CHAPTER XIV.
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER.
Spring was rapidly approaching now. Occasionally for a day or twosoutherly winds set in and rain fell in torrents, then again the Arcticcurrents prevailed, and everything was frozen as hard as before. Flocksof geese passed over, flying north, but returned again when the cold setin afresh. Small birds, too, in great numbers made their appearance,crowding on patches of ground that the sun and rain had cleared of snow,fluttering round the tents in flocks, picking up scraps of food that hadbeen thrown out, and keeping the dogs in a state of perpetualexcitement. The Ostjaks said that the break-up of the ice might come anyday, or it might be delayed for another month; it depended less upon theweather here than on that higher up. It is not the sun or the rain thatbreaks up the ice, but the rise of the river from the snow melting athousand miles higher up, and all over the country drained by the riversrunning into the Yenesei.
The women were now making a canoe under Godfrey's instructions. He hadoften gone out in canoes on the Severn and on the sea when staying atwatering-places there. The craft that had done them such good servicebefore would not do for their present undertaking. They required a boatwhich should be fairly fast, sea-worthy, and yet light, for it might benecessary to carry it considerable distances. It was necessary that itsdimensions should exceed those of an English canoe, for it must carry aconsiderable amount of food, although of course he meant to dependchiefly on the fishing-lines and gun. It was made five-and-twenty feetlong, and three feet wide. The central compartment was thirteen feetlong. This was covered in at the sides and ends, leaving an opening forthem to sit and paddle, fifteen inches wide, and five feet long.Underneath the covered parts provisions, furs, cooking utensils, &c.,could be stowed away on both sides, leaving room for them to lie down atfull length in the centre.
The two end compartments were entirely covered in, but had openings overwhich a cover was lashed, and could, if necessary, be used for holdingstores; but Godfrey did not intend to put anything here excepttemporarily, as it was important that the canoe should be as buoyant andlight as possible. The frame of the boat was built of the tough andelastic wood of which the Ostjaks made their bows. It was very light,the ribs being bound to the longitudinal pieces by fine gut. It wasbuilt, as nearly as Godfrey could lay them out, on the lines of anEnglish cruising canoe. The deck strips were similarly lashed, and whenthe framework was completed Godfrey tested its strength by dropping itthree feet to the ground, rolling it over and over, and trying it in avariety of ways.
When fully satisfied with it the work of putting on the cover commenced.This was made of very soft and well-tanned reindeer hide, stretched astightly as possible, and then rubbed with seal oil. The keel of the boathad been made very strong, as the rigidity of the whole craft dependedupon this. It had been made flat, and the skins had been taken over it.When it was finished a false keel six inches in depth in the centre,tapering away to nothing at the ends, was fixed underneath. This keelwas also made of tough wood, a little more than a quarter of an inchthick, but widening suddenly to over an inch where it touched the boat,in order that it might be securely fixed with screws to the keel inside.
The boat was provided with a light mast, which could be stepped orunstepped at pleasure, and there were two stays of twisted leather, onefastening to each side of the boat. An iron ring with a cord travelledup and down the mast, the halliard running through a small block, asLuka had been able to obtain a sheave at Turukhansk. The sail was a lugmade of sheeting, oiled, and the boat carried beside a triangular sailof very much smaller dimensions and stouter cloth for heavy weather. Shealso carried a small mizzen mast and sail. In rough weather the cockpitcould be completely covered with a light apron with openings where therowers sat, with a sort of collar, which could be lashed tightly roundtheir waists. The edges of this apron could be lashed down over thegunwale round the cockpit. When completed the canoe itself, with itsmast and sails, weighed but sixty pounds, and could be carried with easeby one person on his shoulder.
The Ostjaks greatly admired the craft, which was entirely different fromanything they had ever seen. The false keel puzzled them greatly, andGodfrey's explanations, even when aided by Luka, failed altogether inmaking them understand that it would have the effect of enabling thecraft to sail near the wind without drifting to leeward. The additionaldraught of water was no inconvenience whatever in a craft designed forthe sea, and it added materially to the strength of the canoe. On the15th of May it was freezing hard. The natives going down to the water'sedge in the morning reported a sudden rise of three feet in the river.It continued to rise all day, and by nightfall was fifteen feet aboveits former level.
