THE MAINLAND 371 
round the mast. And all day, with three anchors out, 
we could only just hold our position. 
So Sunday came, and with it the gale from the north 
continued, but with a furious blizzard of small hard snow. 
The fire was usually made in an iron pan on the deck, 
and as it couldn't be lit, we, Hyland and I, came badly 
off for food. For, unlike the Russians and Samoyeds, 
we did not care for raw stale reindeer flesh. 
Also, as it was Sunday, little candles were lit in 
front of each ikon, and before the pictures of saints, of 
which there were three. They were one candle short : 
and it was very funny to hear Alexander calling to 
his men, ‘Hurry, hurry, Yakoff, get a candle! All the 
others have their candles, but big Nicholas has not got 
his. That is not good, not good. More storm.’ 
Monday broke with rather less of a gale, though the 
snow continued unabated and the sea ran nearly as high 
as ever. 
Again we worked at warping. Hyland, whom I 
would not allow to work yesterday because of the snow, 
took it in turns with me to-day, for we had only one 
tarpaulin coat between us. He worked spendidly, and 
his weight and strength were of the greatest service to 
them. In that respect he was of far more use than I, 
who cannot pretend to much strength of that kind. The 
plucky little Samoyeds were beyond all praise, for the 
decks were slippery with snow and wet, and their seal- 
skin malitsas and their soviks were soaking through. 
