BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 53 



Who lit that smudge this history shall not repeat. Suffice it to say 

 he lit a handful of reindeer-moss on other moss, and not on a stone. 

 In less than a minute some yards were burning ; and we, standing in 

 the smoke, gloried in the death of hundreds of our tormentors. But 

 there was a breeze ! and that patch of fire was very quickly twenty 

 yards across. Then we realised the thing was serious ; and, cutting 

 down young birch, beat and trampled on the fire for more than an 

 hour. Hot work, for many bushes had by this time been included in 

 the conflagration. At last it appeared to be completely subdued, and 

 only a little smoke rose from a few patches ; so we went to the next 

 hill to cool our parched mouths with snow, for there was no water 

 near. The little wretches seemed, if possible, more active on the hill 

 tops than in the valleys, swarming up in clouds out of the reindeer- 

 moss, in spite of the breeze blowing there ; so at last we turned for 

 home in despair. Einar's head was swollen to nearly twice its natural 

 size, and all our tempers were in such a state that a Avise person 

 would have postponed asking a favour. 



July 1 2th. — While we were busy packing after breakfast, Einar 

 called our attention to the fact that the whole country where we had 

 been yesterday was becoming covered with dense clouds of smoke ! A 

 strong wind had sprung up early this morning, and I suppose had 

 fanned some sparks smouldering in the peat into a flame again. AVe 

 at first thought of going to try and put the fire out, but it was clear 

 that with the nearest water a mile away three men could do nothing 

 to extinguish a fire that filled a quarter of the horizon with smoke. 

 When Ivan appeared on the scene he looked very like a madman, for 

 he seemed to think we had set the country (which he looked upon as 

 his own) on fire on purpose. This roused Einar, and I think he some- 

 what painted what I had to say to Ivan on the subject. A stormy 

 ending to the expedition ! 



On reaching the monastery I had an interview with the Archi- 

 mandrite, whom we had not seen on our previous visit ; a man about 

 5 feet 1 1 inches high, dressed in a black cassock, and a high, round, 



