‘THE GOOSING 231 
little creature—and danced about in front of the fire with- 
out a stitch of clothing on to keep it from the draughts. 
The girls had no greater delight than in nursing and 
playing with the child, and little Wanka loved it too. 
He used to kiss it in the Samoyed way—that is, by a 
pressure of the lips without the sound of kissing. 
The Yeleseis and Marrks went soon to bed when we 
got back that morning, but we sat up long, talking in our 
$ 
choom. They wanted for the hundredth time to find out 
all about the land I lived in. 
It was farther than Norway I told them. ‘Yes, yes,’ 
said Uano, they knew where Norway was; they had kept 
and fed some Norwegian sailors who were wrecked on 
Kolguev some years ago. 
‘Yes, yes,’ adds Uano, ‘and Norwegians say, ‘‘ Uano 
very good; very, very good. Russian not good. Uano 
good.””’ 
Then they said it must be the land where they killed 
poor Samoyeds with knives. 
‘Oh no, indeed,’ I tell them; ‘that is not true. Will 
they—will Verrmyah, Katrina, Ustynia and Uano come 
back with me; I will take them?’ 
‘No, no, Ahnglia stop here. Ahnglia always stop 
here, and Hylum stop.’ 
With such simple talk we beguiled the time. And then 
I made Uano sing a hunting-song or saga. I had heard it 
often before. It begins: ‘Mein Neydoo adliurs hun- 
yan ?’—literally, ‘ My son (his) quick-sleigh where (is it)?’ 
