176 A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



were lit round our tents, affording us comparative rest. 

 According to our veteran guide, another twenty miles 

 should bring us to the foot of the hills, where there 

 was a chance of finding game. The old man had 

 walked the whole way, and did not seem a bit tired ; 

 he sat down silently, apart from the rest of the cara- 

 van, looking gloomily into space, probably straining 

 his memory to recall some of the scenes of his bygone 

 hunting days. We took great care not to disturb the 

 equanimity of the old sportsman, who was our only 

 resource, and who next morning was the first to be on 

 the alert. The mist had partly cleared away, giving 

 us an occasional glimpse of the higher grounds, but 

 the mosquitoes were as troublesome as ever. At first 

 we followed a few miles up the "highway" in a due 

 northerly direction across the same swampy ground 

 and tall orrass ; after an hour's march we branched off 

 eastwards. Here at times there was a semblance of a 

 path, which we were told was made by bears, but no 

 further signs of man's presence. 



A little later our party crossed a small torrent tlow- 

 ing out of a narrow ravine ; this was the l^ystraia, 

 which takes its source within a short distance of the 

 great Kamchatka River, and a few miles beyond we 

 entered a valley running to the south-west, at the 

 head of which we caught sight of a broad swee[)ing 



