MAP OF THE REGION ROUND THE "VEGA'S" WINTER QUARTERS.MAP OF THE REGION ROUND THE "VEGA'S" WINTER QUARTERS.Mainly after G. Bove.1. Rotschitlen's tent 2. Yettugin's tent.
"Round the tent, which was considerably smaller than those we daily saw at the coast, lay a number of sledges piled up on one another. These sledges differed from the common dog-sledges in being considerably larger and wider in the gauge. The runners were clumsy and axed from large wood.
"Our proposal to purchase reindeer was immediately declined, although we offered in exchange bread, tobacco, rum, and even guns. As a reason for this refusal they stated that the reindeer at this season of the year are too lean to be slaughtered. We saw about fifty reindeer pasturing on an eminence at a distance of several thousand feet from us.
"In the afternoon Kjellman and I were invited into the tent, where we passed an hour in their sleeping chamber. On our entrance the lamp, which was filled with seal oil, was lighted, a sort of moss (sphagnum) was used as a wick. Our hostess endeavoured to make our stay in the tent as agreeable as possible, she rolled together reindeer skins for pillows and made ready for us a place where, stretched at full length, we might enjoy much needed repose. In the outer tent the other women prepared supper, which consisted of boiled seal's-flesh. We received a friendly invitation to share their meal, but as we had no taste for seal's-flesh, we declined their offer under the pretext that we had just had dinner. They took their meal lying with the body in the inner tent, but with the head under the reindeer-skin curtain in the outer, where the food was. After the meal was partaken of, their heads were drawn within the curtain, our host divested himself of all his clothes, the trousers excepted, which were allowed to remain. Our hostess let herpeskfall down from her shoulders, so that the whole upper part of the body thus became bare. The reindeer-skin boots were taken off, and turned outside in, they were carefully dried and hung up in the roof over the lamp to dry during the night. We treated the women to some sugar, which, in consequence of their want of acquaintance with it, they at first examined with a certain caution, finding afterwards that it tasted exceeding well. After the meal our host appeared to become sleepy, we accordingly said good-night, and went to our own tent, where it was quite otherwise than warm, the temperature during the night being about -11° C.
"After for the most part a sleepless night, we rose at half-past six next morning. When we came out of the tent we saw all the reindeer advancing in a compact troop. At the head was an old reindeer with large horns, that went forward to his master, who had in the meantime gone to meet the herd, and bade him good-morning by gently rubbing his nose against his master's hands. While this was going on the other reindeer stood drawn up in well-ordered ranks, like the crew in divisions on board a man-of-war. The owner then went forward and saluted every reindeer, they were allowed to stroke his hands with theirnoses. He on his part took every reindeer by the horn and examined it in the most careful way. After the inspection was ended at a sign given by the master the whole herd wheeled round and returned in closed ranks, with the old reindeer in front, to the previous day's pasture.
"The whole scene made a very favourable impression on us, it was not the grim hard savage showing in a coarse and barbarous way his superiority over the animals, but the good master treating his inferiors kindly, and having a friendly word for each of them. Here good relations prevailed between man and the animals. Rotschitlen himself was a stately young man, with an intelligent appearance and a supple handsome figure. His dress, of exceedingly good cut and of uncommonly fine reindeer skin, sat close to his well-grown frame, and gave us an opportunity of seeing his graceful and noble bearing, which was most observable when he was in motion.
"On our repeating our proposal to purchase reindeer we again met with a refusal, on which we struck our tent and commenced our return journey. We came on board on the 18th March at 3 o'clock P.M., after a march of four hours and three-quarters.
"The way to the reindeer camp rose and fell gently. The snow was hard and even, so that we could go forward rapidly. On the way out four foxes and some ravens were seen. At one place we found a large number of lemming passages excavated through the snow in an oblique direction towards the ground. Most of them were scratched up by foxes. The descent to an untouched lemming nest was cylindrical, and four and a half centimetres in diameter. During both days we had snow, and a thick and foggy atmosphere, so that we could see only a short distance before us, we did not however go astray, thanks to the good eyes and strongly developed sense of locality of our guide, the native"
Brusewitz's and Nordquist's Excursion to Nutschoitjin
Of this Nordquist gives the following account:—
"On the 20th March, at 9 o'clock A.M. Lieut Brusewitz, boatswain Lustig, the Norwegian hunters Johnsen and Sievertsen, the Chukch Notti, and I, left theVega. Our equipment, which consisted of provisions for eight days, cooking apparatus, canvas tent, india-rubber mattrasses, reindeer-skinpesks, &c., we drew after us on a sledge. At 2.45 P.M. we came to Nutschoitjin (Coregonus Lake). During our journey we passed a riverwhich flows between Nutschoitjin and the mountain Hotschkeanranga, about ten English miles south of this lake and falls into the great lagoon south of Prtlekaj. Farther into the interior this river, according to Notti's statement, flows through several lakes: he also informed us that in summer it abounds very much in salmon (lienne). Some sandy hills formed the watershed between it and Nutschoitjin. The only animal we saw during our outward journey was a fox. On the other hand we found traces of hares, ptarmigan, and a couple of lemmings. After we had found a suitable camping-place, we began to build a snow-house, which, however, we could not get ready till next day.
