P ETCH OR A 283 



Bouligan, our landlord, brought us various articles and 

 offered them for sale. There were pieces of reindeer 

 harness, necks of pintail-ducks sewn together, a handsome 

 ' saveek,' a bundle of fox- skins, and a bone with a ring of 

 lead at one end and the lead let in in a pattern in the 

 stone. We purchased the fox-skins, four white and one 

 handsome dark one, for 9J roubles. M. Bouligan's brother 

 presented us with a complete set of reindeer bridle 

 harness. 



We purchased to-day four female Capercaillies, which 

 were brought in by a Kussian peasant, for 20 kopeks each. 

 They had been shot with rifle bullets and were consider- 

 ably cut up, but by careful and persevering washing and 

 the use of sawdust — a tip given to Danford and me last 

 year in Transylvania by the curator of the Klausenberg 

 Museum, who assisted us in our collecting there, etc. — 

 Piottuch made a very nice skin of one of them. The 

 eggs in the ovary were very small. The crop was full of 

 fir-needles, separately and in tufts. 



Bug-hunting began with us on the first morning of 

 May, and each morning since has been prosecuted with 

 vigour, until we are beginning to understand the wretches, 

 and could almost write a chapter on their natural history, 

 haunts, and habits. In the morning J. x\. H. B. opens 

 his eyes as he lies in his hammock and sees Seebohm 

 stalking about with a No. 12 gauge cartridge, held, sugges- 

 tively, betwixt the thumb and forefinger of the dexter 

 hand. Up springs J. A. H. B., and shortly afterwards 

 may be seen rushing about with the large knife stabbing 

 violently at every suspicious atom of red on the roof and 

 walls. Though the B flats have not yet bitten in our 

 chamber, from their very flat and genteel appearance we 

 are led to suspect that they will be only too happy when 

 they find us out. Piottuch complains that he has been 

 mange toiites les jours. But the old soldier, our purveyor. 



