298 SIBERIA 



up. They have a light brown -grey fur, similar to 

 the grizzly of America. It is necessary to take a 

 good gun, because if the bear is only wounded he 

 becomes very dangerous, and will come straight for 

 the hunter, anxious to enclose him in an affectionate 

 embrace. My informant told me that when the 

 British men-of-war were stationed very near Vladi- 

 vostock the officers organised a! bear hunt and were 

 successful ; they expressed themselves highly de- 

 lighted. He told me of several big game hunts that 

 made me admire his pluck, and he also informed 

 me that the organised big game hunts were general 

 with all the officers, proving they were not lacking 

 in courage. He also said that it was possible to go 

 from Petropavlovsk to Kamchatka any day and shoot 

 si bear or two, returning in the evening. All kinds 

 of birds abound, including big eagles, and the wolves 

 are particularly troublesome, especially in the winter, 

 when they are short of food. The polar fox can 

 be shot 300 miles from Petropavlovsk ; in other 

 places the fox is red or black. From the conversation 

 I had with the Baron and the other naval officers, I 

 formed a very high opinion of them. I cannot speak 

 as to their fighting qualities, but as highly -educated 

 men I have never met their superiors. There is 

 one incident I should like to relate which is an index 

 to the character of at least one of these officers. iWe 

 were walking up and down a station when some little 

 peasant girls offered us cages full of birds, some- 

 thing like our English canary, at 5 kopecks (i|-d.) 

 each, or i rouble (2s. ijd.) for twenty birds. This 

 officer, who by the way had been imprisoned in 

 Pekin, bought the whole cageful and opened the 

 door, letting the birds fly away. The action showed 

 thought and feeling, and is typical of the highly- 

 educated Russian, who is kind, sensitive, and intelli- 

 gent, but not excitable. I also formed a very good 