In the evening the north wind dropped suddenly, and an hour later itsprang up from the south, and by midnight a torrent of rain was falling.Godfrey could hear sounds like the reports of cannon above the patteringof the rain on the skins, and knew that it must be the ice breaking. Inthe morning when he looked out the whole mass of ice seemed to bemoving. Black cracks showed everywhere across the white surface. Theriver had during the night risen another twenty feet. By mid-day thescene was a wild one indeed. No longer was the surface smooth. Hurryingalong at the rate of fifteen miles an hour the great masses of ice weredashed against each other by the force of the current.
Two miles lower down the river narrowed suddenly, and here a block wasformed. Some of the pieces of ice were thrust down, others climbed overthem, thrusting themselves one on the top of the other till a ridgethirty or forty feet high was formed from bank to bank. At times thisgave way, and then the whole was whirled down the stream, while anotherridge at once commenced to form. Godfrey walked down to the point andstood for hours looking at the scene. The great blocks of ice, six oreight feet thick, seemed almost to be endowed with vitality as theyclimbed one above the other, until thrust off the crest of the ridge bythe pressure of those behind them. The din was prodigious, a crackling,rustling, roaring sound, with sharp explosions and deep muffled booming.The whole air seemed to quiver with sound, and the loudest shout wouldhave been inaudible a yard or two away. Below the ridge the river, solong as the barrier stood, was comparatively clear, but from time totime great masses of ice that had been sunk by the pressure and sweptalong under the ridge came to the surface with a surge that lifted oneend high out of the water, reminding Godfrey of the spring of someenormous fish; then the ice would come down with a mighty splash, andhasten away reeling and rocking on the rapid current. Entranced by thismighty conflict of the forces of nature, Godfrey stood there until sevenor eight o'clock in the evening.
It would be light for three hours yet, for the sun now only sank for ashort time below the horizon. The rain was still falling heavily when hereturned to his hut. The river had risen another thirty feet since theevening before, and the height of the bank had decreased from a hundredfeet to about thirty. For two more days it rained incessantly. The riverhad now risen to its high-water mark, ten feet below the bank. Godfreyasked the Ostjaks if there was no fear of its overflowing, but they toldhim that there was no cause for uneasiness, for that at its presentpoint it overflowed at many places both above and below them, andextended over a vast tract of country, and that at every additional footit would spread so widely that it would speedily begin to fall again.The ridge had now ceased to form, although the river was still packedwith floating masses.
"In another two days," the Ostjaks' chief said, "the ice will be allgone except a few blocks. Much of the ice above is carried out by thefloods and left to melt on the land as the water lowers, but evenwithout that the river at its present rate would soon carry it alldown."
This Godfrey could well imagine, for at the rate of fifteen miles anhour over three hundred and sixty miles of the river would have beenemptying daily. At the end of another three days but few blocks of icewere visible, and Godfrey now began to make preparations for his start.First the canoe was to be tried. She was taken down and placed in thewater, and the sides under the half-decks were filled in with froz
engeese and fish from the pile, which was still but little affected by thethaw.
When she was thus brought down to nearly the weight she would have tocarry, Godfrey and Luka took their places in her, dipped their paddlesin the stream, shot out, and paddled about for some time in the stillwater behind the shelter of the point. Godfrey found to his satisfactionthat she paddled easily, quite answering to his expectations. Then Luka,who had already practised the manoeuvre on shore, stepped the masts,fastened the stays, and hoisted the sails. There was a light breeze fromthe south, and the boat ran rapidly along before it till it was againabreast of the village, then she was put about and made short tacks inthe dead-water. Godfrey found that she stood stiffly up to the canvas,and, as far as he could see, made little or no leeway. Then he returnedto the village. The Ostjaks, who seldom made use of sails, and then onlywhen dead before the wind, were perfectly astounded alike at therapidity with which the boat glided through the water and at the easewith which she came about, and were astonished beyond measure at seeingher make a zigzag progress in the teeth of the wind.
Early the next morning the rest of the preparations were completed. Thetea, tobacco, cooking utensils, and other necessaries were stowed awayunder the deck astern of Godfrey, together with twenty pounds of fat.This had been carefully set aside for the purpose when animals werekilled and cut up. It had been melted down in the chief's large pot andpoured into a tin drinking-mug, in which four strands of unravelled cordhad been placed to act as wicks. The tin was dipped in ice water, and ina few minutes the fat solidified, then the tin was dipped again, thistime in hot water, and the short fat candle with its four wicks thencame easily out, and the process was repeated. These candles weighedjust about a pound each. Godfrey collected fat enough to make fifty, butbeing afraid of overburdening the canoe he decided that twenty mustsuffice, believing that he would be able to pick up drift-wood as theycoasted along.
