456 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



although they had felt strong enough when sitting or lying 

 down, they felt hopelessly weak when they stood up and 

 attempted to walk, and therefore decided to rest there 

 another day. 



This delay proved fortunate for them. They were cook- 

 ing their dinner when they heard a noise outside the door 

 that ' sounded like a flock of geese sweeping by.' Ninder- 

 mann, who could see through the chinks of the door, said, 

 'They are deer.' He picked up his gun and was creeping 

 up near the door, when it was suddenly opened, and a native 

 stood before them. He was a Tunguse ; and seeing the gun 

 in Nindermann's hands, he dropped on his knees, and 

 pleaded, apparently, for his life. Nindermann threw down 

 his gun and made signs to assure him that he would not be 

 harmed ; and finally he fastened a deer-team, with which he 

 had driven up, and came inside. 



"He began to talk, says Noros, but we could not under- 

 stand what he was saying. We tried to explain to him 

 that we wanted to go to Bulun. We were so glad when 

 we saw him that we could have hugged him, for we knew 

 then that we were pretty nearly all right. We tried to 

 explain to him that there were others of our party away to 

 the north, but he could not understand us. He examined 

 Nindermann's clothes and then brought in a deer-skin, and 

 then a pair of deer-skin boots, and made gestures as if to 

 say that he would go away, but would soon return. He 

 held up three fingers, and we thought he meant three days." 



Nindermann was for keeping him, but Noros advised that 

 he should be permitted to do as he thought best. On follow- 

 ing him out of the hut they saw four deer; they afterward 

 learned that he had brought the two extra animals to put 

 in a sled which he had left there some days previously, but 

 which had been used by them for fire-wood. 



After seeing the native drive away down the gully they 

 went inside the hut to await events. As darkness came on 

 they began to fear that he did not intend to come back. 

 " We thought we had done wrong in letting him go, says 