"On the 21st Brusewitz and I went out to view our nearest surroundings. On a hill north of the lake, where Potentilla, Carex, and Poa stuck up through the snow-covering, we saw a large number of traces of the fox, the hare, and the ptarmigan. We employed the 22nd in cutting some holes in the ice, which was about one and a half metres thick, and in setting a net. For I wished to ascertain what species of Coregonus it is which, according to Notti's statement, occurs in abundance in this lake. At the place where the net was set there was something more than a metre of water under the ice The bottom consisted of mud. When we cut a hole in the middle of the lake in order to get deeper water we found that the ice, one and a half metres thick there, reached to the bottom.
"Next morning we got in the net eleven Coregoni, of which the largest were about thirty-five centimetres long. Although the weather was grey and we could not see very far, we went the same day to the hill Hotschkeanranga; partly to determine its height, and partly from its summit, which is visible for a great distance, to get a view of the appearance of the surrounding country. After crossing the river which flows between Nutschoitjin and Hotchkeanranga, we began to ascend the long slope on whose summit Hotchkanrakenljeut (Hotchkeanranga's head) rises with steep sides above the surrounding country. Over the slope were scattered loose blocks of stone of an eruptive rock. The crest of "the head" was also closely covered with loose stones. On the north of wind side these stones were covered with a hard beaten crust of snow nearly two feet thick, on the south side most of them were bare. According to Brusewitz the southern slopes are still steeper than the northern. South of the hill he saw a large valley—probably a lake—through which flows the river which we crossed.
"As on the outward journey I went with Notti, he advised meto offer a little food and brandy to the Spirit of the Lake,itjaken kamak, in order to get good net fishing. On my inquiring what appearance he had, Notti replied "uinga lilapen," "I have never seen him." Besides this spirit there are in his view others also in streams, in the earth, and in some mountains. The Chukches also sacrifice to the sun and moon. On the other hand they do not appear, as some other races, to pay any sort of worship to their departed friends. When I gave him a biscuit and bade him offer it, he made with the heel a little depression in the snow on Nutschoitjin, crumbled a little bit of the biscuit in pieces, and threw the crumbs into the hollow. The rest of the biscuit he gave back, declaring thatkamakdid not require more, and that we should now have more fish in the net than the first time. Notti said also that the Chukches are wont to sacrifice something for every catch. Thus have probably arisen all the collections of bear and seal skulls and reindeer horns, which we often saw on the Chukch coast, especially on eminences.
"After we had read off the aneroid, we speedily made our way to the snow-house, because during the interval a violent storm of drifting snow had arisen, so that we could not see more than half a score of paces before us. On the slope below "the head" we had already on our way thither seen traces of two wild reindeer. Notti said that there are a few of them on the hill the whole winter. The greater number, however, draw farther southward, and approach the coast only during summer. Johnson had wounded an owl (Strix nyctea), which however made its escape. On the 24th snow fell and drifted during the whole day, so that we could not go out to shoot. On the 25th we came on board again.
"According to the aneroid observations made during the journey, the highest summit we visited had a height of 197 metres."
Lieutenant Bove's Account of an Excursion to Najtskaj and Tjapka.
"On the 19th April, at 4 o'clock A.M. the hunter Johnsen and I started on a short excursion eastward along the coast, with a view to pay a visit to the much frequented fishing station Najtskaj, where our old friends from Pitlekaj had settled. We had a little sledge which we ourselves drew, and which was laden with provisions for three days and some meteorological and hydrographical instruments.
"At 6 o'clock A.M. we reached Rirajtinop, where we found Notti, a serviceable, talented, and agreeable youth. The village Rirajtinop, which formerly consisted of a great many tents, now had only one tent, Notti's, and it was poor enough. It gave the inhabitants only a slight protection against wind and cold. Among household articles in the tent I noticed a face-mask of wood, less shapeless than those which according to Whymper's drawings are found among the natives along the river Youcon, in the territory of Alaska, and according to Dr. Simpson among the West-Eskimo. I learned afterwards that this mask came from Päk, Behring's Straits, whither it was probably carried from the opposite American shore.
THE SLEEPING CHAMBER IN A CHUKCH TENT.THE SLEEPING CHAMBER IN A CHUKCH TENT.(After a drawing by the seaman Hansson.)
