CHAPTER XX. 



LIEUTENANT DANENHOWER'S NARRATIVE. 



(CONTINUED.) 



ABOUT noon we reached the village of Geemovialocke 

 (which we afterwards found to be on Cape Bykoff- 

 sky), where we were received cordially by about twelve men, 

 women, and children. Melville and I were taken to the house 

 of a certain Nicolai Shagra, who was the chief. 



A few minutes later in dashed a slight young man whom 

 we at once saw was a Russian, and I thought he was a 

 Cossack. His name was Efim Kopiloff, a Russian exile who 

 lived in this village, and he proved very useful to us 

 later on. At this time he could say 'Bravo!' which he 

 thought meant good, and that was the only word we had in 

 common ; but in less than two weeks lie taught me so much 

 Russian that I could make myself fully understood to him in 

 a mixture of Russian and Tunguse. We stayed at Nicolai's 

 all night, and his wife gave us a fish supper, which we 

 enjoyed heartily. We described as well as we could that 

 three boats had been dispersed in a gale, and that we did not 

 know where the other two boats were ; also that we wanted 

 to go to Bulun, which place he told us was fifteen days off. 



I need now to give you some explanation why we were at 

 Cape Bykoffsky, so far out of our course to Bulun. Old 

 Wassili, we understood at the time, was bound first of all to 

 deliver us to the care of his chief, Nicolai Shagra, and with 

 him we eventually found ourselves. The reason why they 

 did not take us to Bulun, as they promised, is not very clear, 

 even to me. It was a very unfortunate time in the season. 

 Young ice was making during the night and breaking up 



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