290 



TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



During holiday-time it is the practice of the peasantry 

 to erect dangerous swings and swing upon them from 

 morning to night. Whilst putting one up the other day 

 the top crossbar fell, crushing a peasant under its weight. 

 He fell with his face on the frozen ground, got his nose 

 split open, his whole face swollen, cut, and disfigured, and 

 the back of his head terribly bruised. Piottuch went 

 with lint and oilskin and bathed, washed, and bound up 

 his wounds, and in a few days he felt able to move away 

 to his own village at a distance. In a town with two 

 thousand inhabitants, surely a Government doctor ought 

 to be stationed, and much needless suffering from ignorant 

 treatment prevented. 



May 9. 



On Sunday, the 9th of May, we took coffee with M. 

 Znaminsky, and dined afterwards. He showed us a 



capital trap, or stamp, somewhat similar in action to our 

 rabbit- or otter-stamps in Scotland, but instead of having 

 an iron tongue or plate, it had a netting of cord stretched 