"The village Irgunnuk lies from three to four hundred metres from Rirajtinop, and consists of five tents, one of which two days before had been removed from Yinretlen. The tents are as usual placed on earthy eminences, and have if possible the entrance a couple of paces from some steep escarpment, manifestly in order that the door opening may not be too much obstructed with snow. I reckon the population of Irgunnuk at forty persons.
"Off this village the ice is broken up even close to the land intotorosses, five to six metres high, which form a chain which closely follows the shore for a distance of five to six hundred metres to the eastward. The coast from Irgunnuk to Najtskaj runs in a straight line, is low, and only now and then interrupted by small earthy eminences, which all bear traces of old dwellings. Each of these heights has its special name: first Uelkantinop, then Tiumgatti, and lastly Tiungo, two miles west of Najtskaj.In the neighbourhood of Uelkantinop we were overtaken by a reindeer-Chukch, who accompanied us to Najtskaj in order there to purchase fish and seal-blubber. At noon we reached Najtskaj, where our arrival had been announced by a native, who, with his dog-team, had driven past us on the way. Accordingly on our entrance we were surrounded by the youth of the village, who deafened us with then unceasing cries for bread (kauka), tobacco,ram, &c. After some moments the begging urchins were joined both by women and full-grown men. We entered a tent, which belonged to a friend or perhaps relation of Notti. There we were very well received. In the same tent the reindeer-Chukch also lodged who had given us his company on the way. He went into the sleeping chamber, threw himself down there, took part in the family's evening meal, all almost without uttering a word to the hostess, and the next morning he started without having saluted the host. Hospitality is here of a peculiar kind. It may perhaps be expressed thusTo-day I eat and sleep in your tent, to-morrow you eat and sleep in mine; and accordingly, as far as I saw, all, both rich and poor, both those who travelled with large sledges, and those who walked on foot, were received in the same way. All are sure to find a corner in the tent-chamber.
CHUKCH LAMPS.CHUKCH LAMPS.a. Wooden cup to place under the lamp.b. Lamp of burned clay.One-fifth of the natural size.
"The tent-chamber, oryaranga, as this part of the tent is called by the natives, takes up fully a third-part of the whole tent, and is at the same time work-room, dining-room, and sleeping chamber. Its form is that of a parallelepiped; and a moderately large sleeping chamber has a height of 1.80 metre, a length of 3.50, and a breadth of 2.20 metres. The walls are formed of reindeer skin with the hair inwards, which are supported by a framework of posts and cross-bars. The floorconsists of a layer of grass undermost, on which a walrus skin is spread. The grass and the skin do not form a very soft bed, yet one on which even a tried European wanderer may find rest. The interior of the sleeping-chamber is lighted and warmed by lamps, whose number varies according to the size of the room. A moderately large chamber has three lamps, the largest right opposite the entrance, the two others on the cross walls. The lamps are often made of a sort of stone, which is called by the nativesukulschi. They have the form of a large ladle. The fuel consists of train-oil, and moss is used for the wick. These lamps besides require constant attention, because half-an-hour's neglect is sufficient to make them smoke or go out. The flame is at one corner of the lamp, whose moss wick is trimmed with a piece of wood of the shape shown in the drawing. The lamp rests on a foot, and it in its turn in a basin. In this way every drop of oil that may be possibly spilled is collected. If there is anything that this people ought to save, it is certainly oil, for this signifies to them both light and heat. In the roof of the bedchamber some bars are fixed over the lamps on which clothes and shoes are hung to dry. The lamps are kept alight the whole day, during night they are commonly extinguished, as otherwise they would require continual attention. Some clothes and fishing implements, two or three reindeer skins to rest upon—these are the whole furniture of a Chukch tent.
SECTION OF A CHUKCH LAMP.SECTION OF A CHUKCH LAMP.(After a drawing by G. Bove.)
a. The oil.b. The wick.c. The foot.d. The basin under it.e. Stick for trimming the wick.
"Every tent is besides provided with some drums (yárar). These are made of a wooden ring, about seventy centimetres in diameter, on which is stretched a skin of seal or walrus gut. The drum is beaten with a light stick of whalebone. The sound thus produced is melancholy, and is so in a yet higher degree when it is accompanied by the natives' monotonous,commonly rhythmical songs, which appear to me to have a strong resemblance to those we hear in Japan and China. A still greater resemblance I thought I observed in the dances of these peoples. Notti is a splendidyárar-player. After some pressing he played several of their songs with a feeling for which I had not given him credit. The auditors were numerous, and by their smiles and merry eyes one could see that they were transported by the sounds which Notti knew how to call from the drum. Notti was also listened to in deep silence, with an admiration like that with which in a large room we listen to a distinguished pianist. I saw in the tent no other musical instrument than that just mentioned.
CHUKCH SHAMAN DRUM.CHUKCH SHAMAN DRUM.One eighth the natural size.
