Chapter X (2)

He was immediately invited down to the gunroom, entertained after the best of our ability, and bothered with a number of questions which he evidently understood with difficulty, and answered in very unintelligible Russian. He was in any case the first with whom some of us could communicate, at least in a way. He could neither read nor write. On the other hand, he could quickly comprehend a map which was shown him, and point out with great accuracy a number of the more remarkable places in north-eastern Siberia. Of the existence of the Russian emperor the first official of the region had no idea; on the other hand, he knew that a very powerful person had his home at Irkutsk. On us he conferred the rank of "Ispravnik" in the neighbouring towns. At first he crossed himself with much zeal before some photographs and copper-plate engravings in the gunroom, but he soon ceased when he observed that we did not do likewise. Menka was accompanied by two badly-clad natives with very oblique eyes, whom we took at first for his servants or slaves. Afterwards we found that they were owners of reindeer, who considered themselves quite as good as Menka himself, and further on we even heard one of them speak of Menka's claim to be a chief with a compassionate smile. Now, however, they were exceedingly respectful, and it was by them that Menka's gift of welcome, two reindeer roasts, was carried forward with a certain stateliness. As a return present we gave him a woollen shirt and some parcels of tobacco. Menka said that he should travel in a few days to Markova, a place inhabited by Russians on the river Anadyr, in the neighbourhood of the old Anadyrsk. Although I had not yet given up hope of getting free before winter, I wished to endeavour to utilize this opportunity of sending home accounts of the _Vega's_ position, the state of matters on board, &c. An open letter was therefore written in Russian, and addressed to his Excellency the Governor-General at Irkutsk, with the request that he would communicate its contents to his Majesty, King Oscar. This was placed, along with several private sealed letters between a couple of pieces of board, and handed over to Menka with a request to give them to the Russian authorities at Markova. At first it appeared as if Menka understood the letter as some sort of farther credentials for himself. For when he landed he assembled, in the presence of some of us, a circle of Chukches round himself, placed himself with dignity in their midst, opened out the paper, but so that he had it upside down, and read from it long sentences in Chukch to an attentive audience, astonished at his learning. Next forenoon we had another visit of the great and learned chief. New presents were exchanged, and he was entertained after our best ability. Finally he danced to the chamber-organ, both alone and together with some of his hosts, to the great entertainment of the Europeans and Asiatics present.

As the state of the ice was still unaltered, I did not neglect the opportunity that now offered of making acquaintance with the interior of the country. With pleasure, accordingly, I gave Lieutenants Nordquist and Hovgaard permission to pay a visit to Menka's encampment. They started on the morning of the 8th October. Lieut. Nordquist has given me the following account of their excursion:--

"On Tuesday, the 8th October, at 10 o'clock A.M. Lieut
Hovgaard and I travelled from Pitlekaj in dog-sledges into
the interior in a S.S.E. direction. Hovgaard and I had
each a Chukch as driver. Menka had with him a servant, who
almost all the time ran before as guide. My comrade's
sledge, which was heaviest, was drawn by ten dogs, mine by
eight, and Menka's, which was the smallest and in which he
sat alone, by five. In general the Chukches appear to
reckon four or five dogs sufficient for a sledge with one
person.

"The _tundra_, with marshes and streams scattered over it,
was during the first part of our way only gently
undulating, but the farther we went into the interior of
the country the more uneven it became, and when, at 8
o'clock next morning, we reached the goal of our
journey--Menka's brother's camp--we found ourselves in a
valley, surrounded by hills, some of which rose about 300
metres above their bases. A portion of the vegetable
covering the _tundra_ could still be distinguished through
the thin layer of snow. The most common plants on the
drier places were _Aira alpina_ and _Poa alpina_; on the
more low-lying places there grew Glyceria, Pedicularis,
and _Ledum palustre_; everywhere we found _Petasites
frigida_ and a species of Salix. The latter grew
especially on the slopes in great masses, which covered
spots having an area of twenty to thirty square metres. At
some places this bush rose to a height of about a metre
above the ground. The prevailing rock appeared to be
granite. The bottoms of the valleys were formed of
post-Tertiary formations, which most frequently consisted
of sand and rolled stones, as, for instance, was the case
in the great valley in which ilenka's brother's camp was
pitched.

