Ice-bound on Kolguev : a chapter in the exploration of Arctic Europe to which is added a record of the natural history of the island . A GULLY But very often the stream itself was out of sight—entirely bridged over with snow; only you could hearthe water plashing and tinkling somewhere down , then, was a regular trap. If by any chance onehad fallen through the snow-bridge or had otherwise 72 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV found oneself at the bottom, I really do not know howone could have got out. For we had no ropes, nor anyappliances for snow or ice work. Old Sailor, too, was an anxiety. The
Ice-bound on Kolguev : a chapter in the exploration of Arctic Europe to which is added a record of the natural history of the island . A GULLY But very often the stream itself was out of sight—entirely bridged over with snow; only you could hearthe water plashing and tinkling somewhere down , then, was a regular trap. If by any chance onehad fallen through the snow-bridge or had otherwise 72 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV found oneself at the bottom, I really do not know howone could have got out. For we had no ropes, nor anyappliances for snow or ice work. Old Sailor, too, was an anxiety. The old dog waspretty active, considering his years, but I was alwaysafraid of his getting caught. He was very quaint aboutthese places ; inspecting them most carefully before hewould commit himself in any way. He didnt at alllike this mysterious sound of water in the depths, andwhen he came to a little bit of a thing which I could step. across, he would make the most prodigious leap—landingoften with a couple of feet to the good. This satis-factorily accomplished, he would just look over hisshoulder at the place, and then rush about like a puppyand roll in the snow, as much as to say, That wasrather a fine jump—another of them defeated. Well, at last, after following several curious horse-shoeswhich the river makes, we came to a grassy cliff from IN GUSINA CAMP 73 which there was quite a panorama. Below us the rivermade almost a circle, ringing round a peninsula of sandand grasses, where was a Russian cross, marking, as itseemed, a burial-place. A peregrine falcon rose as we approached, and wefound the nest half-way down the cliff, just under whereI have put the star in the sketch. The nest, on a little projection in the grass cliff, was asimple depression in the ground, scantily lined (thoughit was scarcely a lining) with dead grass and a few bits ofdown, no doubt from the sitting bird. It contained four eofQfs.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnatural, bookyear1895
