274 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 
wooden thing these people have, they are made of drift- 
wood. A special plane is used for that purpose, which 
the figure will help you to understand. The wooden 
gauge has a slit into which the -triangular knife is fitted. 
This bow belongs to those known as reversible bows, 
or bows which turn inside out. But it seems to be 
peculiar in this, namely, that it is a simple and not a 
compound bow. That is to say, it is neither spliced, nor 
whipped round with string or skin. None the less, it 
retains its elasticity in a remarkable way. But always 
before it is used it is dipped in water, and then rubbed 
with the hands, which gives it suppleness and spring. 
We fixed up a bit of stick for a mark, and began to 
shoot at fifteen paces—Kallina, Marrk, Mekolka, Hyland, 
and I. It was a competition. 
The men threw themselves into a curious attitude 
when shooting. They used the bow horizontally, not 
perpendicularly as we at home. As they pulled they 
rose on tiptoe and then almost crouched till the bow 
was on a level with the eye. We held our own pretty 
well at this game, but Mekolka was champion; he was 
always best at everything. The peg was removed stage 
