174 



A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



father, in order to take care of him, and a general 

 start was made at 8.30, after a hasty breakfast con- 

 sisting of sour milk and bilberries. The weather, 

 though dull, was exceedingly warm, and the horses, 

 exhausted by the previous day's forced marches, 

 advanced slowly. The path led at first through birch 



% 





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EARLY MORN ON A TUNDRA. 



woods, and gradually ascending the main valley of the 

 Bystraia, debouched from an open marshy waste. 

 This is the Ganal tundra. Manv a tale had we heard 

 of that interminable swamp, such as clogs and even 

 men having been devoured there by overwhelming 

 swarms of mosquitoes ; that day's experiences were 

 sufficient to make one believe the most incredible 

 statements. For hardly liad we ploughed our way a 



