35S TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



ready meals. "We have a bowl full of cold omelette of 

 Ducks' eggs — very good — cold roast beef, and a small 

 stock of white bread, a barrel full of salt beef, a keg of 

 Bussian butter (maslo), a box and bag full of rusks — slices 

 of white bread baked crisp through and through like our 

 ' pulled bread ' at home — tea, ' punsch ' — extract — small 

 cask of brandy, and as yet we have been able to buy milk, 

 but that may fail us as w'e get lower down the river. 



June 13. 



On Sunday, the 18th of June, the new bird seen was the 

 Goshawk. 



Heavy rain continued all night and all to-day. We 

 waited for some hours in the hope of its clearing, but at 

 last had to give up hopes of its doing so, and again moved 

 on down-stream with a blustering cold wind right ahead. 



In the morning, Seebohm, well smothered in ' Sou- 

 wester,' Cording's patent ventilating macintosh, and long 

 boots, had braved the elements, but the only results were 

 an old Waxwing's nest and a handful of last year's cran- 

 berries. I having caught rather a nasty cold remained in 

 our cabin, blowing and marking eggs, etc. 



About 5 p.m. we entered the mouth of the Yorsa Kiver 

 —just 50 versts from Habarika, 90 from Ust Zylma — and 

 lay-to some versts further up, where there is a little log- 

 hut occupied in autumn by hay-cutters. 



The rain not falling quite so heavily, we both went out 

 for an hour or two to see what the locality would produce. 

 Seebohm came in with a splendid Goshawk, shot in the 

 act of devouring a female Wigeon in the midst of a dense 

 alder thicket. The head and bill of the said Wigeon were 

 nowhere to be found. Could it have been cut clean off 

 when the prey was struck ? 



He had also shot a Short-eared Owl and some common 

 birds and pursued a Sedge Warbler, another of which I 



