The smell of burning alarmed the subconscious Ivan Kolesov and took shape in the thought: “I could Not so quickly come to the hut”.
Ivan turned off the profile and went towards the smell. Taiga in this quarter there was a thick, windproof winds, and shreds of smoke, entangled in the clutches of centuries-old fir trees, a long time will remind of the event. “But why is there smoke? It seems that again someone else without the knowledge of the owners whipped through the station?” — angrily thought Ivan, charging the guns bullet cartridges. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for hunters assigned to the land. Happened, vagrant barnstormer slipped transit in mileniu good with dogs, collected the Sables, and — Holos.
Seasonal hunter Ivan Kolesov was of the local kind of indigenous Siberians, the old believers and the ket-Casscoe mines or in other words, with the Ob-Yenisei canal — so loud was the name of this hydraulic structure. It was built during the reign of Catherine II and civilian convicts. Kolchak took him from the Bolsheviks to the East. During the great Patriotic war, the caravan of ships once spent on the big water from the Yenisei to the Ob, and then it decayed and began to disintegrate.
With the squatting in the Watershed of the lake family of Nestor Kolesov moved to the loggers ‘ settlement, where he lived a solitary yard on the outskirts. From devout faith kiriaki Kolesova away, but habitually eschewed the mundane. But the respect of villagers enjoyed, as a respectable and hardworking people.
THE BARON’S TRACT.
The idea of building a waterway that connects the river system of the Ob and Yenisei rivers, the East and the West, arose in the late eighth century, but because of the high cost and inefficiencies in projects, it is almost 100 years have gone unfulfilled. After the funds of the Russian merchants research territory, in 1883 began the great construction project of the century under the leadership of Baron Bjorcks Alexandrovich Aminova. In 1891 the channel was opened for the passage of small vessels. For the construction of the necessary facilities required more money and time, but now all forces and means of the Treasury went to the construction of the Siberian railway. In 1911 it was decided to expand the ket-Kaski ship canal, but these plans were cut short by the First world war. Today the owners of these places bear can be considered the old believers to this day abandoned, the Baron’s tract remains for them the relationship with the mainland.
Their son, Ivan, was drawn to city life. The guy was not deprived of good looks, intelligence and wit. Graduated from the Polytechnic Institute, got a job, started a family. And the roots all one is left in the forest, which a child came with his father, until he disappeared without a trace in the field. Different assumptions were built by the villagers, but nothing concrete is not clear. Talked, sympathized, and over — forgot. Life as a stone thrown in a swampy lake for a moment will part the duckweed, you will find clean water and immediately closed, as if nothing had happened.
Ivan loved taiga and could not imagine myself without it. In the offseason, missed the taiga wilderness, the whistling of the wind in the snow-covered conifers, the inner peace that I gained in solitude, in his hobby, which was hunting for him. To Ivan’s secret dream is to find my dad’s remains and bury human, beside his mother at the local cemetery.
But last season was filled Ivan loneliness “don’t bother”.
Was he in a banal, at first glance, the situation: his leg got between the two lying Osin (every autumn in the forest weakened trees fall across vizirok, but do not wear the same with a chainsaw!). And Ivan learned then, as the Pecheneg bow is stretched taut, woven from sheep intestines. Began to bend the bones of the right Shin, about to snap. Incredible effort of will, Ivan was freed from fifty-kilogram backpack, threw the body along with aspen trunks and a few minutes of lying in sweat, struggling with pain and nausea. If he broke his leg — the end of the season.
And yet, only the backpack had to be removed, get over valezhiny and again to wear the straps or around it. Ivan put a handful of snow on his flushed forehead, closed his eyes, and before his inner eye came the image of his father. Oh father, father! How nice and peaceful it was with you! And Ivan thought about that, probably enough alone to wander through the forest. Companion to look for. And firewood to saw in two hands is easier, and if anything it will help. Although who knows what people will be next! Suddenly will point somewhere nose in the snow from bullets in the back of the head, and the mouse will tickle in your stomach?
The decision to bring a partner Mature slowly and painfully. By nature silent and profound, as most of the taiga people Ivan to any business being taken seriously, considering all the details. Will the contribution of the partner is commensurate with his experience, or will be companion to the Freeloader, a burden is hard to predict.
But about the hunt, once in the cauldron, and Ivan did not think. Having made the decision, the hunter began to sort out in the memory of the people who took his life. And stopped at the old friend Timothy Zavorueva who else in the student teams churned the concrete. He recently had a child, and the need for money was acute. And in the forest with good alignment for a month or two you can make good money…
***
Bottles, which are periodically issued Timothy in packages of flats, and clanked a month to inform the neighbors what he was drinking. The alcohol seemed to have moved Timothy into another dimension. Losing interest in life, Zavoruev constantly were in a state of unexplained fear and anxiety. He thought it was a dream and his wife and child will come back, so every sound of footsteps on the stairs he walked into the hall and waited for the call. And the call came. Timothy opened the door, hoping to see a Gal with her son. But before him stood Ivan Kolesov, his old friend nicknamed Cerjak.
Ivan crossed the threshold, and first saw a row of bottles. Here those on! But Timothy was the most sober guy in the squad. However, Ivan could not be surprised, having seen, as changes in the country broken people, mangled fate. The Russian people, as you know, vodka is a universal medicine from the mental anguish and physical ailments. All clear: Timothy urgently needed to change the situation, to find the meaning of life. Worked taiga eternal rule as soon as possible to help the person, and used the confusion of Ivan passed: he was even more strengthened the desire to take Timothy on the season.