"When, on the morning of the 9th, we came to the camp
there met us some of the principal Chukches. They saluted
Menka in the Russian way, by kissing him first on both
cheeks and then on the mouth. The Chukches however, appear
to be very averse to this ceremony, and scarcely ever
touched each other with the mouth. Us they saluted in the
common way, by stretching out the hand and bowing
themselves. We then went into Menka's brother's tent, in
front of which the whole inhabitants of the encampment
were speedily assembled to look at us. The camp consisted
of eighteen tents, pitched on both sides of a river which
ran through the valley. The tents were inhabited by
reindeer-Chukches, who carry on traffic between the
Russians and a tribe living on the other side of Behring's
Straits, whom they call _Yekargaules_. Between the tents
we saw a great number of sledges, both empty and loaded.
Some of these were light and low sledges for driving in,
with runners bent upwards and backwards, others were
heavier pack-sledges, made of stronger wood, with the
runners not bent back. Some of the light sledges were
provided with tilts of splints covered with reindeer
skins; others were completely covered, having an entrance
only in front.

"The knives, axes, boring tools, &c., which I saw were of
iron and steel, and had evidently been obtained from
Americans or Russians. The household articles in Menka's
brother's tent consisted of some copper coffee-pots, which
were used for boiling water, a german-silver beaker with
an English inscription, two teacups with saucers, flat
wooden trays, and barrels. The dress of the
reindeer-Chukches is similar to that of the
coast-Chukches, only with this difference, that the former
use reindeer-skins exclusively, while the latter employ
seal-skin in addition. Some, on our arrival, put on
blouses of variegated cloth, probably of Russian
manufacture. Among ornaments may be mentioned glass-beads,
strung on sinews, which were worn in the ears or on the
neck, chiefly by the women. These were tattooed in the
same way as those of the coast-Chukches. I saw here,
however, an old woman, who, besides the common tattooing
of the face, was tattooed on the shoulders, and another,
who, on the outside of the hands, had two parallel lines
running along the hand and an oblique line connecting
them. The men were not tattooed. Two of them carried
crosses, with Slavonic inscriptions, at the neck, others
carried in the same way forked pieces of wood. Whether
these latter are to be considered as their gods or as
amulets I know not.

"As we could not obtain here the reindeer that we wished
to purchase on account of the expedition, we betook
ourselves with our dogs on the afternoon of the same day
along with Menka to his son-in-law's encampment, which we
reached at 8 o'clock in the evening. We were received in a
very friendly way, and remained here over night. All the
inhabitants of the tent sleep together in the bedchamber
of it, which is not more than 2 to 2.4 metres long, 1.8 to
2 metres broad, and 1.2 to 1.5 metres high. Before they
lie down they take supper. Men and women wear during the
night only a _cingulum pudicitiae_, about fifteen
centimetres broad, and are otherwise completely naked. In
the morning the housewife rose first and boiled a little
flesh, which was then served in the bedchamber, before its
inmates had put on their clothes. She cut the meat in
slices in a tray, and distributed them afterwards. In the
morning we saw the Chukches catch and slaughter their
reindeer. Two men go into the herd, and when they have got
sight of a reindeer which they wish to have, they cast, at
a distance of nine or ten metres, a running noose over the
animal's horns. It now throws itself backwards and
forwards in its attempts to escape, and drags after it for
some moments the man who holds the noose. The other man in
the meantime endeavours to approach the reindeer, catches
the animal by the horns and throws it to the ground,
killing it afterwards by a knife-stab behind the shoulder.
The reindeer is then handed over to the women, who, by an
incision in the side of the belly, take out the entrails.
The stomach is emptied of its contents, and is then used
to hold the blood. Finally th skin is taken off.

