CHAPTER XII. 



A native postman — An invitation — We go to Kazachye — A midnight 

 visit — Simeon Prokopcliuk and his family — Mezenchyne — The long- 

 tailed skuas — A night on the river-bank — The tragedy of the 

 balagans — The flowers of the tundra — The return to Golchika — 

 Appeasing Gerasim Androvitch. 



One day, about the middle of August, a native who 

 came to Golchika told us that one of the Samoyedes at 

 a neighbouring fishing station had a letter for us. He 

 said that the letter had been given to this man for 

 delivery by one, Simeon Prokopchuk, a brother of 

 Gerasim Androvitch, who lived with his family in a 

 balagan about fifty versts higher up the river. Our 

 informant said that he had tried in vain to persuade 

 his friend to let him bring the letter. The Yenesei 

 native looks upon a letter as a most sacred trust. He 

 may carry it about with him for weeks before he has 

 the opportunity of delivering it, but he will never lose 

 it, and to no one but the addressee will he give it up — 

 not even to his prince. 



On the following morning, the man himself, Katya 

 by name, came over and delivered an exceedingly dirty 

 and ill-spelt document to Miss Czaplicka. While he 

 was drinking tea, with the regulation thimbleful of 

 vino, she read it, and found that it contained an invita- 

 tion from Simeon Prokopchuk to visit him and his 