A store of pine-wood torches was lashed on the deck on each side of themast forward of Luka, the fishing spears, hatchets, and other articlesfor trade stowed away, the furs and their winter garments laid thicklyat the bottom of the boat. They took with them Jack, Godfrey's favouritedog, and then, bestowing all the rest of their possessions on theOstjaks, they took a hearty farewell of them, stepped on board, andstarted. They had at the last moment decided to take their old boat alsowith them. This was fastened by a tow-rope behind the canoe. It wasfilled with frozen provisions, having been first lined with rough furs,others were laid closely over them. In this way Godfrey calculated thatthey would remain frozen for a long time. The rest of the store of flourand a stock of firewood were added.
As to the extra weight of towing the canoe it was immaterial, as untilthey reached the mouth of the river there would be no occasion forpaddling, and beyond that the stock of provisions could be transferredto their own canoe to take the place of those used up on the way, andthe craft could then be cast adrift. As there was a light breeze,however, the sail was hoisted, rather because it gave them steerage waythan for any increase to their speed. As soon as the canoe shot out intothe rougher water in the full force of the stream, Godfrey was stillmore delighted with the boat, the empty compartments fore and aftrendering her exceedingly buoyant. She had been built with somewhathigher sides than the canoes Godfrey had seen at home, and rose a gooddeal towards the ends; and she floated as lightly as a cork on thesurface of the water. That afternoon they passed Turukhansk. Below thisthe river widened out. In the evening they lowered the sail, as they didnot wish to run the risk of striking either the shore or a piece of icethat might have got delayed on its journey. All night they hurried on,lying snugly in the bottom of the boat with the apron closed overhead.
In the morning they found they were not far from the left bank, and thatthe river now was more than four miles wide. The sail was again hoistedand breakfast made, after which they got out their lines and hooks,baited, and dropped them into the water. During the course of the daythey caught several fish, and picked up a considerable quantity offloating wood, which they stowed in the large canoe.
"I think, Luka," Godfrey said, "that instead of letting our old boat gowe may as well keep it for a time. As long as there is wind, it makes nogreat difference to our speed, though, of course, it would be heavy ifwe were paddling. If we had bad weather we could land and turn it bottomupwards, and there would be a hut ready made for us. This canoe is allright for sleeping in when the water is smooth, but with its deep keelwe could not sleep in it ashore."
Luka was, as usual, quite of Godfrey's opinion. After this they made theold boat their kitchen, for there was but little room in the canoe forcooking purposes; and it was, moreover, a relief to get into the roomycraft where they could move about as they pleased. As drift-wood wasabundant they made their fires entirely of this, keeping their candlesfor the time when they might have to leave their store-boat behind them.On the third day the river widened out greatly. They could no longer seethe right bank, and Godfrey concluded that they were now in the Gulf ofYenesei.
"The weather is going to change," Luka said the next morning; "the windwill soon be coming from the north; going to blow hard."
"In that case, Luka, the sooner we are ashore the better. The currentnow is nothing like so swift as it was. I don't think we are going pastthe land at more than three miles an hour, but that would be quiteenough if the wind comes from the north to knock up a nasty sea in notime. Let us get our paddles out; there is not a breath of wind."
In half an hour they reached the shore, but had to coast along for sometime before they found a place free of rocks.
"This will do, Luka, we are not a minute too soon; those puffs just nowwere so strong that we made no way against them. Now, then, jump out andget the canoe high and dry."
They had retained their long boots, and stepped out into water up totheir knees. Then they lifted the canoe and carried it ashore.
"It is heavier than it was when we put it in," Luka said.
"I should think so. What with the furs and provisions, candles, and onething and another, there must be a hundred and fifty pounds weight inher. There, put her down here, Luka, and let us get the other up. Wemust take the things out first. Quick, man, the wind is getting up fast.Isn't it cold; we shall want our fur jackets on directly." The firewoodand provisions were carried up some distance above the water's edge, andthen the boat was lifted and placed beside them. A thick sleet had nowset in, and the wind was blowing with tremendous gusts.