"About 10 o'clock A.M. we commenced our homeward journey.
At nightfall we sought to have a roof over our head in a
wretched Chukch tent on the shore of Lake Utschunutsch. It
was partly sunk in one of the small mounds which are found
here along the shore, and which are probably the remains
of old Onkilon dwellings. The present inhabitants, two old
men and an old woman, had their habitation arranged in the
following way:--In the bottom of a cylindrical pit, one
metre deep and three and a half to four and a half metres
in diameter, a vertical pole was erected, against the
upper end of which rested a number of obliquely placed
bars, rising from the edge of the pit, which were covered
with skins. The enclosure or bedchamber, peculiar to the
Chukch tent, was not wanting here. Otherwise the whole
dwelling bore the stamp of poverty and dirt. The food of
the inmates appeared to be fish. Of this, besides the fish
we obtained here, the nets hanging in front of the tent
afforded evidence. Some clothes, an iron pot, two wooden
vessels, and a Shaman drum were the only things I could
discover in the tent.

"Next morning we continued our journey. On the other side
of Lake Utschunutsch we saw two dwellings, which only
consisted of boats turned upside down with some hides
drawn over them. The rest of the way we came past Najtskaj
and through Irgunnuk, where we were received in an
exceedingly friendly fashion. By 7 o'clock in the evening
of the 11th October we were again on board the _Vega_."

From Lieutenant Hovgaard's report, which principally relates to the topography of the region passed through, we make the following extract relating to the endurance which the Chukches and their dogs showed:--

"During our outward journey, which lasted twenty-one and a
half hours, Menka's attendant, the before-mentioned
reindeer owner, whom we at first took to be Menka's slave
or servant, ran without interruption before the sledges,
and even when we rested he was actively searching for the
track, looking after the dogs, &c. When we came to the
camp he did not sleep, and, notwithstanding, was as fresh
during the following day's journey. During the time he got
no spirituous liquor, by express order of Menka, who said
that if he did he would not be able to continue to run.
Instead he chewed a surprising quantity of tobacco. The
dogs, during the whole time, were not an instant unyoked;
in the mornings they lay half snowed up, and slept in
front of the sledges. We never saw the Chukches give them
any food: the only food they got was the frozen excrements
of the fox and other animals, which they themselves
snapped up in passing. Yet even on the last day no
diminution in their power of draught was observable."

Nordquist brought with him, among other things, two reindeer, bought for a rouble and a half each. They were still very serviceable, though badly slaughtered. But the reindeer we purchased farther on in the winter were so poor that no one on board could persuade himself to eat them.

On the 18th October, by which time we believed that Menka would be already at Markova, we were again visited by him and his son-in-law. He said he had no _akmimil_ (fire-water) to keep holiday with, and now came to us to exchange three slaughtered reindeer for it. Our miscalculation with respect to the letters, which we hoped were long ago on their way to their destination, and my dislike to the mode of payment in question--I offered him, without success, half-imperials and metal rouble pieces instead of brandy--made his reception on this occasion less hearty, and he therefore left us soon. It was not until the 9th. February, 1879, that we again got news from Menka by one of the Chukches, who had attended him the time before. The Chukch said that in ten days he had traversed the way between the _Vega's_ winter haven and Markova, which would run to about ninety kilometres a day. According to his statement Menka had travelled with the letters to Yakutsk. The statement seemed very suspicious, and appeared afterwards to have been partly fabricated, or perhaps to have been misunderstood by us. But after our return to the world of newspapers we found that Menka had actually executed his commission. He, however, did not reach Anadyrsk until the 7th March/23rd February. Thence the packet was sent to Irkutsk, arriving there on the 10th May/28th April. The news reached Sweden by telegraph six days after, on the 16th May, just at a time when concern for the fate of the _Vega_, was beginning to be very great, and the question of relief expeditions was seriously entertained.[256]

