320 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 
plagues which were to bring such havoc into all those 
parts. The reindeer succumbed by thousands, and the 
trade with Kolguev was paralysed and died. To-day no 
Mezen or Indiga traders can tell you anything of Kolguev. 
They know not whether Samoyeds are there or not, or 
if there, whether they are only visitors, going and 
returning in the summer months. They know nothing. 
That page in their history is clean wiped out. 
But it chanced that two brothers Samarokoff, merchants 
of Okshin, a little town or gubernia on the Petchora, 
continued going. Why should they not? There was 
less competition now; at least they could get from the 
Samoyeds all the produce of their hunting in exchange 
for their cotton goods, or snuff, or tea. 
They were dead long since, but their sons, Alexis and 
his cousins Alexander and Ivan (now dead) kept the 
practice alive; and Alexander it was who was here 
now. Alexander came first to the island with his 
father as a child of ten years old thirty-five years ago. 
Not for a single year since that time has he missed the 
voyage. 
On this evening we received from Samarokoff an 
invitation to tea. It was brought to us by one Yakoff 
Popoff, his servant and factotum. This Yakoff was a 
quizzical sort of character. He had a prickly snub nose, 
small twinkling grey eyes, and long straight reddish-yellow 
hair. He had served as a soldier, and was extremely 
proud of his personal strength, though he was not very 
