A SPILL IN THE SNOW. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



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

 Zylma A fire Marriage ceremony Tenure of land The commune Prepara- 

 tions for summer. 



ON 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. Ust-Zylma became once more a 

 vast dunghill ; and on the hills, where the snow in some 

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

 weight even on snow-shoes. We attempted our usual 