In order to relieve the apprehensions of our friends at home, it was, however, exceedingly important to give them some accounts of the position of the _Vega_ during winter, and I therefore offered all the purchasing power which the treasures of guns, powder, ball, food, fine shirts, and even spirits, collected on board, could exert, in order to induce some natives to convey Lieutenants Nordquist and Bove to Markova or Nischni Kolymsk. The negotiations seemed at first to go on very well, an advance was demanded and given, but when the journey should have commenced the Chukches always refused to start on some pretext or other--now it was too cold, now too dark, now there was no food for the dogs. The negotiations had thus no other result than to make us acquainted with one of the few less agreeable sides of the Chukches' disposition, namely the complete untrustworthiness of these otherwise excellent savages, and their peculiar idea of the binding force of an agreement.

The plans of travel just mentioned, however, led to Lieutenant Nordquist making an excursion with dog-sledges in order to be even with one of the natives, who had received an advance for driving him to Markova, but had not kept his promise. Of this journey Lieutenant Nordquist gives the following account:--

"On the 5th December, at 7.50 A.M., I started with a
dog-sledge for the village Pidlin, lying on Kolyutschin
Bay. I was driven by the Chukch Auango from Irgunnuk. He
had a small, light sledge, provided with runners of
whalebone, drawn by six dogs, of which the leader was
harnessed before the other five, which were fastened
abreast in front of the sledge, each with its draught
belt. The dogs were weak and ill managed, and therefore
went so slowly that I cannot estimate their speed at more
than two or three English miles an hour. As the journey
both thither and back lasted eight to nine hours, the
distance between Pitlekaj and Pidlin may be about
twenty-five English miles.

"Pidlin and Kolyutschin Island are the only inhabited
places on Kolyutschin Bay. At the former place there are
four tents, pitched on the eastern shore of the bay, the
number of the inhabitants being a little over twenty
persons. I was received in front of the tents by the
population of the village and carried to the tent, which
was inhabited by Chepcho, who now promised to go with me
in February to Anadyrsk. My host had a wife and three
children. At night the children were completely undressed;
the adults had short trousers on, the man of tanned skin,
the woman of cloth. In the oppressive heat, which was kept
up by two train-oil lamps burning the whole night, it was
difficult to sleep even in the heavy reindeer-skin
dresses. Yet they covered themselves with reindeer skins.
Besides the heat there was a fearful stench--the Chukches
obeyed the calls of nature within the bedchamber--which I
could not stand without going out twice to get fresh air.
When we got up next morning our hostess served breakfast
in a flat tray, containing first seals' flesh and fat,
with a sort of sourkrout of fermented willow-leaves, then
seals' liver, and finally seals' blood--all frozen.

"Among objects of ethnographical interest I saw, besides
the Shaman drum which was found in every tent, and was not
regarded with the superstitious dread which I have often
observed elsewhere, a bundle of amulets fastened with a
small thong, a wolf's skull, which was also hung up by a
thong, the skin together with the whole cartilaginous
portion of a wolf's nose and a flat stone. The amulets
consisted of wooden forks, four to five centimetres long,
of the sort which we often see the Chukches wear on the
breast. My host said that such an amulet worn round the
neck was a powerful means of preventing disease. The
wolf's skull which I had already got, he took back,
because his four- or five-year-old son would need it in
making choice of a wife. What part it played in this I did
not however ascertain.

"While my driver harnessed the dogs for the journey home,
I had an opportunity of seeing some little girls dance,
which they did in the same way as that in which I had seen
girls dance at Pitlekaj and Yinretlen. Two girls then
place themselves either right opposite to or alongside of
each other. In the former case they often lay their hands
on each other's shoulders, bend by turns to either side,
sometimes leap with the feet held together and wheel
round, while they sing or rather grunt the measure.

