BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 77 



many had only symbols. The circles on the cross to the right were 

 filled with small icons and paintings of saints. The whole area was 

 surrounded by a rough fence, parts of which had become much 

 dilapidated, but there were no other signs of want of care or reverence 

 in the treatment of this " God's Acre " in the far north ; the fact 

 which struck me most, however, was that on nine-tenths of the graves 

 there lay an old axe ! (even on those which from their size must have 

 contained babies), some axes with and some without handles, while 

 many graves had two or three. One with a handle may be seen at 

 the foot of the cross with icons. All, like their late owners, were 

 past service here. On inquiry I was told that these axes were placed 

 there for the dead to use in chopping wood to make their first fire 

 in the next world. If this be so, it is a curious example of the 

 mingling of very different religious beliefs, and of the longevity of 

 ancient pagan superstitions ; for these Pomors must have been under 

 the influence and teaching of the Greek Church for hundreds of years. 

 The Greek chapel here is a small wooden building about 16 feet by 

 1 2 feet, by 6 feet high at the eaves ; and is situated on the same side 

 of the village as the cemetery, but nearer the fjord. It is so similar 

 to that on Kanin Nos, shown on Plate 36, that it is unnecessary to 

 reproduce the photograph of it. 



After lunch we rowed down to the Zelenoi and Medveji islands. 

 The first was void of bird-life, except a Long-tailed Duck on a pool 

 and two Waders feeding below the tide-line ; and on the second birds 

 had made very little progress in nesting matters since our visit on the 

 3 1 St. A few Shore-Larks were courting, and very earnest they were 

 over it. Two pairs of Richardson's Skuas appeared to have no settled 

 plans respecting their nests. A pair of Red-throated Divers were on 

 the tarn, but soon left, and there was no sign of a nest having been 

 commenced. No Black Guillemots were on land, nor were there 

 nearly so many on the adjacent sea ; the birds had dispersed over all 

 parts of the estuary. By climbing down on to a projecting mass of rock 

 I succeeded in taking a photograph of the Raven's nest, with Kjeldsen 



