128 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 
comfortable sense of being an intruder. We in our 
English clothes, with our English guns and Englishspaniel, 
seemed as strangely out of place as a tramp in a West 
End drawing-room. And frankly, I think I should have 
scarcely been surprised if the man had said in superior 
English—‘ Well, my good men, I’m sorry for you, but 
really I’ve nothing to give you. I can’t have tramps 
coming here.’ 
However, while this was going on we had entered 
the choom. Various sleepers moving and grouping 
themselves on one side left the other free for us. 
They lit a fire and the women cooked us a goose, 
cutting it up and throwing it into a great pot. It was 
excellent. 
At first the smoke of the fire was very disturbing. It 
got into one’s nose and eyes— 
but we soon found that by 
keeping low down, as did our 
entertainers, the smoke was 
little felt. They were much 
amused, laughing heartily when 
they found that we could not 
sit comfortably cross-legged on 
the floor as they did; and 
UANO 
presently gave us tubs to sit on. 
The choom contained :— 
Uano, a Samoyed, about fifty-three years old. 
Ustynia, his wife. 
