yond the
range of ordinary hunting parties. They had soon reason to congratulate
themselves on entering the more mountainous country, for here the game
was much more abundant than it had been before. The dogs had by this
time become attached to them, for Godfrey was fond of animals, and had
petted them in a manner to which they were quite unaccustomed from their
Ostjak masters. One of them especially, a young dog, had taken regularly
to accompany Godfrey when hunting, and he found the animal of the
greatest utility, as it was able to follow the back track with
undeviating certainty. This was of importance, for there was but a short
twilight each twenty-four hours, the sun being below the horizon except
for an hour or two at noon, and they were obliged to carry torches while
following the tracks of the smaller animals.

Ermines were found in considerable numbers, and in the first week four
fine sables were killed, as well as two martens and a bear; the latter
was specially prized. They had brought a fortnight's provisions for
themselves and the dogs, but they were anxious to eke these stores out
as long as possible, as they could no longer depend upon getting fresh
supplies from home. The bodies of the ermines were but a mouthful for
one of the dogs, while the sables and martens gave them a mouthful all
round. The bear, however, contained a large quantity of excellent food,
and setting aside the hams for their own consumption they hung up the
rest of the meat on a tree to serve out gradually among the dogs. They
soon found, however, that they need be under no anxiety as to food, as
foxes abounded, principally red, though two of the valuable black foxes
fell to Godfrey's gun. They found many paths in the woods completely
trodden down by animals. Here they used the Ostjak method of catching
them: putting up a screen of branches across the track. Looking at these
objects with suspicion, the animals invariably refused to try either to
jump over or crawl through them, but went round at one end or the other.
Here accordingly traps were fixed and many animals were taken.

Intense as the cold was Godfrey felt it even less than he had
anticipated. The wide-spreading woods broke the force of the winds, and
while they could sometimes see the tops of the trees swaying beneath its
force they scarcely felt a breath below. Luka knew nothing of the
Esquimaux fashion of making snow-huts, and said he had never heard of it
among the Ostja