***
Through the branches he saw Ivan long aspen stump, collapsed into several parts (fused at base). Now its fragments were smoldering, spreading a bitter smell of decaying aspen fire. No one was close by. The snow was utopian, somewhere in the blood. Ivan identified: sable smoked. After a minute, he went in a circle, but soon came across the footprints and calmed down: smoked sable Timothy. Well, well: another sobolik into a common pot.
They hunted for over a month. Life in taiga and hunting Timothy accustomed quickly. Taiga was his element. Every morning he was in a hurry, burning, gulp down Breakfast, suiting up, to untie the dog and go hunting. We got home late. Ivan knew that comrade intuitively tried to be alone, to him no one bothered to think and quietly rejoiced in finding a partner.
On the one hand, with a companion, of course, safer and more fun
and on the other, the two of us to live the season of winter in close for the water to go.
Happened, of course, he has flaws. Once, in the snow, he came from hunting, and a cheerful voice announced that he had found svezhevykachannye, empty den. Ivan is enthusiasm asked for his rifle, opened the lock, examined the cartridges. In the trunks of the squirrel was shot. Partner scolded for carelessness and recklessness. But overall, Timothy was a good companion and without reminders, doing all that is necessary…
To interfere with the hunt Timothy Ivan did not become and went back to the profile, waiting for the night story about the details of the extraction of sable. But Timothy remained silent, quietly stirring his porridge for the dogs along the way and skinned the squirrels. Behaved as if nothing had happened. And crawled a black snake in the soul of Ivan doubts the honesty of the partner. Is now slowly Sables Sundance? How, I wonder, he wants to save them and hiding where?
The next morning, under the pretext of repair of Panahi Ivan stayed in the cabin and checked the property. In the forest everything should be taken into account. The hunter need to know the details, where, what and how much he lies. Taught by Ivan’s father. And the son learned well his lessons, for secure recording in a notebook all the changes. He drew diagrams putikov, noting the places where were taken in the traps of the sable. Were counted even empty cans of corned beef and condensed milk. They were kept in case a pipe at the stove will prohoditsja. And even candy wrappers neatly folded separately and if necessary used as Peavy material.
So that is why Timothy asked in detail about the methods of preserving skins! To dry them nowhere in the taiga, therefore, the most reliable preservation of raw skin — pickling. And they can be stored in banks from-under canned food where mice can’t get. I wonder how many skins included in jar? Today I will have to check… it turns Out that changes people’s lives. Got so hot, seen, guy. Or love to Galina, which he consistently referred to, made to sleep his conscience?
From that day on, Kolesov was to closely monitor the behavior of the partner. As the hunt progressed, imposed tight bundles of squirrel skins and added to pot-bellied bags, suspended on a two-meter height under the tree. The skins of Sables were collected in an aluminum pot with a lid. And each time after adding the skins, they both moved the pot. Went from the hut and threw him in the snow away from the path, memorizing the place. Timothy always calculated our share. It was important, but a deal’s a deal. Before the race season partners hit on his hands that all Sables Ivan will sell to a fellow Skinner, and the money will be divided in half.
Sobolevka is akin to the gold rush: went fart — forget about all possessed by a single desire to extract, to mine and extract. Ivan knew it. Many hardened tinicum stirred up the mind from the heap of furs. Dogs also passed a state hunter. They understand, most importantly, His Excellency the sable. And as a procurer when taking furs nervously suchada fingers, rolled his eyes and greed in the eye of twinkle lights! He already calculates how many will make a fortune from low reception rates.
To work in the forest for those. But it is advantageous to evaluate, leaving himself on bread and butter, acceptors masters. And now, as the oil, flows, and ammunition, and vodka right there under the counter have all the services of a hunter, sable only bring…
OUR AUTHOR.
Vyacheslav I. Maksimov was born in 1952 in the Kirghiz SSR. Board certified physician, he lives and works as a Veterinarian in Tomsk. Author of articles in hunting publications and books “Notes Dr. dog”, “Hiking in Taiga with variations”. Hunting for Slava is an important part of life. “My salary at the time, — he remembered, — was not high, sable skins worth more. Three weeks managed to produce up to a dozen animals”. But to become
in the forest his own, it took years. The history of living in taiga, in detail described on pages of field diaries, then formed the basis of stories of the author.
And that’s all there is with a partner. How many sabalakov he can push past the common pot for the remaining time? Heels, not more. One cap with ear-flaps, but they have yet to pick up the color. And these subtleties Timothy didn’t know. In the forest it seems that all of sable the same color, and after washing and dressing it is amazing how the skins differ. So after going fishing a few familiar hunters, put the skins in the daylight on the white sheets and pick up a pair. Then for glass discuss the peculiarities of the past season.
***
Cleared brain taiga air, Timothy cheered up, and there’s a glimmer of hope for the restoration of the family. He did come to Galina, throw at her feet a bunch of Sables and things will get better. He got less than Ivan, but the size and quality of pelts of sable were better, as he hunted mainly on continents. Imperceptibly for himself Timothy had forgotten that plot and dogs, and the hut belong to Ivan, and he, in fact, Primak. “Taiga is taiga, justified its actions on Timothy, is not a vegetable garden, and Ivan his share glean traps”.
The skins of Sables it personally, densely stacked in banks from-under polukilogrammovye stew, which put caps together to not penetrated inside the mouse, and hid in the hollow Shoshone with a hollow. However, the soul scraping cats. And if Ivan found out? And if you find the cache? What then? Timothy drove from myself these thoughts because the desire to restore the family has been stronger than the pangs of conscience…
For the first time Ivan waited for the end of the season, but did not filed. So, missing third Bank. If the Bank can put two skins, so for six Sables went past the common pot. Yes, the works! I really do not do good — not end up being the enemy. But what to do in this situation, Ivan didn’t know. He didn’t even know where to start the conversation on this topic, although already decided: Timothy more into the forest not take it!
To be continued.
