374 LAST DAYS ON THE KUREIKA 



Comparing this list with that of the arrivals of migra- 

 tory birds in the valley of the Petchora,^ it appears that 

 birds arrive much later in the valley of the Yenesei ; but 

 it is possible that the difference may be an accidental one 

 of season and not a constant one of locality. In the 

 Petchora we found that the greatest number of migratory 

 birds arrived between the loth of May and the 4th of June, 

 whilst on the Yenesei the arrivals were principally 

 between the 3ist of May and the i8th of June. These 

 dates correspond with the time at which the ice on the 

 two rivers broke up, in lat. 65, namely the 2ist and 3ist 

 of May respectively. 



When we left the Kureika, of course we never 

 expected to see it again ; so we took an affectionate leave 

 of our landlord Turboff, and of the Starrosta of the 

 village on the other side of the Yenesei. I believe they 

 were sorry to part with us, although Captain Wiggins had 

 had one or two quarrels with both of them. In one way 

 or other they had made a considerable profit out of our 

 long visit to their remote corner of the world. We had 



o 



hired their dogs and their reindeer, paid them for labour 

 of various kinds, bought milk, meat, and firewood from 

 them, and made them presents of all sorts of things, and 

 yet for all that it was easy to see that they looked upon 

 the enterprise of Captain Wiggins with great jealousy. 

 The Russians are an intensely conservative people. They 

 look with suspicion upon anything new. Of course I 

 never for a moment expected them to understand my 

 reasons for collecting birds. From what Glinski told me 

 they evidently considered it to be a cloak to hide some 

 ulterior object. Captain Wiggins was perhaps a little 

 imprudent in expatiating in broken Russ upon the 

 wonderful benefits which the introduction of commerce 



* See p. 241. 