"Now, then, look about, Luka, and see if you can find a sheltered nook.I will pile stones into the well of the canoe so as to anchor hersafely. If she were to be rolled over and over her skin would soon becut to pieces."
Before he had finished this Luka returned. "Good place here," he said."Good shelter."
"We'll finish this job first, Luka. This is much more important than ourgetting wet."
As soon as it was done they went to the large canoe, and lifting itcarried it away to the place Luka had found--a ridge of rock runningback at a right angle from the shore, with a perpendicular face sometwelve feet high. At one point there was a deep cleft in it, some eightfeet wide at the mouth and narrowing gradually in.
"Capital, Luka; we shall be as snug as possible here. Now, turn her overand take her in."
The cleft was so deep that the stern of the boat was, when she was laiddown bow foremost, fully fifteen feet inside the entrance.
"Now it may blow as much as it likes," Godfrey said, "it won't hurt ushere. Now do you go and get some of the firewood. I will fetch someskins from the canoe, and the sails."
After getting out some provisions, the cooking utensils, and a couple ofthe candles, Godfrey returned to the boat. Then he made another journeyfor some more skins and the two sails. By this time the wind was blowingso fiercely that he could scarcely stagger along with his load. The seawas covered with white heads, and the waves were breaking noisilyagainst the rocks. Luka had already brought up plenty of firewood, andhad thrown a large skin over the furs con
taining the frozen fish, andpiled stones on it to prevent its being blown away.
"Now, where will you put the fire?" he asked. "If you put it inside itwould burn the boat, if you put it outside it would be no good to us."
"I quite see that, Luka. We must make ourselves comfortable, for thisstorm may last for days for anything I know. We must prop this end ofthe boat up so that we can sit upright under it with something to spare.We must pile up some stones a couple of feet high under each gunwale."In a quarter of an hour this was done. The sail was then laid over theboat, the ends being kept down by stones.
"That is snug," Godfrey said. "Now we will put the mizzen over forwardso as to keep the wind out right along." There were four feet of headroom at the entrance to the boat tent, and in front of this the fire wassoon lit, one of the pine torches being cut up to start it with. Theskins were laid upon the ground, and taking off their wet coats they puton fur jackets. "Now we can see about breakfast, Luka."
Luka had run down and filled the kettle, while Godfrey was fasteningdown the sail. This was placed on the fire, and as soon as it began toburn clear some of the fish they had caught the day before were laid onthe glowing embers, together with two legs of a goose.
"The thing we are going to have most trouble about, Luka, is freshwater," Godfrey said as they ate their breakfast. Luka looked surprised."When we once get beyond the stream of the Yenesei," he went on, "thewater will be salt."
"Salt!" Luka repeated.
"Yes, too salt to make tea with. We shall be all right for a time, nodoubt. What with the melting snow and the rains we have had, there aresure to be lots of little streams running into the sea; but when theland dries we shall be in a bad way."
Luka looked serious; this was altogether beyond his experience.
"Of course if we can get plenty of fresh fish we shall get on fairly, aswe sha'n't require much to drink. We will look about the rivers when Ican get at the map. I know there is a small one called the Gida runningin just between the mouths of the Yenesei and Obi; and there is the Karaon farther, and then the Petchora. As far as I can remember that is allthat were marked, but of course there may be lots of little streams thatwere not put down. There is one thing, if we find that we generally getwind, and can keep the big boat with us, we could make her carry wateras well as fuel. She would hold any quantity, for half a dozen barrelswould not sink her above an inch. We should certainly get out of thedifficulty that way. It gave me quite a fright at first. I felt so surethat I had thought of everything, and there, I never for a momentthought about the sea being salt. How it is blowing outside! It is luckyindeed you have found such a snug corner, Luka, for if we had been outin the open we could only have piled stones in the boat to prevent itblowing away, and lain at full length underneath her, which would be allwell enough for one night, but would be a frightful nuisance if it hadto go on for three or four days."
So sheltered were they, indeed, that they scarce felt the wind that washowling above them, and were as comfortable beneath their boat as theyhad been in their hut by the river side.
"When it is as rough as this in the gulf, Luka, it will be tremendousout at sea."
Luka had never seen waves higher than those in some of the rapids of theupper river, and he was astonished at the white-headed waves and at theshowers of spray they sent up as they struck the rocks.
