256 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



man. Seeing- him in conversation with us, and taking 

 no harm, his companions started also to come up. 



It appeared that Shabla had paid us a visit at Scharok, 

 had found the camp deserted and the boat gone. This 

 was the way in which he told us about it : — 



' Shabla to-day Scharok. Sun so,' pointing to the 

 sky to show the sun's position at that time. This was 

 the regular way of the Samoyed when trying to explain 

 the hour. ' Choom there shut. Ahnglia ? No. Hylum ? 

 No — Where ? Then see boat — arnoh — not there. No, 

 no. Boat where ? Not good. Much ice. Go see. 

 Yes, yes.' 



The two new men were the brothers Bulchikoff. 

 Dirty, good-looking, silent men ; very proud to be 

 sketched, and posing themselves in an amusing way on 

 hummocks for that purpose. They said their camp was 

 on the lower Gobista. Old Marrk, they told me, had 

 the upper waters, and I found out later this was so. 



So I told Shabla I was walking to the Pugrinoy. 

 ' Pugrinoy,' says Shabla ; ' no, no. Bad, bad. Much 

 river. Much marshes. No walk ; soon go boat ; no ice.' 

 He was dead set against us trying it. And indeed there 

 seemed much force in his remarks. 



The dirty brothers Bulchikoff gave us a bean goose, 

 of which they had five on the sleigh. Then they rounded 

 about and were off at a gallop, Shabla's little cows l 

 getting over the ground at a capital rate. 



1 See note on Mammalia. 