"The journey home was commenced at eight o'clock in the
morning. In the course of it my driver sang Chukch songs.
These are often only imitations of the cries of animals or
improvisations without any distinct metre or rhythm, and
very little variation in the notes; only twice I thought I
could distinguish a distinct melody. In the afternoon my
driver told me the Chukch names of several stars. At five
o'clock in the afternoon I reached the _Vega_."

On the 10th October, the new ice at many places in the neighbourhood of the vessel was still so weak that it was impossible to walk upon it, and blue water-skies at the horizon indicated, that there were still considerable stretches of open water in the neighbourhood. But the drift-ice round about us lay so rock-fast, that I could already take solar altitudes from the deck of the vessel with a mercurial horizon. In order to ascertain the actual state of the case with reference to the open water, excursions were undertaken on the 13th October, in different directions. Dr. Kjellman could then, from the rocky promontory at Yinretlen, forty-two metres high, see large open spaces in the sea to the northward. Dr. Almquist went right out over the ice, following the track of Chukches, who had gone to catch seals. He travelled about twenty kilometres over closely packed drift-ice fields, without reaching open water, and found the newly frozen ice, with which the pieces of drift-ice were bound together, still everywhere unbroken. The Chukches, who visited the vessel in dog-sledges on the 28th October, informed us, however, that the sea a little to the east of us was still completely open.

On the 15th October the hunter Johnsen returned from a hunting expedition quite terrified. He informed us that during his wanderings on the _tundra_, he had found a murdered man and brought with him, with the idea that, away here in the land of the Chukches, similar steps ought to be taken as in those lands which are blessed by a well-ordered judiciary, as _species facti_, some implements lying beside the dead man, among which was a very beautiful lance, on whose blade traces of having been inlaid in gold could still be discovered. Fortunately he had come with these things through the Chukch camp unobserved. From the description which was given me, however, I was able immediately to come to the conclusion that the question here was not of any murder, but of a dead man laid out on the _tundra_. I requested Dr. Almquist to visit the place, in order that he might make a more detailed examination. He confirmed my conjecture. As wolves, foxes, and ravens had already torn the corpse to pieces, the doctor considered that he, too, might take his share, and therefore brought home with him from his excursion, an object carefully wrapped up and concealed among the hunting equipment, namely, the Chukch's head. It was immediately sunk to the sea-bottom, where it remained for a couple of weeks to be skeletonised by the crustacea swarming there, and it now has its number in the collections brought home by the _Vega_. This sacrilege was never detected by the Chukches, and probably the wolves got the blame of it, as nearly every spring it was seen that the corpse, which had been laid out during autumn, lost its head during winter. It was, perhaps, more difficult to explain the disappearance of the lance, but of this, too, the maws of the wolves might well bear the blame.

Our hunters now made hunting excursions in different directions, but the supply of game was scanty. The openings in the ice probably swarmed with seals, but they were too distant, and without a boat it was impossible to carry on any hunting there. Not a single Polar bear now appeared to be visible in the neighbourhood, although bears' skulls are found at several places on the beach, and this animal appears to play a great part in the imagination of the natives, to judge of the many figures of bears among the bone carvings I purchased from the Chukches. The natives often have a small strip of bear's skin on the seat of their sledges, but I have not seen any whole bear's skin here; perhaps the animal is being exterminated on the north coast of Siberia. Our wintering, therefore, will not enrich Arctic literature with any new bear stories--a very sensible difficulty for the writer himself. Wolves, on the other hand, occur on the _tundra_ in sufficient abundance, even if one or other of the wolves found in mist and drifting snow, and saluted with shot, turned out, on a critical determination of species, to be our own dogs. At least, this was the case with the "wolf," that inveigled one of the crew into shooting a ball one dark night right through the thermometer case, fortunately without injuring the instruments, and with no other result than that he had afterwards to bear an endless number of jokes from his comrades on account of his wolf-hunt. Foxes, white, red and black, also occurred here in great numbers, but they were at that season difficult to get at, and besides they had perhaps withdrawn from the coast. Hares, on the other hand, maintained themselves during the whole winter at Yinretlen, by day partly out on the ice partly on the cape, by night in the neighbourhood of the tents. Sweepings and offal from the proceeds of the chase had there produced a vegetation, which, though concealed by snow, yielded to the hares in winter a more abundant supply of food than the barren _tundra_. It was remarkable that the hares were allowed to live between the tents and in their neighbourhood without being disturbed by the score of lean and hungry dogs belonging to the village. When farther into the winter for the sake of facilitating the hare-hunting I had a hut erected for Johnsen the hunter, he chose as the place for it the immediate neighbourhood of the village, declaring that the richest hunting-ground in the whole neighbourhood was just there. The shooters stated that part of the hares became snow-blind in spring. The hares here are larger than with us, and have exceedingly delicious flesh.