"Are the waves ever much bigger than this?" he asked.
"Bigger! I should think so. Out in the open sea one of the waves wouldmake a hundred of these."
"Then they must break the vessels to pieces, Godfrey?"
"No, they are built very stout and strong, and very big. They get brokento pieces if the sea drives them against rocks, and sometimes in verygreat storms get so beaten by the waves that the planks open and thewater runs in and they sink."
"I should not like to go to sea if the waves were like that," Luka saidthoughtfully. "This is terrible. Why, if we had not come ashore in timethe boat would have sunk."
"She would have made a good fight for it, Luka. With the apron tied inround us we could stand a very heavy sea. So long as we keep her head tothe waves the water might wash over us, but it could not get in; andeven if it did fill the space where we sleep, the compartments at theends are quite buoyant enough to keep her up."
"What would you do if you were out in what you call a great sea,Godfrey?"
"I should lash the mast and the sail and our paddles and the firewoodtogether, fasten our mooring rope to them and throw them overboard, thatwould keep us head to sea--because these things would all float in thewater, and the wind would not get hold of them. They call a contrivancelike that a floating anchor. Then we would both lie down in the bottom,button the flaps over the holes in the cover, and lie there as snugly aspossible. You see our weight would be down quite low in the boat then,and that would keep her steady. Oh, we should get on capitally if therewere plenty of room for us to drift."
"How far have we to go now?"
"I can't exactly tell you. I wish I knew. From the long jagged cape,which is the northern point of land on the western side of the Gulf ofYenesei and forms the separation between it and the mouth of the Gulf ofObi, to Waigatz Straits, between the mainland and Waigatz Island, whichlies south of the island called Nova Zembla, is about two hundred andfifty miles in a straight line, but I should think it is quite threetimes that if we have to follow all the ins and outs of the shore. Fromthere to Archangel, if we go in to Archangel, is about three hundred andfifty miles more, cutting across everything. If we had a current withus, like the stream of the Yenesei, we should make very short work ofit; but unfortunately there is nothing of that sort. Paddling steadilywe might go three miles an hour--say a hundred miles in three days. Ifwe had wind that would help us, of course we should go a great dealfaster, because we should paddle and sail too."
"But if we don't go to the place you call Archangel, where should wego?"
"We should keep far north of it, Luka, and sailing in a straight linenearly due west, should strike the northern coast of Norway somewhere orother. I should say, from what I saw of it on the map, it would be fivehundred miles from Waigatz. But that would be madness for us to attempt.We might get caught in terrible storms; we might get into fogs, and aswe have no compass there we should lie, not knowing which way to go. No,we must stick to the land till we get to the mouth of the White Sea.With a favourable wind we should get across that in a day, and then goon coasting again till we get beyond the Russian frontier; then at thefirst village we come to we land, find out all about the distances, andarrange to get taken in reindeer sledges to some regular settlement."
"What sort of people are they there?" Luka asked.
"They are the same sort of people as the Samoyedes. I don't know thatthey are just the same. Anyhow, they speak the same sort of language.Well, you know the Northern Ostjaks we stayed with speak nearly the sameas the Samoyedes. You could hardly get on with them at first, becausetheir talk was so different to that of the Southern Ostjaks; but you gotto speak it quite easily at last. So I have no doubt you will be able tomake any natives you may meet, whether they are Samoyedes or anythingelse, understand you without difficulty.
"What is it, Jack? What are you whining about?" he asked the dog, who,having made a hearty meal, had been lying down between them while theywere talking, but who now sat up, snuffing and whining uneasily.
"It may be either a fox or a bear," Luka said, making his way fartherback into the hut, and returning with his bow and arrows, Godfrey's gun,and the two spears.
"I hope it is a bear," Godfrey said as he removed the charges of shot,and rammed down bullets in their place. "We don't want any more skins,unless it happens to be a black fox, which would be worth having, but asupply of bear meat would come in very handy."
The dog's whine presently changed into an angry growl.
"Bear sure enough. I expect he knows of this place, and has come herefor shelter. He had much better have left it alone. It is lucky for usthat the fire has burnt l
ow; it would have scared him if it had beenblazing. Lie down, Jack."
Lying perfectly still they presently heard a sharp snuffing noise, and aminute or two later a bear came round a corner of the rock. Astonishedat the sight of the white object, the animal sat up on its haunches.