"The day we arrived at Najtskaj we employed in viewing the neighbourhood of the village. We accordingly ascended a hill about thirty metres high to the south of the village in order to get a clear idea of the region. From the summit of the hill we had a view of the two lagoons west and east of Najtskaj. The western appeared, with the exception of some earthy heights, to embrace the whole stretch of coast between Najtskaj, the hill at Yinretlen, and the mountains which are visible in the south from the Observatory. The lagoon east of Najtskaj is separated from the sea by a high rampart of sand, and extends about thirty kilometres into the interior, to the foot of the chain of hills which runs along there. To the eastward the lagoon extends along the coast to the neighbourhood of Serdze Kamen. This cape was clearly seen and, according to an estimate which I do not think was far from the truth, was situated at a distance of from twenty-five to twenty-six kilometres from Najtskaj. It sinks terracewise towards the sea, and its sides are covered with stone pillars, like those we saw in the neighbourhood of Cape Great Baranoff. Serdze Kamen to the south is connected with mountain heights which are the higher the farther they are from the sea. Some of these have a conical form, others are table-shaped, reminding us of the Ambas of Abyssinia. Ten or twelve miles into the interior they appear to reach a height of six hundred to nine hundred metres.
"The fishing in the eastern lagoon takes place mainly in the neighbourhood of Najtskaj, at a distance of about five kilometres from the village. Hooks are exclusively used, and no nets or other fishing implements. In a few minutes I saw twenty cod (urokadlin) caught, and about as many small fish, called by the nativesnukionukio. For the fishing the natives make a hole in the ice, a decimetre in diameter. Round the hole they build, as a protection against wind and drifting snow, a snow wall eighty centimetres high, forming a circle with an inner diameter of a metre and a half. The fish-hooks are of iron and are not barbed. The line is about five metres long, To the west Idlidlja Island, in the background the village Tjapka, to the right the great lagoon. (After a drawing by O. Nordquist.)
and is fixed to a rod nearly a metre in length. At the end of the angling line hangs a weight of bone, and beside it the hook. It is generally the women who fish, yet there are generally two or three men about to open the holes, build the walls, and keep the fishing-places clear. All the holes with their shelter-walls lie in an arc, about a kilometre in length, whose convex side is turned to the east. The ice in the lagoon was 1.7 metre thick, the water 3.2 metres deep, and the thickness of snow on the ice 0.3 metre.
THE COAST BETWEEN PADLJONNA AND ENJURMI.THE COAST BETWEEN PADLJONNA AND ENJURMI.
"The day after our arrival at Najtskaj we visited the village Tjapka, which lies at a distance of six kilometres. This villagecontains thirteen tents, some of which are more roomy and better built than any Chukch tent I have previously seen. We lodged in a tent which belonged to Erere, a friendly man with a face that was always cheerful. His sleeping-chamber was so large that it could hold more than one family. We found the inmates there completely naked, Erere's wife, Kedlanga, not excepted. Kedlanga was well formed, her bosom full, her stomach somewhat projecting, the thighs poor, the legs slender, the feet small. The men appeared to have a greater disposition to stoutness than the women. Some of the children had disproportionately large stomachs. Both men and women wore copper rings on the legs, the wrists, and the upper arms. On festivals they decorate themselves with iron rings, with which some reminiscence appears to be connected, to judge by the fact that they will not part with them.
"Erere's family was very numerous, according to the prevailing state of matters here. He had five children, whose names, according to their age, were, Hatanga, Etughi, Vedlat, Uai, and Umonga. In all the tents which I visited I have inquired the number of children. Only two or three wives had more than three; the average may be estimated at two.
BRACELET OF COPPER.BRACELET OF COPPER.Half the natural size.
"The children are from their tenderest years set apart for each other, thus Etughi, Erere's second son, who was little more than eight, was set apart for Keipteka, a girl of six or seven. Etughi and Keipteka slept under the same roof, though apart. "When they grow bigger," said Erere to me, "then sleeping-places will be put alongside each other". At what age this takes place I have not ascertained, but I suppose that it is very early, as is common with all Oriental races.
"Right opposite Tjapka lies a small island, by the natives called Idlidlja, which is about 800 metres in circumference. Its shores rise perpendicularly on all sides except that which is opposite Tjapka, in which direction it sinks with a steep slope. On the north end of it we found three or four whales' bones and some pieces of driftwood, but nothing to indicate that there had been any Onkilon dwellings there. The island swarmed with hares, which the inhabitants of Tjapka hunt with the bow. For this hunting they are accustomed to build circular walls of snow, pierced with loopholes, through which they shoot the unsuspecting animals.
