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willow-covered island close to that place, Seebohm and Simeon found a Swan's nest containing 

 four eggs. We lay for a couple of hours afterwards near the nest in the hope of getting a shot. 

 Simeon was heard to remark, ' If the Swan is a little blind perhaps he will shoot it.' We did 

 not shoot it, and no wonder, as a pair of Hooded Crows, which had a nest in the vicinity, loudly 

 proclaimed our unwelcome presence, and, moreover, the somewhat open willow-scrub offered but 

 a very insufficient means of concealment. We consoled ourselves with the fact that the four 

 eggs were very large, and finally gave in, took them, and the next day continued our voyage 

 until we arrived at Alexievka. On the islands of the delta our men searched diligently for 

 Swans' nests, incited by the offer of a reward of five roubles for the eggs and bird of any species 

 of Swan, which reward we promised to any one, either of our own men or of the Zyriani work- 

 men, who would bring them to us. Two or three nests were found. At one a trap was set by 

 Simeon and Little Feodor, which was too weak to hold the bird. The two eggs of this nest were 

 smaller than any we had yet got. All chance of identifying these was lost, as the Swan had 

 gone into the trap and left in it only a few feathers. At another nest we watched a whole day 

 and night in a small branch-hut which had been erected previous to our own arrival at the spot, 

 and which was quite sufficient in itself to scare any Swan away. Piottuch and Haiwie-Brown 

 relieved one another at the post, but, it is almost needless to say, without success ; indeed the 

 watch was kept up more for the purpose of doing all possible justice to the finder than with any 

 expectation of getting a shot. This nest was in the middle of dense jungle of willow-scrub 

 between two small lakes. There were no tracks leading to it made by the birds ; and the only 

 way they could have come to it must have been from above. 



" It is needless to recount more failures. Suffice it to say that the difficulties of finding a 

 Swan's nest and afterwards of obtaining the bird it belonged to are very considerable in these 

 densely covered islands of the Petchora delta. Had we possessed a good steel trap or two, 

 perhaps we should have had better success, perhaps not. 



"At last, one day, the 29th June, a Russian fisherman arrived in his boat at Alexievka, 

 having come from his fishing-encampment lower down the river. He brought with him some 

 eggs, and amongst them two very small Swan's eggs, which we purchased. He then told us that 

 the bird had been caught at the nest, and was in the possession of his mate, who was still fishing 

 down the river. He could not have heard any thing of our offer of a reward, as we were the 

 first to speak with him after his arrival. We took the first opportunity, which occurred some 

 days after (on the 6th July), of going down the river with the steamer to Stanavoialachta, near 

 which place we found the men we wanted, one of whom was known to our steersman, Big 

 Feodor, and whom some time before we ourselves had actually spoken to when returning from 

 our first trip to Stanavoialachta. We were promptly informed that the skin of the Swan was 

 then lying at Mikitsa, a small village five versts south of Kuya, in the house of the fisherman, 

 who had sent it up there, and that we could get it if we paid for it. We returned to Alexievka ; 

 and next day we instructed our most intelligent man, Little Feodor, to ferret out the bird at 

 Mikitsa, sending him up to Kuya in the steamer. In due course he returned triumphantly 

 bearing the skin, with feet attached, and the bill separate. He had purchased the former for 

 one rouble, and had also secured the bill, which, in accordance with the usual practice, had been 

 cut off and given to the children to play with. There was no other Swan's skin in the house, 



