A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 69 



several times, while we were at breakfast, inquiring 

 antennae peered over the edge of the table, or else 

 made tentative excursions into the sugar. Later on 

 we found that most of the balagans along the Yenesei 

 were infested with cockroaches, and sometimes with 

 worse vermin. At first the appearance of a " black- 

 beetle " in the beds was greeted with shrieks of horror, 

 but before the day was out, we ceased to exclaim, and 

 by the morrow we scarcely even troubled to kill the 

 intruders. It is curious how quickly one becomes 

 accustomed to such small discomforts. I well remember 

 that not two weeks before we had been discussing our 

 disgust at various insects, including beetles. One of 

 the party told the story of a traveller who, sleeping at 

 a wayside inn in the East, had put his hand under his 

 pillow in the morning and drawn out a fistful of 

 cockroaches. At the time this anecdote had evoked 

 shouts of disgust, and now here we were doing the same 

 thing. Indeed, in three days' time I found that I 

 could squash cockroaches quite callously, and even 

 stamp on them with feet shod only in felt slippers. 

 The latter was a great test of courage, but it is only 

 fair to say that the cockroaches of Golchika were of a 

 less lusty type than the inhabitants of English kitchens. 

 They seemed, in fact, to be a sort of bantam race of 

 beetle ! 



As we sat down to breakfitst Mr. Hall came in. 

 He did not say much about his night's rest, but we 

 gathered from his reticence that his lodging had not 

 been so comfortable as ours. Later on it turned out 

 that, by way of celebrating the arrival of the steamer, 