"Regarding life in the tent I have still the following notes. The most troublesome work is given to the older women. They rise early to light and attend to the lamps, yoke the dogs, and go fishing. The young women, on the other hand, sleep far into the day. The housewives return at noon, then work is then finished, if we do not consider as work the constant motion of the tongue in talk and gossip. The younger people have it assigned to them to sew clothes, arrange the fishing-lines and nets, prepare skins, &c. Sewing-thread is made from the back sinews of the reindeer, which they procure by barter from the reindeer-Chukches, giving for them fish and seal-blubber.
The north end of Idlidlja Island.The north end of Idlidlja Island.(After a drawing by O. Nordquist.)
"One cannot, without having seen it, form any idea of the large quantity of food they can consume. One evening I saw eight persons, including one child, eat about 30 lbs. of food. The bill of fare was: 1, raw fish; 2, soup; 3, boiled fish; 4, seal-blubber; 5, seal-flesh. The raw fish commonly consists of frozen cod. The soup is made partly of vegetables, partly ofseal-blood; I saw both kinds. Vegetable soup was prepared by boiling equal quantities of water and vegetables, till the mixture formed a thick pap. The blood soup is cooked by boiling the blood together with water, fish, and fat. They are very fond of this soup. The seal-blubber they eat by stuffing into the mouth the piece which has been served to them, and then cutting a suitable mouthful with the knife, which they bring close to the lips. In the same way they do with the flesh.
"With the exception of the old women's gossip the greatest quietness prevails in the sleeping-chamber. It is not uncommon for men to visit each other. Thus the first night we spent at Najtskaj the tent where we lodged was full of people, but without the least disturbance arising. If one had anything to say he talked in quite a low tone, as if he were shy. He was listened to attentively, without any interruption. First when he had finished another began.
"Affection between spouses and parents and children is particularly strong. I have seen fathers kiss and caress their children before they went to rest, and what I found most remarkable was that the children never abused this tender treatment. Whatever one gave them, it was their first thought to divide it with their parents. In this respect and in many others they were far in advance of a large number of European children."
Lieutenant Bove's Report on an Excursion along with Dr. Almquist to the Interior of the Chukch Peninsula, from the 13th to the 17th June, 1879.
"We started from the vessel on the morning of the 13th June with a view to penetrate as far as possible into the interior of the Chukch peninsula. For the journey we had hired, for a liberal payment, two sledges drawn by dogs from Rotschitlen, a Chukch at Irgunnuk. The dogs and sledges surpassed our expectation. In fourteen hours we traversed a distance of nearly forty minutes, including bends, which corresponds to a speed of three, perhaps four, English miles an hour, if we deduct the rests which were caused by the objects of the journey—scientific researches. This speed strikes me as not inconsiderable, if we consider the weight which the dogs must draw, and the badness and unevenness of the way. For the ground was undulating, like a sea agitated by a storm. But pleased as we were with our sledges and dogs, we were as dissatisfied withRotschitlen, a faint-hearted youth, without activity or experience. With another driver we might have been able in a few days to penetrate as far as the bottom of Kolyutschin Bay, which differs greatly in its form, from that which Russian, English, and German maps give to it. It is not improbable that it is almost connected by lakes, lagoons, and rivers with St. Lawrence Bay or Metschigme Bay, whose inner parts are not yet investigated.
"After we left the lagoons at Pitlekaj and Yinretlen, the coast began gradually to rise by escarpments, each about five metres in height. The plains between the escarpments are full of lagoons or marshes. Such a terrain continued until, about five hours' way from the vessel, we came to a height of twenty-seven metres. From this point the terrace-formations cease, and the terrain then consists of a large number of ranges of heights, intersected by rivulets, which during the snow-melting season must be very much flooded. Seven or eight hours' way from the vessel we met with such a rivulet, which farther to the S.S.E. unites with another which runs between two rocky escarpments twenty metres high. On one of these we pitched our tent, in order to draw and examine some hills which were already divested of the winter dress they had worn for nine long months. On the top of one of the hills we found marks of two recently-struck tents, which probably belonged to a reindeer Chukch, who had now settled halfway between Pitlekaj and Table Mount upon a chain of heights which appears to separate the Irgunnuk lagoon from the rocky eastern shore of Kolyutschin Bay. At our resting place we found a large number of reindeer horns and a heap of broken bones.
"After resuming our journey we came in a short time to the foot of Table Mount, whose height I reckoned at 180 metres. It slopes gently to the west and south (about 10°), but more steeply to the east and north (about 15°). The animal world there showed great activity. In less than an hour we saw more than a dozen foxes that ran up and down the hills and circled round us, as if they ran with a line. Fortunately for them they kept at a respectful distance from our doctor's sure gun.
