A SPILL IX TIU; SNOW. 



CHAPTEli VIII. 



May-day — Snow-buntings— Jackdaws — Game — Birds of prey — Sunday at Ust- 

 Zylma — A fin — Man - mony — Tenure of land — The commune — Prepara- 



tions for summer. 



<)\ May-day the thaw continued in real earnest. A warm 

 wind and a hot sun made great havoc with the snow. All 

 traces of the heavy fall of the previous Sunday night soon 

 disappeared, and a considerable portion of the old accumu- 

 lation of winter melted. Dst-Zylma became once more a 

 rasl dunghill; and on the hills, when- the snow in some 

 places lay exceptionally deep, it was too Boft to bear our 

 weight even on snow-shoes. We attempted our usual 



