Happy People: A Year in the Taiga Page #4

having gone off into hibernation.

Pro visions now can be stored

? easy reach.

The only threat are mice...

and the plastic will per vent them

from getting up the tree.

You see that everything

is going forward as it should.

It gives you a sense

of a job being done.

It is not you who is doing it,

but you still feel part of it.

Half-frozen water or slush ice

is called shuga.

This one is still soft with snow.

You can still ride in a boat on it.

We are moving from early to late fall.

The boat runs to deliver supplies.

You are full of worry-

anxious to get the supplies...

not to drop them in the water...

to make it to the hut, put the hut in

order and move oh to the next one.

We are moving deeper and deeper

into the fall season.

This bright weather and light frost

comes as a relief after the rains.

There is nothing like

warming yourself and

having a cup of tea

to make you happy

it's not like anything else.

When came here, had a feeling

that my dream had come true.

You enjoy the beauty of nature,

and you do your job at the same time.

That's why they all end up

by being hunters.

Because hunting brings you closer

to the taiga than anything else.

Here we are. Another hut is ready.

Turn the bucket upside down

so it doesn't fill with water.

Everything hangs in its proper place,

and I've made the cabin ready.

Inside the hut everything also hangs

from the ceiling- grits, sugar-

so that the mice don't eat them.

Everything is fine.

Have split firewood and stacked it.

The food is here.

In short, I've put another hut in order,

thank God.

Come on, Reddie.

The onslaught of Ice

puts Mikhail boat In leopard;.

It's time to secure it for the winter.

Mikhail uses a different', more

recognizable type of traditional trap.

This is called an ochep- a steel trap.

It acts when the animal steps in it.

When the animal begins to struggle...

the end of the ochep is released,

and it jerks up.

Then neither a fox nor a marten

nor a mouse will get to it.

You try to put it closer to the edge...

but make sure it isn't thrown down

by the wind or snow.

The branches protect the trap

from getting snowed over

The enormity of solitude sets In.

His only companion is his dog.

For the hunter, of course, the important

thing is that the dog works for him.

But you become attached to it.

Sometimes the dog

becomes a member of your family.

The dog feeds us.

You are no hunter Without a dog.

At three months,

can tell a good dog Without fail.

The puppy begins to stalk the cat,

sniffs at its footprints.

It attacks chickens- anything.

If you want to have a good dog,

take puppies from good dogs.

And of course,

it depends on how you bring it up.

If you take a good puppy

and put it inside

and keep it there

for six months...

surely it won't make a good hunter

when you take it into the taiga.

An all-purpose dog is hard to come by.

If a dog likes to chase moose...

there's no way you can force it

to chase squirrels.

If the dog hears the squirrel,

it will bark a couple of times...

but won't go looking for it.

So if you are unhappy with such a dog,

get yourself another one.

If that one does not suit you,

get yet another one.

The more dogs you change...

the more chance you have

to get a dog that's just right for you.

Had about four.

Typically, good dogs don't live long.

Out of these four,

only one survived till he was 1

The rest died in their prime-

ages four to five.

My last dog was a b*tch called Smoky.

It happened that a bear

came to the village.

When the bear roared,

all the village dogs vanished.

Released my male dog...

but he just barked at the bear

a couple of times and fell silent.

Sensed that there was

something wrong.

When reached the place,

heard my b*tch, Smoky...

coughing and spitting

out the bear's hair.

She bit him several times,

and then she squealed and Went silent.

By that time, was already on the spot.

Saw the bear lying on the cow path

tearing at my clog.

Approached the bear

and took aim at his head.

But before pulled the trigger,

he heard me and raised his head...

and shot him in his front paw

The bullet made just a scratch.

He Went for me.

He was so close, nearly touched him

with the barrel of my rifle.

He approached me,

and shot him point-blank.

The bullet pushed him back. got him.

Smoky was still alive.

The male dog was torn to pieces.

Grabbed Smoky in my arms...

and then I saw that her belly had

been torn and her bowels were out.

Thought I could still save her...

and ran to the nurse Without

paying any attention to the bear.

Ran about 30, 40 meters

before saw that her head drooped.

She was gone.

Was oven/vheirned with sadness.

Back In the village.

Like the trappers out In the taiga...

the villagers must also

be completely self-reliant.

Because no supplies can be

brought In during the winter..

they must make everything they need

by hand

You see, we drop the net,

and the net goes down.

If you feel the rope doesn't play,

don't pull too hard.

That's it.

We wait for pike

or whatever fish we can catch.

Temperatures have dropped by now

below minus 50 degrees...

and the days are growing short'.

The Yenisei River

is completely frozen oven..

but still provides fish In abundance.

We feed fish to the dogs...

and we eat it ourselves round the year.

Sometimes we fry it,

sometimes make fish soup.

There is nothing like fresh fish,

whatever kind.

Lenok. That's a great fish.

Pull some more.

We see something there.

A lot of good fish!

See how much fish!

Cover it up so it doesn't freeze.

Out In the taiga...

Gennady negotiates his territory

along his frozen tributary

From here,

he will branch out to hum' sable.

Everybody specializes in sable

because squirrels are cheap.

And as for ermine, you are lucky

if you can get one or two.

This one will be rejected

because it's too small.

They now accept only large ermine.

And the prices are ridiculous.

A good big ermine is about 125 rubles.

Of course the sable feeds us.

Prices seem to be going up,

and money is losing value.

Now have to pay 1,500 rubles

for What used to buy for 20 rubles.

The traps are laid' out

along loops that take a day to travel.

This way;, he can safely reach

one of his outlying huts by nightfall

This contraption- the lid,

the sticks and all-

and the footprints near

the trap attract him.

This is how you set up the (koolyomka.

The triggering DE vice of his trap...

is a primitive

yet sophisticated mechanism.

This (koolyomka near the hut

traps some animals every year.

The difference between

a dead fall trap and a steel trap...

is that a sable that is hungry

will ignore the steel trap...

but the trick does not work

with the (koolyomka.

Whatever he does, once he pulls

at the bait, it comes down oh it.

The pelts have no bloodstains.

The animal is as good

as if it were alive.

It's a humane method

because it kills at once.

Come to think of it,

we are all killers or accomplices.

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