"Now!" Luka exclaimed, and discharged his arrow at the same moment thatGodfrey had pulled his trigger. The arrow struck the bear in the throat,and such was the force with which it was sent that the head showed atthe back of the neck. Godfrey's bullet struck it in the chest, and thebear at once rolled over. Thinking it was killed, he crawled from underthe boat and ran forward, but the animal suddenly rose to its feet;running up alongside, he placed the muzzle close to its ear and pulledthe other trigger.
LUKA FACES THE BEAR.]
"It is dead now, Luka," he shouted as he bent over it. At the samemoment he heard a cry of warning, and was simultaneously struck a heavyblow which stretched him on the ground beside the bear. It flashedthrough his mind that his assailant was the female bear. He had heardfrom the Ostjaks that the best plan, if attacked by an enraged bear, wasto sham death, and he therefore lay without moving a muscle as he wasstruck down. He heard the twang of Luka's bow, and Jack's sharpbarking close to his ear. Then with a deep angry growl the bear left himand rushed towards the tent. Godfrey at once sprang to his feet. He hadnot brought his spear with him as he crawled out, but he sprang to thefire and dragged out a brand. Luka had discharged another arrow, andJack was harassing the bear by snapping at its hind-legs. In terror forthe safety of the canoe rather than that of Luka, who could, he knew,well defend himself, Godfrey leapt forward and struck the bear acrossthe nose with the brand. With a roar of fury it turned upon him, but asit did so it exposed its side to Luka, who discharged another arrowbehind its shoulder. It rolled over and over, but again gained its feet.The pause, however, had given Luka time to emerge from under the boatwith his spear in his hand, and running up he thrust it right throughthe body, and the bear fell over dead. Then he ran to Godfrey.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"I am hurt a bit, Luka, for I felt a sharp pain as the beast knocked meover, but I do not think it can be much. It was very lucky that we putour fur jackets on again; if it hadn't been for that, I expect he wouldhave regularly laid open my shoulder."
He took off his coat. The bear's claws had penetrated through the skin,and had scored three gashes on his shoulder. But these, Luka said, wereof no great depth, and beyond making his arm stiff for paddling for aday or two would matter little.
They at once set about skinning the two bears, put the four hamscarefully aside, cut off most of the meat, gave Jack another heartymeal, and then retired again to their shelter.
"My heart was in my mouth when I saw him rushing at the tent; if he hadstruck the boat, or thrown his weight upon it, it would have been aterrible business."
"I was afraid too," Luka said. "I was just going to shoot again when youstruck him on the nose, and so gave me a chance of hitting him in avital spot. If it hadn't been for your blow I should hardly have stoppedhim; he was so close that even if I wounded him mortally he would havecome down on the boat."
"Well, it is fortunate it has ended so, Luka; it will be a lesson to mewhen I shoot a bear next to look out for its mate, and also not to leavemy spear behind me, or to advance towards a bear I think dead until Ihave loaded my gun again."
For two days longer they had to remain in their shelter; but the thirdmorning when they awoke the wind had died away, and the sun was shiningbrightly. As there was still some sea on, Godfrey determined to stayanother day and explore the coast a little. Leaving Luka to look afterthe boats and goods in case any more bears might be in theneighbourhood, he started with Jack. He was amazed at the quantity ofbirds that he met with--thrushes, wagtails, warblers, chifchaffs,fieldfares, and red-poles rose at every step. The air quivered with thesong of innumerable larks, which mingled with those of thewillow-warblers; snipe in considerable numbers sprang up and darted offwith a sharp cry from almost under his feet; plovers circled round andround; ducks of various kinds passed between the shore, and, as Godfreysupposed, inland swamps or lakes; martins in great numbers darted hitherand thither hawking for insects. Occasionally birds, which he supposedto be grouse, rose with a loud whirr.
Short as was the time since the snow had cleared off the ground, springhad come in with marvellous rapidity. The grass was already well-nighknee-deep, and flowers of various kinds were in full bloom. Where theground was comparatively bare of grass, it was studded with the yellowblossoms of wild heart's-ease, and amongst some stunted alder-treesGodfrey found a dwarf rose already in bud, and wild onions and wildrhubarb in flower. Then he came upon a broad expanse of a shrub thatlooked to him like a rhododendron, with a flower with a strong aromaticscent. Several times he heard the call of a cuckoo. On a patch of sandthere were some wild anemones in blossom. Godfrey pulled a bulb of wildonion, cut off a slice and tasted it. It was similar in flavour to thecultivated plant, but very sharp and acrid. However he set to work, andpulled up several dozen bulbs. They were small, not exceeding the sizeof a radish, but they would be very valuable, as one of them choppedfine would be sufficient to give a savour to a whole goose.
