EROSION OP^ RIVER BANKS 357 



were still flying north, and I might have shot a short- 

 eared owl if I had not been too sleepy. 



It was astonishing to see the quantity of wood that 

 was floating down, but as we coasted the shore to avoid 

 the current, we easily saw whence it all came. In many 

 cases the banks were undermined for six or eight feet ; 

 in some places they had fallen in, and the trees growing 

 upon them were hanging down in the water. The banks 

 are nothing but sand and earth ; the river evidently 

 widens every year, and carries an immense quantity of 

 mud down to its mouth. 



The following day I chronicled two arrivals, the first 

 steamer from Yeneseisk and the first common house- 

 sparrow. The steamer, which was a paddle-boat belong- 

 ing to the Mayor of Yeneseisk, unfortunately did not 

 bring the mails. It brought us, however, startling news 

 — that Russia had declared war against Turkey, and 

 had already taken several forts ; and that England 

 was at first inclined to help Turkey, but was pre- 

 vented from doing so by the outbreak of a revolution in 

 India ! 



I did not go far from home in search of birds, but a 

 peasant brought us a Bewick's swan. A brisk breeze 

 from the south had blown all day; it veered round to the 

 east in the evening, when some enormous floes of ice 

 went down the Kureika. At 10.30 p.m. we had one of 

 the finest rainbows I have ever seen. 



Spring flowers were now rapidly making their appear- 

 ance. One that seemed to be our wood anemone was 

 already in flower. Patches of snow were still lying in 

 the forest, especially on the northern slopes. 



During the next day the ice was still straggling down 

 the Kureika, but not in sufficient quantity to close our 

 little port, so I gave an Ostiak and his wife a couple of 



