456 BY STEAMER TO YENESEISK 



find some peasant who, from the recesses of his cellars, 

 would bring up milk and fruit to cool our hot blood. 

 We met an old acquaintance of Boiling's, and went home 

 with him. Curiously enough his house happened to be 

 the one at which w r e had stopped to change horses in the 

 winter. The man's wife was in bed, but when she heard 

 of our visit and of our need, she got up at once, and in 

 a few minutes we were luxuriating in a large basin of 

 deliciously cold milk and a plate of freshly gathered 

 bilberries. We ate so much that I was really afraid that 

 we should be ill, but the acid of the fruit had the desired 

 effect upon our fevered condition. We returned to the 

 steamer, and that night enjoyed a more healthy sleep 

 than we had had for a week or more, awaking the next 

 morning cool and refreshed. 



Next day I had a couple of hours in the forest about 

 noon, but did not get a bird, my bag consisting of one 

 grey squirrel only. I caught a far-off glimpse of a wood- 

 pecker, and occasionally saw a nutcracker or a tit out of 

 shot. I suppose that most birds were then in full moult, 

 and were hiding away. The oak-fern was very abun- 

 dant, and I noticed for the first time the beech-fern. 

 Bilberries were ripe and plentiful ; cranberries grew in 

 less numbers and were scarcely ripe. On the banks of 

 the river we had seen several birds of prey ; occasionally 

 three or four had passed us on the wing together. It 

 was the first occasion on which I noticed a kite, Milvus 

 ater, a large bird with a long forked tail, his colour dark 

 brown ; when one could see the body underneath, a 

 broad pale band across the tail and across each wing was 

 visible. In the forests the mosquitoes were at this time 

 very common and virulent, but on board we escaped 

 them and the midges, thanks to a cool breeze from the 

 north. That afternoon we passed the mouth of the Taz, 



