  While practicing his profession the shaman contorts his body and dances like one insane, and howls worse than a dozen Kamchadale dogs.  He is dressed in a fantastic manner and beats a tambourine during his performance.  To accommodate himself to the different spirits he modulates his voice, changes the character of his dance, and alters his costume.  Both doctor and patient are generally decked with wood-shavings while the work is going on.

Sometimes an effigy of the sick person is prepared, and the spirit is charmed from the man of flesh to the one of straw.  The shaman induces him to take up lodgings in this effigy, and the success of his persuasion is apparent when the invalid recovers.  If the patient dies the shaman declares that the spirit was one over which he had no control, but he does not hesitate to take pay for his services.

[Illustration:  PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.]

A Russian traveler who witnessed one of these exorcisms said that the shaman howled so fearfully that two Chinese merchants who were present out of curiosity fled in very terror.  The gentleman managed to endure it to the end, but did not sleep well for a week afterward.