320 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



plagues which were to bring such havoc into all those 

 parts. The reindeer succumbed by thousands, and the 

 trade with Kolguev was paralysed and died. To-day no 

 Mezen or Indiga traders can tell you anything- of Kolguev. 

 They know not whether Samoyeds are there or not, or 

 if there, whether they are only visitors, going and 

 returning in the summer months. They know nothing. 

 That page in their history is clean wiped out. 



But it chanced that two brothers Samarokoff, merchants 

 of Okshin, a little town or gubernia on the Petchora, 

 continued going. Why should they not ? There was 

 less competition now ; at least they could get from the 

 Samoyeds all the produce of their hunting in exchange 

 for their cotton goods, or snuff, or tea. 



They were dead long since, but their sons, Alexis and 

 his cousins Alexander and Ivan (now dead) kept the 

 practice alive ; and Alexander it was who was here 

 now. Alexander came first to the island with his 

 father as a child of ten years old thirty-five years ago. 

 Not for a single year since that time has he missed the 

 voyage. 



On this evening- we received from Samarokoff an 

 invitation to tea. It was brought to us by one Yakoff 

 Popoff, his servant and factotum. This Yakoff was a 

 quizzical sort of character. He had a prickly snub nose, 

 small twinkling grey eyes, and long straight reddish-yellow 

 hair. He had served as a soldier, and was extremely 

 proud of his personal strength, though he was not very 



