168 FROM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. 



bishop's company came in sight. In the distance was seen a whirl- 

 ing cloud of dust; the boys sprang to the bells, men and women 

 arranged themselves in rows, the priest appeared with incense 

 before the door of the church, every soul stood ready to give a 

 worthy reception to the dignitary of the church. On came the 

 rattling cart, and right through the festive village tore horse and 

 driver, the former covered with dust, sweating and panting, the 

 latter roaring and snorting, their mad career only ending when they 

 reached the peasant's yard. Instead of the beautiful Russian psalm, 

 the terrified cries of half -senseless women rang out through the air, 

 and the men, instead of doing dutiful reverence, rushed about aston- 

 ished and affrighted. Only the church bells continued to peal. 

 Before these had ceased, the men had recovered presence of mind 

 and got hold of their weapons. The cart was followed, and the 

 bear, who seemed to have lost all his wits, was soon stretched dead 

 on the throne which he had himself chosen. 



Those who know the ways of bears will allow that all might 

 have happened as I have described, though we may be inclined to 

 regard the humorous story as one of the sportsman's budget. For 

 even the most serious and honourable forest-folk sometimes mingle 

 truth and fancy when they tell of the forests and woodcraft of 

 Siberia. 



THE STEPPES OF INNER AFRICA. 



The north of Africa is desert, must be desert, and will be desert 

 for ever. For between the Red Sea and the Atlantic, the land-area 

 exposed to the scorching sun is so extensive that the surrounding 

 seas have not their usual climatic importance. The Red Sea is out 

 of account altogether ; even the Mediterranean is too small to have 

 great influence, and the Atlantic Ocean affects only a narrow belt 

 along the west coast. Over regions so vast and so hot, every cloud 

 is dispersed without moistening or fertilizing the parched ground. 

 Only when we go much further south, near the equator, do the condi- 

 tions change. On the one side, the Atlantic Ocean sweeps in with 9 

 great curve; on the other side, the Indian Ocean washes the African 



