TO THE HOLY HILLS 333 
So we left. 
Now Mekolka was driving a team of whites. And 
presently his Niasminta turned rusty and lay down. I 
thought the poor beast was tired, and said so to 
Alexander, but he answered, ‘No, he is not tired, only 
he is bad.’ That being so, he was a very bad rein- 
deer indeed. For, do what we could, he wouldn’t 
budge. 
Then Mekolka turned him over on his back. You 
know that if you turn a beetle or a tortoise over on its 
back when it is ‘shamming dead’ it will come to life and 
try to turn over. Well, the white niasminta did the 
same, and jumped up on to its legs. But as soon as ever 
you tried to make it move down it dropped again. Many 
times we did this, but it always collapsed. So then they 
passed a thong round his neck, and the team dragged 
him along for, I should say, a hundred yards, I thought 
he must choke, but he didn’t, nor would he come to 
life. After this we turned him over again, and when he 
tried to rise we prevented him, and so on many times. 
At last up he jumped and stood. We were afraid to 
try and drive him, so we tied him to the back of a 
sleigh and towed him home. 
August 29th.—‘ Great bartering going on to-day. All 
the inland Samoyeds came down and exchanged their 
while hidden in their clothes, going gravely through this function. I really believe 
that in their poor confused way they felt they were doing their best to keep in with 
both the Powers. 
