274 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



wooden thing these people have, they are made of drift- 

 wood. A special plane is used for that purpose, which 

 the figure will help you to understand. The wooden 

 o-auo-e has a slit into which the triangular knife is fitted. 

 This bow belongs to those known as reversible bows, 

 or bows which turn inside out. But it seems to be 

 peculiar in this, namely, that it is a simple and not a 

 compound bow. That is to say, it is neither spliced, nor 

 whipped round with string or skin. None the less, it 

 retains its elasticity in a remarkable way. But always 

 before it is used it is dipped in water, and then rubbed 

 with the hands, which gives it suppleness and spring. 



We fixed up a bit of stick for a mark, and began to 

 shoot at fifteen paces— Kallina, Marrk, Mekolka, Hyland, 

 and I. It was a competition. 



The men threw themselves into a curious attitude 

 when shooting. They used the bow horizontally, not 

 perpendicularly as we at home. As they pulled they 

 rose on tiptoe and then almost crouched till the bow 

 was on a level with the eye. We held our own pretty 

 well at this game, but Mekolka was champion ; he was 

 always best at everything. The peg was removed stage 



