THE HEATHEN OSTIAKS. 433 



of our herdsman. But this comfortable life lasts only a short time. 

 The quickly -rising sun, which shines longer and becomes hotter 

 every day, soon melts the snow in the more level valleys and the 

 ice in the broad lakes, thaws even the surface of the frozen earth, 

 and calls into life, along with other harmless children of the spring, 

 milliards of torturing gnats and persecuting gadflies, whose larvae 

 were snorted out of the reindeers' nostrils only a few weeks 

 before. 83 Now wandering begins in earnest; the herdsman travels, 

 in short daily marches, but still hastily, towards the mountains. 



As soon as the dew is dry on the moss, lichens, grasses, and the 

 young leaves of the dwarf bushes, the women take to pieces the 

 tshum they erected only the day before, and load the sledges which 

 were only then unladen. In the meantime the herdsman himself, 

 on his light sledge drawn by four strong stags, goes in search of 

 the herd scattered about to find pasture, or resting contentedly in 

 groups, collects them and drives them towards the camping ground, 

 where the rest of the family are prepared to receive them. Hold- 

 ing in their hands a thin rope, over which the reindeer seldom 

 venture to jump, they form a circle round the herd; the herdsman, 

 with his lasso in his right hand, goes in among the reindeer, throws 

 his noose almost unfailingly round the neck or antlers of the chosen 

 stags, secures and harnesses them, orders that all the others be let 

 loose, mounts his sledge again and drives away in the direction of 

 the next camping-ground. All the other sledges, driven by differ- 

 ent members of the family, follow him in a long train, the whole 

 free herd follows them, lowing or grunting, their hoofs crackling 

 at every step. The dogs run about the whole procession, barking 

 continually and collecting the animals that are inclined to wander. 

 They cannot, however, prevent a few from breaking off from the 

 sides of the herd and remaining behind. The herd spreads out 

 more and more, picturesquely adorning all the heights; now and 

 again they pause in groups over some favourite food; importuned 

 by the calves the mother deer perform their maternal duties, and 

 then, to please their satisfied offspring, lie down beside them till 

 the eagle eye of the herdsman spies them, and, taking a wide 

 circuit round the laggards, he drives them by a word of command, 



(M70) 28 