"On the other side of Table Mount the ground sinks regularly towards Kolyutschin Bay. Here for a while we sought in vain for Yettugin's tent, in which we intended to pass the night, and which had been fixed upon as the starting-point of future excursions, till at last reindeer traces and afterwards the sight of some of these friendly animals brought us to the right way, so that about 9 o'clock P.M. we got sight of the longed-for dwelling in the middle of a snow-desert. At the wordyaranga(tent)the dogs pointed their ears, uttered a bark of joy, and ran at full speed towards the goal. We arrived at 10.30 P.M. In the tent we were hospitably received by its mistress, who immediately made the necessary preparations for our obtaining food and rest. Yettugin himself was not at home, but he soon returned with a sledge drawn by reindeer. These animals had scarcely been unharnessed when they ran back to the herd, which according to Yettugin's statement was six kilometres east of the tent.
"I have never seen a family so afflicted with ailments as Yettugin's. The sexagenarian father united in himself almost all the bodily ailments which could fall to the lot of a mortal. He was blind, leprous (?), and had no use of the left hand, the right side of the face, and probably of the legs. His body was nearly everywhere covered with the scars of old sores from four to five centimetres in diameter. As Dr. Almquist and I were compelled to pass the night in the same confined sleeping-chamber with him, it was therefore not to be wondered at that we drew ourselves as much as possible into our corner. The sleeping-chamber or inner tent of a reindeer-Chukch is besides much more habitable than that of a coast-Chukch, the air, if not exactly pure, may at least be breathed, and the thick layer of reindeer skins which covers the tent floor may well compare in softness with our beds on board. Yettugin, his wife Tengaech, and his brother Keuto, slept out of doors in order to give us more room and not to disturb us when rising. Keuto had inherited no small portion of his father's calamity. He was deaf, half idiotic, and on his body there were already traces of such spots as on the old man's. Keuto was however an obliging youth, who during our stay in the tent did all that he could to be of use to us, and constantly wandered about to get buds and plants for us. He was a skilful archer; I saw him at a distance of twenty or twenty-five paces kill a small bird with a blunt arrow, and when I placed myself as a target he hit me right in the middle of the breast at a distance of perhaps thirty metres.
"The 14th was employed by me in astronomical and geodetical observations, and by Dr. Almquist in excursions in the neighbourhood of Yettugin's tent in order to investigate the fauna and flora of the neighbourhood. About 10 o'clock P.M. he returned, quite exhausted after eight hours' walking in deep water-drenched snow under a perceptible solar heat. The results of the excursion were in all respects exceedingly good, not only in consequence of a number offindsin natural history, but also through the discovery that the shore of KolyutschinBay runs three-quarters of a mile south-west of Yettugin's tent, which was situated in 66° 42' 4" North Lat, and 186° 24' 0" Long, east from Greenwich. Dr. Almquist had walked four or five miles along the eastern shore of the bay, which at most places is perpendicular with a height of fifteen metres. In consequence of this discovery we determined to continue our hydrographical observations as far as the bottom of the bay, which, according to Yettugin's account, was two days' march from the tent. But we could not carry out our plan in consequence of our guide's laziness, for he declared that on no conditions would he accompany us farther. Neither entreaties nor threats availed to disturb this his resolution. I endeavoured myself to drive the sledges, but the dogs would not move out of the spot, though, following Rotschitlen's system, I thrashed them very soundly.
"The place where Yettugin's tent was pitched offered us a view of an extensive snow-plain, which was enclosed on all sides by high hills. In the north and north-east Table Mount and the Tenen hill keep off the north winds, and to the south the encampment is protected by a long and high mountain chain from the winds coming from that quarter. I calculated the height of some of the mountains at from 1200 to 1500 metres, and their azure-blue colour furrowed by dark lines appeals to me to indicate the presence of ice on the slopes. One of the summits of this mountain chain was easily recognisable. It was a truncated cone, perhaps 1500 metres high. Kolyutschin Bay lies between these mountains and Yettugin's tent. Its western shore also appears to rise perpendicularly from the sea, and it is higher than the eastern. The bay, which appears to be much larger than it is represented on the maps, was covered with level ice, only here and there a piece of ice covered with snow was seen sticking up.
"As we were forced to desist from visiting the interior of Kolyutschin Bay, we determined to go to the ground where Yettugin's reindeer pastured. We therefore left the tent on the evening of the 15th and travelled E.N.E. The warmth, which had now commenced, began to make travelling over snow fields difficult, the dogs sank to the stomach, and not unfrequently we had to alight in order to help the poor animals to climb the hills we were obliged to ascend. Scarcely however had they come to the reindeer tracks before even the most exhausted of them rushed along at the top of their speed, which might be pleasant enough uphill, but when they were coming down it was very dangerous, because the slope nearly always ends with a steepescarpment. We came once, without observing it, to the edge of such a precipice, and if we had not succeeded in time in slackening our speed a nice confused mass of men, dogs, and sledges would have tumbled over it. In order to excite their draught animals the Chukches avail themselves of their dogs' inclination to run after the reindeer, and during their journeys they endeavour to spur them on yet more by now and then imitating the reindeer's cry. After two or three hours travelling we fell in with the first reindeer, and then by degrees with more and more, until finally about 11 o'clock P.M. we came to a numerous herd, tended by Yettugin. I applied to him, asking him to barter a reindeer in good condition for a gun which I had brought along with me. After various evasions Yettugin at length promised to give us next day the reindeer for the gun. He would not however himself, or with his own knife, kill the reindeer, on which account I requested Dr. Almquist to give it thecoup de grâce.
