avryl's beard. He did it himself, and his son tore
my shirt and trousers into shreds."

Ivan entered suit against Gavryl. He first went to the village justice,
and not getting satisfaction from him he carried his case to the village
court.

While the neighbors were wrangling over the affair, each suing the
other, it happened that a perch-bolt from Gavryl's wagon was lost; and
the women of Gavryl's household accused Ivan's son of stealing it.

They said: "We saw him in the night-time pass by our window, on his way
to where the wagon was standing." "And my kumushka [sponsor]," said one
of them, "told me that Ivan's son had offered it for sale at the kabak
[tavern]."

This accusation caused them again to go into court for a settlement of
their grievances.

While the heads of the families were trying to have their troubles
settled in court, their home quarrels were constant, and frequently
resulted in hand-to-hand encounters. Even the little children followed
the example of their elders and quarrelled incessantly.

The women, when they met on the riverbank to do the family washing,
instead of attending to their work passed the time in abusing each
other, and not infrequently they came to blows.

At first the male members of the families were content with accusing
each other of various crimes, such as stealing and like meannesses. But
the trouble in this mild form did not last long.

They soon resorted to other measures. They began to appropriate one
another's things without asking permission, while various articles
disappeared from both houses and could not be found. This was done out
of revenge.

This example being set by the men, the women and children also followed,
and life soon became a burden to all who took part in the strife.

Ivan Scherbakoff and "Gavryl the Lame" at last laid their trouble before
the mir (village meeting), in addition to having been in court and
calling on the justice of the peace. Both of the latter had grown tired
of them and their incessant wrangling. One time Gavryl would succeed in
having Ivan fined, and if he was not able to pay it he would be locked
up in the cold dreary prison for days. Then it would be Ivan's turn to
get Gavryl punished in like manner, and the greater the injury the one
could do the other the more delight he took in it.

The success of either in having the other punished only served to
increase their rage against each other, until they were like mad dogs in