vii.] BIRDS. 147 



many duck as were daily required for our party. At this part of 

 the river, however, there were much fewer, but the birds of prey 

 had considerably increased in numbers. The Ernes (H. alhicilla) 

 and Hobbies {H. suhhuted) were most common, and we procured a 

 fine pair of the former. Neither of these species was shy, but it 

 was only with considerable difficulty that we were able to get 

 within shot of the Ospreys, which we found hawking the river in 

 pairs, but less abundantly. We also shot a specimen of the Eed- 

 throated Diver, but our ornithological collection progressed but 

 slowly, the number of species presenting themselves being ex- 

 tremely limited. In spite of the apparent absence of fish — for here 

 but few lay dead upon the banks — the spoor of bear was as plentiful 

 as ever, and an occasional one was more than once ^dsible as we 

 floated down. But unfortunately our journey had now resolved 

 itself into a race against time, and delay was out of the C[uestion. 



We broke camp long before dawn on the morning of the 6th 

 September, and were afloat once more at 6.30 a.m. The morning 

 w^as fine, but bitterly cold, and as the sun rose, the trees and- long 

 dank grass, glittering with the thick hoar frost, presented a rather 

 more wdntry scene than we desired. We were glad enough to 

 seize the paddles and get what exercise was possible, and after two 

 or three hours' sharp work we arrived at a bend in the river where 

 a birch-bark hut and two or tliree canoes appeared to indicate the 

 neighbourhood of a settlement. Not a soul was to be seen, but we 

 learnt that Tschappina — a little hamlet of six houses — lay some 

 five or six versts distant from the river, and at once despatched 

 Afanasi to get what men he could. In three or four hours he 

 returned, accompanied by four natives, but only two canoes were 

 fit for use. The Mashura men, after some talking, offered one of 

 theirs for the modest sum of forty roubles, and after half an hour's 

 wrangling, we eventually became the purchasers for thirty. Its 

 actual market value was less than ten, but we felt that if we could 

 only get two more, we should be entirely independent of the natives, 

 and considered it cheap. A further row then took place with 



