8o 



SIBERIA IN EUROPE. 



CHAP. VIII. 



It was contrary to law to shoot in the streets, and the birds 

 were within a stone's-throw of the house of the public prose- 

 cutor. I shot one of them, as I thought very cleverly on 

 the sly ; but I found that my attempt at concealment had 

 been a failure, for a day or two afterwards, whilst discussing 

 our walnuts and wine with the chief magistrate at the public 

 prosecutor's hospitable table, we were kindly cautioned to 

 shoot as little as possible in the streets. 



The liberal hospitalities of our friends helped to beguile 

 the time during the thaw; and occasionally the peasants 

 offered us birds, which provided variety for our larder, and 

 sometimes interested us and found employment forPiottuch. 

 We bought four capercailzies for eighty kopecks from one 

 of our friends the Samoyedes, who had shot them with ball. 

 Hazel grouse* were also frequently brought in to us, at 

 twenty kopecks per brace. They are most delicate eating, 

 and are thought by many gourmands to be the finest game 

 that can be brought to table. 



Winter returned on the 4th of May, when a raw west 

 wind brought a heavy storm at noon ; after which snow and 

 bitter cold continued, with occasional high wind, till the 



* The hazel grouse (Bonasa betulina, 

 Scop.) is not found in the British 

 Islands, but inhabits the pine forests 

 of Arctic and north temperate Europe 

 and Asia, as far east as Japan, where it 

 is a partial resident, wandering from 

 forest to forest in the winter season 

 rather than migrating. In the valley 

 of the Petchora these birds were sold 

 to us by the peasants, but, curiously 



enough, we never chanced to come 

 across them ourselves. 1 afterwards shot 

 plenty of them on the other side of the 

 Ural Mountains. This bird, the Hyerpa 

 of the Norwegians and the JRyab'chik 

 of the Russians, is considered by many 

 epicures to be the finest game that 

 comes to table even superior to our 

 own grouse. 



