296 OUR JOURNEY'S END 



eye wandered across the snow-fields of the Yenesei, 

 and by the help of a binocular the little village of 

 Kureika might be discerned about four miles off on 

 the opposite bank of the great river. The land was 

 undulating rather than hilly, and everywhere covered 

 with forests, the trees reaching frequently two, and in 

 some rare instances three feet in diameter. 



Not long after our arrival I purchased a pair of snow- 

 shoes, unpacked my gun, and had a round in the forest. 

 The sun was hot, but the wind cold. On the river the 

 depth of the snow was six feet, but in the forest I found 

 it rather less. The trees were principally pine, fir, larch, 

 and birch. I found more birds than I expected. A pair 

 of what I took to be ravens were generally in sight, and 

 now and then a small flock of snow-buntings flitted by. 

 Outside the door of the sailors' room, picking amongst the 

 refuse thrown out by the cook, w r ere half a dozen almost 

 tame nutcrackers hopping about. They allowed us to go 

 within three feet of them, and sometimes they even per- 

 mitted us to touch them with a stick. They seemed to 

 be quite silent, never uttering a sound, and their feathers 

 were so fluffy that their flight was almost as noiseless as 

 that of an owl. I saw one or two of these birds as I 

 entered the wood, but none afterwards. The Lapp-tit 

 was very common and very tame. I saw one black-and- 

 white woodpecker, but did not get a shot at him. Some 

 willow-grouse flew over my head out of shot, and I saw 

 many pine grosbeaks. I thought I heard a jay scream, 

 but could not get a sight of the bird. 



The following day I had a long round on snowshoes 

 through the forest in the morning, and another nearly as 

 long in the afternoon. The sun was burning hot, but a 

 cold north wind was still blowing, and it was freezing 

 hard in the shade. I then discovered that the nutcracker 