Turning to the right and coming down upon the shore he saw that the edgeof the water was fringed with seagulls of various kinds picking up tinyfish as the waves broke in sandy coves, or scuttling into the water andmaking sudden dips and dives into it. Farther out flocks of black duckswere feeding, while two or three pairs of swans passed overhead goingnorth. Presently he saw three or four native huts ahead; some reindeerwere grazing near them, and three boats were hauled upon the shore.These were doubtless Samoyedes. As soon as he caught sight of them heturned. He had heard that the Samoyedes, although more friendly than theTunguses with strangers, were much less to be depended upon than theOstjaks, and as he had no faith in being able to explain what he wasdoing there with his comparatively limited command of the Ostjaklanguage, he thought it better to return at once to Luka. He found whenhe reached the tent that the Tartar was beginning to feel anxious, forhe had been four hours absent. As they had abundance of food, and had nooccasion to trade with the natives at present, they decided not to pay avisit to them.
As soon as dinner had been cooked, they set to work to get everything inreadiness for a start. The stores were taken out of the canoe, and shewas carried down to within a few feet of the water. The tent wasdismantled, and the boat also carried down. Then they devoted themselvesfor the rest of the afternoon to collecting more drift-wood, for thewater was again falling, and the highest level it had reached was strewnwith debris. As there was now no practical distinction between night andday they lay down and slept for four or five hours, then put the largecanoe into the water, and placed the firewood in her, with the stock offlour, frozen meat, and the bears' flesh; then with the kettle andfrying-pan they baled eight or ten buckets of water into her, forGodfrey did not know how soon the river would become brackish. Theyspread the bear-skin over all, then having carefully repacked the canoe,they put her also into the water, stepped the mast, took their places inher, hoisted the sail, and with the boat in tow started north again.
The wind was from the south, and with the assistance of the current theywent along rapidly; but, nevertheless, the paddles were got to work, as,now that they were fairly on their way again, every mile gained was ofimportance. They kept about a mile from shore so as to take advantage ofthe current. In twenty minutes the native encampment was passed. Theysaw no one moving about there, and supposed that they must all beasleep, for the sun was low down on the horizon. Godfrey's watch wasstill going, but as he had had no opportunity of comparing it with anyother timepiece for just a year, he could only consider it to be anapproximate guide. Once a month or so he had made a point of setting it.This he did by sticking up a pole and measuring the shadow it cast,knowing that this would be at its shortest at twelve o'clock. By thismeans he calculated that he was never more than half an hour wrong.
br /> The shore continued very flat, and once or twice they saw sand-banksstretching out a considerable distance. Sometimes both paddled,sometimes Godfrey steered only and Luka laid in his paddle. Three timesin the course of the day the big canoe was pulled up, and Luka went onboard and cooked a meal, the flat slab on which they lit their firehaving been raised three or four inches above the bottom to keep it outof the water. Hitherto Godfrey had done all the steering when the boatwas under sail, but he now instructed Luka. Little teaching was, indeed,needed, as the steering was done with the paddle, and Luka wasaccustomed to keeping the boat straight when paddling. He was, however,nervous with the sail, which was boomed straight out with a light sparGodfrey had cut for the purpose. However as the wind was dead aft therewas no fear of this jibing so long as the boat's course was kept true;this was rendered all the more easy by the steady drag of the boatastern.
Twelve hours after starting Godfrey told Luka to lie down and sleep, ashe intended that so long as they had favourable winds they shouldcontinue their voyage without stopping. There was no occasion for goingashore. The bears' flesh would last them as long as it kept good, andthey had plenty of water on board for at least a fortnight. In a fewminutes Luka was sound asleep. Jack lay on the deck in front of him,sometimes sleeping, sometimes waking up, and giving a sharp bark inreply to the cry of a sea-gull passing overhead, or a flock of blackducks skimming along close to the surface of the water within fiftyyards of the boat.