CHAP, xviii. SAMOYEDES. 209 



trapped at their nests on the Petchora; and we came to 

 the conclusion that our wisest course was to go in search 

 of the peasant who owned the skin of the swan belonging 

 to the two small eggs we had bought some days ago. When 

 we last heard of him he was fishing at one of the islands 

 in the delta which we had visited not far from Stanavialachta, 

 and we determined to make a second expedition to this 

 locality. Fortunately for us, an opportunity occurred on 

 the following day to run over to this place in the steamer 

 belonging to the company. Outside the bar in the lagoon 

 the cutter was cruising about with pilots to bring any ship 

 which arrived up the river to Alexievka. The steamer had 

 to visit this cutter to take the men a fresh stock of pro- 

 visions, and we were delighted to make arrangements with 

 Capt. Engel to take us with him, to drop us at Stanavialachta, 

 and pick us up on his return. 



We left Alexievka on the 6th of July and landed at our 

 old quarters, and learnt to our disappointment that the 

 peasant we were in quest of had found the fishing so bad that 

 he had given it up in disgust and returned to his native 

 village of Mekitza, some miles north of Alexievka. We were 

 determined to settle the question if possible : we ascertained 

 that he had not sold the swan-skin, but had taken it with 

 him ; so we decided to send one of our men to Mekitza as 

 soon as we returned to Alexievka. In the meantime we 

 started for the tundra to revisit our previous shooting- 

 grounds. We stopped a few minutes on the shore to watch 

 a family of Samoyedes fishing with a seine-net. They 

 seemed to be catching nothing but a small fish resembling a 



