Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XV. Through the Lena Delta
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with him, and fearing lest his wife should suffer for want
of food during his absence. Finally, however, he consented
to accompany us at least part of the way to the next
station. At our start the wind was favorable, and we were
able to make good progress for a few miles, until we came
to a turn of the channel, when we got an unfavorable wind
and had once more a very hard struggle to save the boat
from being swamped. A new reach of the stream happily
made our task easier, and a few hours later we met five of
the chief’s men paddling along in their picturesque vetkas,
which were loaded with fresh reindeer-meat, the men having
had the good luck to kill about 30 reindeer on the previous
day. At the chief’s order they all returned and accompanied
us to a sheltered place, where we landed in order to hold
a “palaver.”
Before many minutes the natives had a fire going, and
had put on the kettles for boiling tea and meat. In the
meantime the chief held council with them. He told them
the story of our expedition and expressed great fears as to
the results of it, pointing out its dangers so late in the
year. I began to fear that we should get none of the men
to accompany us, when, lo! a man by the name of Kusma,
occupying some subordinate office under the chief,
unexpectedly came to my rescue. Kusma had travelled far and
wide, had seen and experienced much. He had been as
far east as to the Indigirka, where he had met with
Tschuktchis; he had been in company with the Norwegian
Mr. Torgersen, our interpreter and pilot, on an island off
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