GHAP. XVI. 



STANAVIALACHTA. 



189 



shooting it. I saw a great snipe, a large flodk of red-necked 

 phalaropes, a few pairs of fieldfares, and several black- 

 throated divers. Every day the tundra became gayer with 

 flowers, and we continually regretted that we were not 

 botanists. I noticed Equisetum variegatum for the first time. 

 The evening, or what ought to have been the evening, 

 turned out so cold, with a strong contrary wind, against 

 which our stupid keelless boat could make little headway, 

 that finding the tide was also against us, we cast anchor in a 

 creek for a night's rest. In the morning, by dint of hard 

 rowing for some time, then of thrusting with a pole, as is 

 done in the flat-bottomed boats on the Grecian lagoons, then 

 turning out two of our men, and making them drag us along, 

 canal-boat fashion, we at length arrived at Stanavialachta. 

 We spent the day in making the Company's deserted houses 

 sufficiently weatherproof to afford us good shelter for a few 

 days. In the evening we turned out for a stroll ; the tundra 

 in this locality was much more hilly, and was diversified 

 with more lakes than in the neighbourhood of Alexievka. 

 The high ground was very dry, and we seldom came upon 

 any impassable bog. The vegetation also was more abund- 

 ant, the flowers more varied, and the willows and dwarf 

 birch-trees more numerous. The weather was very unfavour- 

 able : a strong gale was blowing from the west ; it was very 



river. He fired at it and wounded it 

 severely. They were afterwards seen 

 by him on six different occasions, and 

 perfectly identified, viz. at Alexievka, 

 Bougrai, and on the river Dvoinik, 

 and on the small river flowing into the 



inland sea. They always defied capture, 

 diving rapidly at the flash, swimming 

 a long way up or down stream, and 

 reappearing out of range. We failed 

 to discover the nest. 



