252 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



told them that I should take charge of everything during his 

 sickness. 



The next morning all hands except Jack Cole, the Indian, 

 and myself, were in a very bad condition, and we were the 

 only persons who were able to get wood and water. Wilson 

 was able to hobble about the house and prepare the fish, of 

 which we were given eight per day four in the morning and 

 four in the evening. Yaphem lived with us ; so that made 

 twelve men with four fish, weighing about ten pounds, for 

 breakfast, and the same amount for supper. We had no 

 salt, but we had a little tea left. After a few days the 

 natives gave us some decayed wild geese for a midday ineal ; 

 they were ' pretty high,' as an Englishman would call them, 

 but we managed to stomach them, for we were capable of 

 eating almost anything. Efim also gave us some goose eggs. 



Thus we lived for about a week. Then came an orasnik, or 

 native feast-day, during which Efim took some of us out 

 to make calls, when the natives presented us with fifteen 

 other geese of a similar high character as the others. But 

 our party improved in condition day by day; one by one 

 reported himself as fit for duty, and in about a week's time 

 Melville, too, was well enough to reassume charge informally. 

 The natives were generous to us. I am not sure what their 

 resources in fish were at the time ; but I know they were 

 not catching too many. One day I hauled the nets with 

 Andruski Burgowansky ; we drew seven nets and got only 

 eleven bulook a splendid fish, one of which he gave me as a 

 present. There was a little deer-meat in the village at the 

 time, but we were unable to get any. 



One day we were surprised by the arrival' of a Russian at 

 the village. I have forgotten to tell you that on the night 

 after we got back the young ice formed on the river, and that 

 sledding commenced in our vicinity about a week later. This 

 Russian was brought to our house, and I acted as interpreter 

 as well as 1 could. Learning that he lived only nine or ten 

 versts away, I asked him to take me home with him, as I 

 wished to talk with him about our future movements and to 



