A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 251 



time she worked at the fishing all day, and when the 

 natives came to trade she worked at night as well. 



The winter would soon come, and then the whole 

 family would be shut up in two rooms for the greater 

 part of the day ; but indoors or out, summer or winter, 

 she dared not sjDare herself. There was the bread to be 

 baked ; the house must be swept ; the children must be 

 clothed ; and there was no one but herself to do all these 

 things. Truly these women are burnt up in the cause 

 of civilisation. In Siberia, as is said to be the case in 

 so many of our own colonies, it is no uncommon thing 

 to find a man of middle life who has outlived two or 

 even three wives. Up on the hill behind the house 

 stood a large wooden cross, with two little ones beside 

 it. This was the grave of the first Mrs. Prokopchuk 

 and her two infants. Each time that this poor woman 

 stepped out of the door she could see the tomb 

 of her predecessor, who had already gone the road 

 along which she herself was travelling. What would 

 she do when the child was to be born, we asked — was 

 there any other woman near ? No, she answered, but 

 her man was a master at the work. He had received 

 all the other children at their birth. (We thought 

 of Simeon Prokopchuk, with his crippled hand, and 

 of the vodka bottles on the roof) In spite of the 

 hereditary taint that they could scarcely hope to 

 escape, these children were the healthiest that we 

 had seen since we came to Golchika. In that country 

 the climate is so so severe that it is very difficult 

 to rear a child, and, besides, there is no milk. Most 

 of the infants are weaned upon tea and bread. The 



