THE GOOSING 221 



it, using the Russian word for a stick. But it was a 

 very formidable stick. About two feet long, it was 

 shaped like a policeman's truncheon, only nails or bits 

 of iron were driven through it all round. Uano soon 

 let me see its object. For an old grey goose, who had 

 somehow reached our island unperceived, now appeared 

 in front, with head straight out and carried low down, 

 running" wonderfully fast among the grasses. Pre- 

 sently it squatted ; and then the Samoyed crept up 

 on tiptoe. I followed. The goose never moved till 

 the man was ten yards off — I saw it squatting there 

 with its head on the ground and its neck stretched out 

 to its full extent — and then it rose and ran. At the 

 same time Uano hurled the 'parlka,' and with such effect 

 that the bird was knocked out of time altogether. It 

 was all but dead when we picked it up — a male bean 

 goose, which had just lost its long wing-feathers. 



It is well to explain that all the grey geese belonged 

 to one of two species. Either they were bean — the 

 commoner ooose on Kolouev — or else white- fronted 

 geese. The pink-footed goose is not found there. 



Away behind us on the island was the trap. I must 

 describe this particularly. At the water's edge, thirty 

 yards apart, two poles were fixed, to which a net was 

 fastened. The net was then carried inland, the two 

 walls converging until, at a point some forty yards 

 from the entrance, they were not more than five yards 

 apart. From this point they bellied out and formed 