"In consequence of the soft state of the snow we were obliged to defer the commencement of our return journey to the evening of the 16th. We now travelled over the chain of hills which unites Table Mount with Tenen, and descended their northern steep slope towards an extensive plain, studded for the most part with bogs and marshes. The 17th came in with mist and considerable warmth. The mist limited the circle of vision to a distance of some few metres, and the high temperature in a short time destroyed the crust which had been formed in the course of the preceding night on the surface of the snow, and melted the layers of snow which still covered the northern slopes of these two hills. The southern slopes on the other hand were almost quite bare, and the valleys began to be filled with water. Four or five days as warm as these and I believe there scarcely would be any snow remaining round Kolyutschin Bay. The illusions caused by the white fog illuminated by the sunlight were very astonishing. Every small spot of ground appeared as an extensive snow-free field, every tuft of grass as a bush, and a fox in our immediate neighbourhood was for a moment taken for a gigantic bear. Besides, during such a fog the action of the sunlight on the eyes was exceedingly painful even in the case of those who carried preservers. During the return Rotschitlen lost his way in consequence of the numerous different tracks. Fortunately I had observed how we travelled, and could with the help of the compass pilot our two small craft to a good haven. On the 17th of June at 1.30 P.M. we were again in good condition on board theVega."
In the society on board the prospects of an alteration in the constant north winds, the perpetual snow-storms and the unceasing cold, and the hope of a speedy release from the fetters of the ice, were naturally constantly recurring topics of conversation. During this time many lively word-battles were fought between the weather prophets in the gunroom, and many bets made in jest between the optimists and pessimists. The former won a great victory, when at noon on the 8th February the temperature lose to +0°.1 C., but with the exception of this success fortune always went against them. The north wind, the drifting snow and the cold, would never cease. A blue water-sky indeed was often visible at the horizon to the north and north-east, but the "clearing" first reached our vessel a couple of hours before we left our winter haven for ever, and up to the 15th June the thickness of the ice was almost undiminished (1-1/2 metre) The sun rose higher and higher, but without forming any crust upon the snow, although upon the black hull of theVega, perhaps with the help of the heat in the interior, it had by the 14th March melted so much snow that small icicles were formed at the gunwale. It was one of the many deceptive prognostications of spring which were hailed with delight. However, immediately after severe cold recommenced and continued during the whole of the month of April, during which the temperature of the an never rose above -4°6, the mean temperature being -18°9.
May began with a temperature of -20°.1. On the 3rd the thermometer showed -26°.8, and in the "flower-month" we had only for a few hours mild weather with an air temperature +1°.8. Even the beginning of June was very cold, on the 3rd we had -14°.3, with a mean temperature for the twenty-four hours of -9°.4. Still on the 13th the thermometer at midnight showed -8°.0, but the same day at noon with a gentle southerly wind a sudden change took place, and after that date it was only exceptionally that the thermometer in the open air sankbelow the freezing-point. The melting and evaporation of snow now began, and went on so rapidly that the land in the end of the month was almost free of snow.
