200 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 



but the water there was too shallow for the boat, and 

 as I had now spent twenty-two hours afoot, most of 

 the time in tramping over heavy marsh, I did not 

 feel physically capable of walking another verst. The 

 men, too, were getting tired and hungry, and began to 

 look longingly behind them. We therefore turned back 

 down the river, but when we reached the place where 

 we had first seen the grey plover, there were the two 

 birds still flying round the spot. This was more than 

 I could stand, so I explained in elaborate pantomime to 

 Vassilli and Sylkin that I was going ashore again to 

 find the nest. They both looked rather sulky, and 

 then went ofi" to a neighbouring creek to eat bread 

 and cheese, while 1 lay down under the bank of the 

 river. 



With two observers who worked together, that nest 

 could have been located in half an hour. As it was, it 

 took four times that length of time to find it. The 

 tundra sloped upwards from the waterside, and it was 

 not difficult to keep the birds under observation, but 

 between the river-bank and the bottom of this slope 

 there was a deep hollow filled with snow. Consequently, 

 when the plover was marked down to a given spot, 

 instead of walking straight up to the eggs, as can 

 sometimes be done, I was obliged to take my eye ofi" 

 the place while crossing this gully, and found myself 

 hopelessly at a loss when I reached the other side. At 

 length I tried a dodge which afterwards proved very 

 useful when looking for the nests of other waders on 

 the tundra. A scrap of paper is pegged down (with 

 the ever-useful hairpin) where it is roughly calculated 



