Each hut consisted of one apartment, and here the family all slept, cooked, and ate. The beds consisted of the skins of wolves and bears; the articles of furniture were few, as the people sat on the ground, and most of the cooking was performed by simple boiling or roasting before the fire.
Supper was soon provided, for it was evening when the travellers arrived. This consisted of a piece of bear’s flesh, which was very juicy, and resembled pork. It seemed to be esteemed a great delicacy by the people themselves, and a number of persons came into the hut where our adventurers were entertained, and, somewhat unceremoniously, helped themselves with their fingers to a portion of the coveted viands.
Our travellers had before seen something of Tungusian life and manners; but their admiration was excited anew by the greediness which they all displayed upon the present occasion—men, women, and children. Their hands were daubed in grease up to the wrists, and a very considerable portion of their faces was also anointed in the same way. They tore the flesh from the bones like dogs, and if a piece of meat fell upon the floor, however it might be powdered with dirt, it was carried to the mouth without scruple or inspection. The children lay down upon the floor, and, driving the dogs away, licked up the puddles of fat that were spilled in the greedy scramble. But there was withal much good nature and merriment among the party, and though the speech was often rough and the manner uncouth, good humor seemed to pervade the whole scene.
After the meal was done, brandy was brought in and circulated freely among the men of the company. Some of the women contrived to get a little for themselves through the influence of their admirers. The party soon grew merry, then boisterous, and at last quarrelsome. There was some scuffling and many hard words. Late at night the revel broke up, and the party separated.
It was late the next day, when Alexis and his two young companions were called by Linsk from their repose. They took an ample breakfast, and the party set forward upon their journey. For several days they proceeded without any occurrence worthy of note. At last they came to a little forest of evergreen trees, in which they found two or three small huts, but now deserted by their inhabitants. And here, as it was evening, they concluded to spend the night. Having slightly closed the door with a few pieces of bark to exclude the cold, they built a fire, and had sat down to their frugal supper of dried deer’s flesh, when the ever-watchful ear of Linsk caught certain sounds from without, which arrested his attention. He had listened but a moment, when the fragments at the door were pushed aside, and a wolf thrust his head in at the opening, and gazed intently upon the party. They were all so taken by surprise, that, for a moment, they neither spoke nor moved. It was not long, however, before Linsk arose, seized his gun, and was on the point of discharging it at the wolf, when the latter suddenly withdrew. The whole party followed him out, but what was their astonishment to see around them a pack of at least forty wolves, now ready to make a united attack upon them! It was night, and their glaring eyeballs seemed like sparks of fire, and their teeth were laid bare, as if to rend their victims in pieces. At the same time the barking, yelping, and howling of the savage animals, apparently driven to desperation by hunger, were terrific. The whole scene was indeed so unexpected and so startling, that Alexis and his two young companions immediately slunk back into the hut. Linsk followed, but at least a dozen of the assailants were snapping at his heels, as he drew them in through the door. The old hunter saw in an instant that there was but one mode of warfare which offered the least chance of safety, and this was, to face the enemy at the opening, and prevent them, at all hazards, from effecting an entrance. Getting down upon his knees, therefore, he turned round and looked his furious assailants full in the face. His gun was in his hand, and his knife ready in the belt. Fixing his eye intently upon the wolves, so as to watch every motion, he spoke rapidly to the young men behind him,—“Steady, boys, steady; don’t be afraid. Draw up close and keep your guns ready. What an ill-mannered set they are! I’ll give ’em a dose directly.—Now!”
At this instant, the old hunter fired his gun, and a yell of terror and anguish burst from the pack, who at the moment were jammed into the entrance of the hut. Two or three of them were killed, and several were wounded; but others rushed into their places, and in the space of a few seconds Linsk was again threatened with a mass of heads struggling for entrance at the door. He soon gave them another shot, and finally a third, and the disheartened beasts, leaving eight or ten of their companions dead or mortally wounded on the scene of combat, retired, with many a howl, into the echoing forest.
The next day was occupied by securing the skins of the wolves, and the hunters concluded to spend the next night in the hut, taking care, however, to secure the entrance against the possibility of an attack like that of the preceding evening.
In the morning, the party rose early, and, instead of pursuing their journey, they plunged into the forest, hoping to meet with some sables or ermines. They had not gone far before two little, dark-colored animals, with very long bodies and short legs, were seen running and leaping upon the snow. Linsk uttered a low “hush,” and approached them carefully, under cover of a large tree. He soon approached them, and raising his gun to his eye, seemed about to fire, when, suddenly lowering his piece, he beckoned to Alexis, who came instantly to his side. Obedient to a signal given by Linsk, Alexis drew up his gun and fired; the whole party ran to the spot, and, with great exultation, they picked up the animals, which proved to be two very fine sables. These were the first that Alexis had killed, and they brought to his mind so forcibly the injunctions of Kathinka, and her intense desire that he should be successful in his enterprise, that he burst into a flood of tears. The two sons of Linsk looked at him with amazement, but the old man guessed the cause of his emotion, and by some sportive remark, diverted the thoughts of the party into other channels. The kindness of Linsk in this, and in giving Alexis the first chance to fire, filled the heart of the young hunter with gratitude, which he did not soon forget.
They now pursued their sport, and before the evening came, they had caught seven sables and three ermines. They, therefore, returned to their hut, and now began to think of spending several weeks at this place, for the purpose of pursuing the object of their expedition.