ARCHANGEL 153 



June 26. 



On Wednesday, the 26th of June, we made the eastern 

 end of Goletz about 4 a.m., and had to lie-to for an hour, 

 waiting for deep water, before we could land, but 

 Nicholai waded half a verst to shore and lighted a 

 fire. After we had breakfasted we started for the other 

 end of the island through the pine-woods. From the 

 time we landed to the time we left Goletz nine hours 

 afterwards we suffered greatly from the mosquitoes, and 

 as we had left our veils in the boat we were nearly 

 driven wild. At first we had good luck. We saw a flock 

 of a dozen or more Black- throated Divers. Alston shot a 

 male Hobby, and soon afterwards found the nest an 

 old Hooded Crow's lined partly w T ith the bird's own 

 feathers. We took the three pale eggs, which were 

 hard set. The female bird got off without a shot. Soon 

 after we fell in with a small flock of Waxw T ings about 

 half a dozen of which Piottuch shot two, both females, 

 with the breast pretty bare, but the eggs not much 

 developed. 



We walked about seven verst s to the bare eastern end, 

 where we slept on Saturday night, finding two nests of 

 Kuff, with one and four eggs respectively. We got a 

 Teal's nest with nine, and I shot a female Willow Grouse, 

 but we could not find either nest or young. We 

 returned to the boat, which we reached at 4 p.m. ; then 

 after a couple of hours' sleep we had dinner of salt cod, 

 potatoes, and tea, and then sailed to Koombush Ostrov, 

 which we reached about 11.30 p.m., when Alston and I 

 bathed. 



Nicholai showed us some feats of strength. He lifted 

 with his little finger from the floor of the hut on to the 

 seat, a stone tied with rope which would w^eigh 2J poods 

 (about 72 lbs.) He could also lift 10 pood (360 Ibs.) with 

 his hand and put it on the back of his neck. 



