14 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEl 



In the latter my companions found much that was of 

 interest to them, such as the weapons and tools of the 

 different races that inhabit the Yenesei. I went to look 

 at the natural history section, but unfortunately this 

 was in a state of great confusion. The tottering and 

 dusty specimens were not classified ; in many cases 

 neither sex nor locality were given ; and birds from 

 other parts of Siberia were mixed indiscriminately with 

 the local species. It seems a pity that the museum of 

 the chief town of a country full of ornithological 

 interest should be thus neglected, for with a little care 

 a most valuable and interesting collection might be 

 formed. After this I was the more sorry that I had 

 not been able to see the museum at Krasnoyarsk, which 

 was said to be well worth a visit. 



In the evening Mrs. Vostratine took me for a drive 

 along the Yenesei. I was a little disappointed not to 

 spend an extra hour or two among the birds, but it was 

 impossible to refuse so kind an invitation, and indeed 

 it is worth going far to see the Yenesiesk meadows in 

 June. The lush-grass was in its first freshness, but 

 under the birch trees it was almost hidden by sheets of 

 orange trollia, pink bird's-eye primroses, and forget-me- 

 nots. On every bush a yellow-breasted bunting, as 

 bright as the flowers, poured out his monotonous little 

 song, and the thickets were filled with the racket of 

 jays and woodpeckers, and half a dozen more, whose 

 notes I could not identify. We returned along the 

 main high road between Krasnoyarsk and Yenesiesk, 

 which was nothing but a turf track full of holes into 

 which the wheels bumped and swung perilously. I was 



