368 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 
considerations also weighed in his case, but these I will 
leave to the reader’s fancy. Old Sailor, too, though he 
had had the run of the boat and had slept at night in our 
cabin, was in high feather at the smell of land. His 
stump of a tail wagged incessantly, and, poking his old 
nose out of every hole in the gunwale, he indulged in 
sniffs as prolonged and sounding as though he were 
some old snuff-taker. 
Though we were now within two miles of the land, we 
were not to reach it till six days later. 
The gale blew hard all day, and we could do nothing. 
This was very trying, because if we could not get quickly 
to the Petchora (and we are now lying only a hundred 
and twenty versts from Okshin) we might there find a 
salmon-boat which would run us to Archangel in time to 
take the last English trader before it left the port on 
October Ist. 
The gale died out towards 9 p.m., and then, as to- 
morrow is a feast-day of St. Mary, Alexander filled the 
cabin with incense till we all choked again. 
The next day was quiet but disappointing. For two 
Samoyeds crossed in a little boat from the left bank and 
told us we should find water enough higher up, so that 
we could land on the right or southern side of the gulf, 
find chooms and reindeer, and go straight to Okshin. 
We sent the boat out to take soundings, and they 
returned to report plenty of water. So at noon, with the 
rising tide, we began to punt the karbass up one of the river 
