



THE BANKS OF THE ZYLMA 



CHAPTER X. 



THE BREAK-UP OF THE ICE. 



Gulls — Species new to Europe — Fresh Arrivals — Duck-shooting — Bird- 

 life in the Forest — Gulls perching on Trees — Break-up of the Ice on 

 the Zylma — On the wrong Bank of the River — Dragging the Boats 

 across the Ice — Final break-up of the Ice on the Petchora. 



The same evening, as we sat at the window of our rooms 

 writing up our journals, and now and then looking up 

 to glance through the rain at the ever-impressive scene 

 before us, we suddenly descried upon the ice a flock 

 of, perhaps, 200 gulls. In the twinkle of an eye we 

 had donned our indiarubber boots and were wading 

 through the streets of Ust-Zylma. As we neared the 

 birds we made sure, from their note, that the larger 

 number of them were the common gull, with possibly 

 a dozen herring-gulls among them. We discharged four 

 cartridges of our goose-shot into them. Our broadside, 



