WE LEAVE THE RIVER 



3 7 J 



On the following morning I felt somewhat fatigued' 

 after the previous long day's work of twenty-four hours,, 

 but could not resist the temptation of having a short 

 early stroll in the forest. It produced a very small bag,, 

 nothing but a solitary male bluethroat ; but I found, how- 

 ever, a second nest of the Little bunting containing two' 

 eggs. I carefully marked the spot, hoping to get the full 

 clutch of five eggs if we remained long enough for the 

 purpose. A north wind had been blowing for some days, 

 and the captain was taking the opportunity of getting the 

 little schooner into order. 



The next morning I returned to the spot I had marked, 

 and took the nest of the Little bunting, which had now 

 three eggs in it. At noon we packed up, and went on 

 board, towing our unfinished schooner with us. We got up 

 steam and cast anchor some fifty versts down the Yenesei. 

 We were all heartily glad to leave the Kureika. The 

 sailors who had wintered there were sick of the place ; and 

 the captain, who had seen his ship all but lost, could have 

 no pleasant recollections of the trap into which he had 

 fallen. For my own part I was anxious not to be too late 

 for the tundra, which I looked upon as my best ground. 

 I had been about ten weeks in the Kureika. 



The following table of the number of species of birds 

 identified during each week will show at a glance the date 



90 