Under what circumstances this took place is shown by the following abstract of the observations of temperature at Pitlekaj from the 13th June to the 18th July, 1879:—
Max Min Mean Max Min MeanJune 13 +3.6° -8.0° -1.95° July 1 +0.8° -0.6° +0.07°14 +2.6 +0.2 +1.47 2 +1.1 -1.0 +0.4015 +3.1 +1.7 +2.28 3 +5.0 +1.0 +2.2816 +1.6 -0.6 +0.90 4 +3.8 +1.4 +2.6817 +3.0 +0.2 +1.22 5 +5.2 +2.0 +3.6018 +2.4 -0.6 +1.23 6 +8.6 +1.0 +2.2819 +3.6 +1.4 +2.43 7 +5.0 +1.4 +2.6820 +3.5 +1.7 +2.50 8 +8.6 +0.6 +4.8221 +2.6 +1.5 +2.07 9 +1.8 +0.4 +0.9722 +3.0 +1.5 +2.28 10 +1.4 +0.5 +0.9023 +4.1 +1.8 +3.00 11 +1.4 +0.6 +1.0024 +6.8 +0.9 +3.18 12 +9.0 +0.5 +4.7325 +4.4 +0.4 +2.30 13 +6.5 +3.7 +5.0326 +3.8 +0.6 +1.77 14 +5.4 +1.8 +3.6827 +1.4 +0.7 +1.02 15 +1.6 +0.6 +1.1328 +2.1 +0.2 +0.92 16 +3.0 +0.6 +1.5229 +0.9 -1.0 +0.12 17 +11.5 +8.8 +7.8030 +1.0 -1.8 -0.27 18 +9.2 +6.2 +7.52
The figures in the maximum column, it will be seen, are by no means very high. That the enormous covering of snow, which the north winds had heaped on the beach, could disappear so rapidly notwithstanding this low temperature probably depends on this, that a large portion of the heat which the solar rays bring with them acts directly in melting the snow without sun-warmed air being used as an intermediate agent or heat-carrier, partly also on the circumstance that the winds prevailing in spring come from the sea to the southward, and before they reach the north coast pass over considerable mountain heights in the interior of the country. They have therefore the nature offöhnwinds, that is to say, the whole mass of air, whichthe wind carries with it, is heated, and its relative humidity is slight, because a large portion of the water which it originally contained has been condensed in passing over the mountain heights. Accordingly when the dryföhnwinds prevail, a considerable evaporation of the snow takes place. The slight content of watery vapour in the atmosphere diminishes its power of absorbing the solar heat, and instead increases that portion of it which is found remaining when the sun's rays penetrate to the snowdrifts, and there conduce, not to raise the temperature, but to convert the snow into water.[261]
The aurora is, as is well-known, a phenomenon at the same time cosmic and terrestrial, which on the one hand is confined within the atmosphere of our globe and stands in close connection with terrestrial magnetism, and on the other side is dependent on certain changes in the envelope of the sun, thenature of which is as yet little known, and which are indicated by the formation of spots on the sun; the distinguished Dutch physicist, VON BAUMHAUER, has even placed the occurrence of the aurora in connection with cosmic substances which fall in the form of dust from the interstellar spaces to the surface of the earth. Thus splendid natural phenomenon besides plays, though unjustifiably, a greatrôlein imaginative sketches of winter life in the high north, and it is in the popular idea so connected with the ice and snow of the Polar lands, that most of the readers of sketches of Arctic travel would certainly consider it an indefensible omission if the author did not give an account of the aurora as seen from his winter station. The scientific man indeed knows that this neglect has, in most cases, been occasioned by the great infrequency of the strongly luminous aurora just in the Franklin archipelago on the north coast of America, where most of the Arctic winterings of this century have taken place, but scarcely any journey of exploration has at all events been undertaken to the uninhabited regions of the high north, which has not in its working plan included the collection of new contributions towards dealing up the true nature of the aurora and its position in the heavens. But the scientific results have seldom corresponded to the expectations which had been entertained. Of purely Arctic expeditions, so far as I know, only two, the Austrian-Hungarian to Franz Josef Land (1872-74) and the Swedish to Mussel Bay (1872-73), have returned with full and instructive lists of auroras[262]Ross, PARRY, KANE, McCLINTOCK, HAYES, NARES, and others, have on theother hand only had opportunities of registering single auroras; the phenomenon in the case of their winterings has not formed any distinctive trait of the Polar winter night. It was the less to be expected that theVegaexpedition would form an exception in this respect, as its voyage happened during one of the years of which we knew beforehand that it would be a minimum aurora year. It was just this circumstance, however, which permitted me to study, in a region admirably suited for the purpose, a portion of this natural phenomenon under uncommonly favourable circumstances. For the luminous arcs, which even in Scandinavia generally form starting-points for the radiant auroras, have here exhibited themselves undreamed by the more splendid forms of the aurora I have thus, undisturbed by subsidiary phenomena, been able to devote myself to the collection of contributions towards the ascertaining of the position of these luminous arcs, and I believe that I have in this way come to some very remarkable conclusions, which have been developed in detail in a separate paper printed inThe Scientific Work of the Vega Expedition(Part I. p. 400). Here space permits me only to make the following statement
The appearance of the aurora at Behring's Straits in 1878-79 is shown in the accompanying woodcuts. We never saw here the magnificent bands or draperies of rays which we are so accustomed to in Scandinavia, but only halo-like luminous arcs, which hour after hour, day after day, were unaltered in position. When the sky was not clouded over and the faint light of the aurora was not dimmed by the rays of the sun or the full moon, these arcs commonly began to show themselves between eight and nine o'clock P.M., and were then seen without interruption during midwinter till six, and farther on in the year to three o'clock in the morning. It follows from this that the aurora even during a minimum year is a permanent natural phenomenon. The nearly unalterable position of the arcs has further rendered possible a number of measurements of its