BACKTOSCHAROK 301 



point of honour with the Samoyeds, and I could not get 

 him to lend me a team of deer so that I might go right 

 away. All the deer were wanted for the goose catchino-. 



August 13th. — At half-past one in the morning we 

 came again in sight of the encampment, and we made a 

 race of it as we drew near. My fine team seemed to be 

 doing all they knew, but at any rate Uano's team did 

 more, and I was a bad second at the post. 



Then Uano invited me to drink tea — my tea — in his 

 choom. 



I noticed that we sat down with rather more ceremony 

 than usual, and Uano, who generally sits on the other 

 side of the choom, made me take a place on the tub by 

 him. And then I found the reason. As I had given 

 them real tea, Mrs. Uano was giving us real tea-cups. 

 Out they came, two Norwegian and three Russian cups 

 and saucers. They had been a present from the wrecked 

 Norwegians. 



Then Uano told me how every year he bought a 

 hundred pud (a pud = 36 lbs.) of flour from the Russians, 

 and that for this he gave two roubles per pud, and that 

 his Russian's name was Alexander Samarokoff, merchant 

 from Okshin on the Petchora ; that this Russian and 

 another came east in his boat every year, and that had it 

 not been for the ice they would have been here ten days 

 ao-o. And he brought me his wooden calendar on which 

 the dates were ticked off. 



