100 KAMSGHATKA. [chap. 



sewn together. They admitted enough light, however, to show us 

 the strange mixture of ornament that hung upoii the walls. In the 

 corner was the usual tawdry cihon, and facing it, a long array of 

 clippings from the " New York Police News," full of the choicest 

 horrors of battle, murder, and sudden death ! Amid these lively 

 surroundings we consumed our sour milk and bilberries, and 

 bargained for some potatoes and turnips, which appeared to be 

 grown here in some abundance. Much, no doubt, might be done in 

 the way of agriculture in many parts of the country were it not that 

 the fish-harvest and hunting take up so much of the peasants' time. 

 Of their success in the latter line we had evidence in a fine pair of 

 horns of the Argali or Bighorn,^ which lay outside the hut, and had 

 only recently been shot. These animals, we were told, are not 

 easily obtained at this season, and do not exist in any great 

 numbers in the neighbourhood ; but in the winter they descend to 

 the lower spurs of the mountains, and are more easily brought to 

 bag. We much desired to obtain a head and skeleton of this 

 sheep, but our limited time, and Afanasi's statement that we 

 should be able to get them on the sea-coast about sixty miles to the 

 eastward of Avatcha Bay, eventually decided us on relinquishmg 

 the idea of hunting them in this neighbourhood. We were pleased, 

 however, to be able to prove their existence in the interior, which 

 has by some previous writers been doubted. 



We pursued our journey in a steady downpour of rain, our 

 track leading through coarse grass and other annual vegetation so 

 thick that from the back of a horse it was utterly impossible to see 

 any trace whatever of the way. Our two hunters had donned 

 their waterproofs, — long coats made from the intestine of the seal, 

 carefully sewn together with sinew. These garments are tolerably 

 strong in a thornless country, and though not ornamental, are as 

 light as a feather, and most effectual in keeping out rain. We 

 passed to the south of some hot springs, about two versts distant from 

 the village, the water of wdiich w^as said to be of such a temperature 



^ Ovis nivicola, Esclisclioltz. 



