CHAP. III. FATHER INOKENTIA. 17 



per lb. In spite of the long and severe winters, the price of 

 fuel is not a very important item. "Wood, sufficient to serve 

 a small family for a year, costs about 101. 



For some days we sat in commission, examining witnesses 

 on the Petchora, the British Consul kindly acting as inter- 

 preter for us. We got the best information from Peter 

 Kotzoff, a Eussian pilot, who showed us a chronometer which 

 was presented to him by the British Government for assisting 

 in the rescue of the crew of the Elizabeth, which was wrecked 

 at the mouth of the Petchora. He was for some years a 

 pilot on the great river, and acted as guide to Count Wilczec 

 on his return journey overland from the Austrian-Hun- 

 garian Arctic Expedition. Another interesting acquaintance 

 which we made was that of Father Inokentia, the present 

 archpriest of Archangel. He lived seventeen years in the 

 Petchora, principally east of Ishma. He was sent out by 

 the Eussian Government as a missionary amongst the Samo- 

 yedes, to convert them from their so-called idolatrous faith to 

 the Greek Church. He told us that he remembered meeting 

 with Schrenck, and tliat Castren stopped some time at his 

 house, at Kolva, on the river Ussa. He left the Petchora, 

 in 1847 so that his information was somewhat out of date. 

 Father Inokentia seemed to be a jolly fat friar of the old 

 school, and was very kind and patient in answering our 

 numerous questions. How far he succeeded in his mission 

 it is difficult to say. Most of the Samoyedes on the west 

 side of the Ural now profess to belong to the Greek Church, 

 but we were repeatedly informed that many of them still 

 secretly retain their old elie bfs, and continue to practise 



c 



