86 A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



steamed slowly into the inner waters. Huge rocks, 

 swarming with gulls, puffins, cormorants, and ducks of 

 every kind nesting on their ledges or in their cavities, 

 stood out on either side of the entrance of the bay. 

 A deafening noise produced by those millions of birds, 

 jabbering in their unknown dialect, greeted our arrival. 

 With regard to the scenery we had before us, I can 

 do no better than borrow Dr. Guillemard's masterly 

 description : " After having passed the precipitous 

 cliffs of the coast, at the foot of which none but a 

 bird could land, its deep valleys running down to the 

 sea, at whose mouths still lay the accumulated masses 

 of last winter's snows ; pinnacle rocks like rows of iron 

 teeth shown to warn oft auNone r.ish enough to con- 

 template a landing ; and the coimtry beyond, rising in 

 abrupt humj)s and irregular masses, clothed with a 

 uniform growth of low but dense underwood, above 

 which the distant cones of snow stood out clear and 

 hard against the sky." 



We shaped our course over smooth sea through 

 the narrow entrance of Avatcha Bay. " The latter 

 is one of the finest harbours in the world," says Dr. 

 Ciuillemard, * "if not actually the finest." Rio and 

 Sydney harbours have no mean claims for this 

 position of honour, but those of us who had seen 



* Cruise of the '■' M'arckesa,'' vol. i. yi\). 68, 69. 



