42 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



place and its history, I will only say here we were much struck with 

 the size of the establishment, and the gorgeous decoration of the 

 interior of the church. We were very kindly received by the monk in 

 charge, shown over some of the buildings, and entertained with tea, 

 &c., in the guest-house. 



Several Martins were flying up and down the river here which 

 we believed to be Sand Martins Cotile riparia, but shooting was not 

 allowed, so that their species could not be positively decided. 



After the horses had rested, we started again at 9 p.m., all the 

 luggage now on one waggon, sure sign of a better road. Some six 

 versts brought us to a winter village of the Finns, now deserted except 

 by one man, who appeared to be Ivan's factotum, and looked after his 

 huts and fishing during the summer. This man had spent a winter's 

 evening " not wisely but too well " with some friends many years 

 before, and had gone to sleep in the snow on his way home ; the con- 

 sequence was he had lost all his fingers and thumbs through frost-bite, 

 and it was marvellous how much he managed to do with the small 

 stumps remaining. Our head driver considered his contract ended at 

 the village, for there " the road " ended, although the travelling beyond 

 was much better than the greater part of the road we had come over 

 during the day. With much trouble we persuaded him to take us 

 half a mile farther, but nothing would bribe him beyond that point. 

 So, having settled with him, we each shouldered a load ; four young 

 Russians, whom Ivan had engaged at the monastery, carried weights 

 to which many English donkeys would have strongly objected. Ivan's 

 man had a bundle of rags under his arm, which I learnt on inquiry 

 were intended to stop the leaks in our boat ! After marching in dis- 

 tinctly heavy order for a mile and a half, we came to the Buskar (a 

 small river flowing from some lakes to the west), at its junction with 

 the Pechenga. Here was what Ivan called a boat, but which would 

 have answered equally well for a sieve ; the upper seams showed about 

 a quarter of an inch of daylight through them and the lower ones 

 nearly as much. After exhausting the rags, the water still made so 



