TO THE HOLY HILLS 335 



night to feed. But here were nineteen poor cows come 

 back by themselves, wandering about and lowing 

 piteously. To-day the remainder of the herd was 

 brought back, and the twenty-five calves shot or caught 

 with the di-zha. 



Alexander's second man, Andre, brought an old 

 broken accordion, a 'garmonia,' he called it, into the 

 hut, and played frightful tunes on it. Then Yakoff and 

 he sang discordant nasal songs to it till the noise was 

 truly diabolical. 



September \st. — We had a fine fire outside the huts, 

 and I spent the greater part of the day drying our 

 wet things, a work of some anxiety, as one had to 

 hang them right in the smoke, and if not watched the 

 sparks took hold of them. Hyland looked so wretched, 

 creeping about the fire, that I chaffed him at last into 

 taking a walk. So he went up by the creek, and 

 returned in an hour saying he was warm, a very unusual 

 case with him. 



The three brothers Bulchikoff called on me to-day. 

 Walking straight into the hut they sat down in silence, 

 taking snuff. I went on with my writing, and not a 

 word was exchanged for probably half an hour. At the 

 end of that time I closed my book and asked to what I 

 was indebted for the honour of this visit. 



'Bolvana go rah ' (Bolvan mountain), said the eldest 

 son. 



