CHAP. iv. PIOTTUCH'S DISASTER. 31 



born of the melting snow. The Pizhma is a much smaller 

 river, not half the size of the Mezen, and without rocky 

 cliffs on the banks. There are two Pizhmas, both of 

 which we travelled on. Both rise in the lake of Jam, the 

 Petchorski Pizhma flowing north-east into the Zylma just 

 before that river enters the Petchora, and the Mezenski 

 Pizhma flowing south west into the Mezen. On the rivers 

 the roads were always good, except in one part of the 

 Mezenski Pizhma where the river is very narrow and the 

 current was very strong. In one place we almost shuddered to 

 see open water rushing along within nine feet of the sledge. 

 Not long afterwards we stuck fast, and had to get out of the 

 sledge on the snow in the middle of the river. It was nearly 

 midnight and very cloudy. Piottuch with his lighter sledge 

 had got safely over the dangerous part and stood grinning 

 at us, as the yemschiks hacked the frozen snow off the 

 runners of our sledge with their axes ; and having added 

 his two horses to our team, placed two little fir-trees across 

 the path and flogged the horses until they dragged the 

 machine through the snow and water on to firm ground. 

 We had our revenge, however, shortly afterwards. A few 

 stations farther on Piottuch's sledge came to grief, one of the 

 runners breaking completely in two in the front. He was 

 some distance in advance of our sledge, and when we over- 

 took him at the station he came to us with a very long face 

 to tell us of the " tres mat chose." We soon set him upon 

 his legs again. We bought a peasant's sledge for a rouble 

 and a half, took off the sides, and removing the runners 

 from the broken sledge lashed the two together with a strong 



