THE GOOSING 229 
hill than Mekolka turned down into a river-bottom 
where the snow was lying in broad belts. Here we put 
the reindeer to the gallop, and sometimes on the snow, 
sometimes on the river shallows, kept up that pace the 
whole way home. All this time we were hidden from 
the other travellers, who were moving over the higher 
peaty land. 
We reached the camp, among a chorus of yelping from 
the dogs, nine minutes before the women and children 
had arrived. When they reached the brow of the hill 
they found to their astonishment the smoke of the fire 
curling up. This was a very good joke. They laughed 
and talked about it for some days after that. 
One curious result of the want of the definite article in 
the Samoyed is that articles in daily use seem to become 
personal. Just as a yachtsman talks of his boat—Saxon, 
Valkyrie, Arrow—as though she were a human being, so 
is it in Samoyed with everything. Thus— 
the fire—too 
the bow—iirn 
the boat—arnoh 
the big pot—yud. 
‘ Too wants wood,’ ‘Yud is empty,’ they say. So that 
after a bit one comes to look on ‘too,’ ‘yud,’ and the 
others as persons rather than things. 
I was now to all intents and purposes a Samoyed ; 
eating goose with my fingers, drinking ‘yah’ from the 
bowl. They had indeed the advantage of me in eating, 
