302 IN WINTER QUARTERS 



quite a covey of blackcock on the top of the hill, but I 

 was in very bad shooting order, and missed every shot 

 until I came suddenly upon a bird sitting upon the thick 

 branch of a pine. It fell down with a crash on the 

 snow, and I found that I had secured a hen capercailzie. 

 Her crop was full of the small needlelike leaves of a 

 species of fir, allied to our Scotch fir, which the Russians 

 call the cedar. 



Early on the following morning our visitors left, and 

 Captain Wiggins and I hired a sledge and drove across 

 the Yenesei to the village of Kureika. Before we started 

 I noticed that a fresh pair of carrion-crows had arrived, 

 and as soon as we reached the village we saw three or 

 four more feeding on the green in the centre, which at 

 that time of the year was a large manure-yard, with here 

 and- there some dirty snow visible. One of these crows 

 seemed to be nearly, if not quite, a thoroughbred hoodie. 

 Two of them were about half and half, and one was black 

 with a grey ring round its neck. They evidently knew 

 that we were strangers, and retired into the forests as 

 soon as we arrived, but one of the Russian peasants, of 

 whom they seem to have no fear, promised to get me 

 some in a day or two. In the woods which were close 

 to the village the trees were small, principally birch. All 

 the large cedars and pines had been cut down to build 

 the village with, and to furnish an annual supply of fire- 

 wood for the steamers which during the short summer 

 ply between Yeneseisk and Golchika. Quite a mountain 

 of this firewood was stacked on the edge of the cliff, 

 representing the winter's work of the villagers. There 

 were hardly any small birds in the forest, all that I saw 

 being a pair of Lapp-tits. Black-game was, however, 

 abundant. In one tree I counted six blackcocks, whilst 

 six more were in trees close by. A good rifle-shot might 