On our arrival most of the birds had already left these regions, so inhospitable in winter, or were seen high up in the air in collected flocks, flying towards the south entrance of Behring's Straits. Still on the 19th October an endless procession of birds was seen drawing towards this region, but by the 3rd November it was noted, as something uncommon, that a gull settled on the refuse heaps in the neighbourhood of the vessel. It resembled the ivory gull, but had a black head. Perhaps it was the rare _Larus Sabinii_, of which a drawing has been given above.[257] All the birds which passed us came from the north-west, that is, from the north coast of Siberia, the New Siberian Islands or Wrangel Land. Only the mountain owl, a species of raven and the ptarmigan wintered in the region, the last named being occasionally snowed up.

The ptarmigan here is not indeed so plump and good as the Spitzbergen ptarmigan during winter, but in any case provided us with an always welcome, if scanty change from the tiresome preserved meat. When some ptarmigan were shot, they were therefore willingly saved up by the cook, along with the hares, for festivals. For in order to break the monotony on board an opportunity was seldom neglected that offered itself for holding festivities. Away there on the coast of the Chukch peninsula there were thus celebrated with great conscientiousness during the winter of 1878-9, not only our own birthdays but also those of King Oscar, King Christian and King Humbert, and of the Emperor Alexander. Every day a newspaper was distributed, for the day indeed, but for a past year. In addition we numbered among our diversions constant intercourse with the natives, and frequent visits to the neighbouring villages, driving in dog-sledges, a sport which would have been very enjoyable if the dogs of the natives had not been so exceedingly poor and bad, and finally industrious reading and zealous studies, for which I had provided the expedition with an extensive library, intended both for the scientific men and officers, and for the crew, numbering with the private stock of books nearly a thousand volumes.

All this time of course the purely scientific work was not neglected. In the first rank among these stood the meteorological and magnetical observations, which from the 1st November were made on land every hour. However fast the ice lay around the vessel it was impossible to get on it a sufficiently stable base for the magnetical variation instrument. The magnetical observatory was therefore erected on land of the finest building material any architect has had at his disposal, namely, large parallelopipeds of beautiful blue-coloured ice-blocks. The building was therefore called by the Chukches _Tintinyaranga_ (the ice-house), a name which was soon adopted by the _Vega_ men too. As mortar the builder, Palander, used snow mixed with water, and the whole was covered with a roof of boards. But as after a time it appeared that the storm made its way through the joints and that these were gradually growing larger in consequence of the evaporation of the ice so that the drifting snow could find an entrance, the whole house had a sail drawn over it. As supports of the three variation instruments large blocks of wood were used, whose lower ends were sunk in pits, which, with great trouble, were excavated in the frozen ground, and then, when the block supports were placed, were filled with sand mixed with water.

The ice-house was a spacious observatory, well-fitted for its purpose in every respect. It had but one defect, the temperature was always at an uncomfortably low point. As no iron could be used in the building, and we had no copper-stove with us, we could not have any fireplace there. We endeavoured, indeed, to use a copper fireplace, that had been intended for sledge journeys, for heating, but only with the result that the observatory was like to have gone to pieces. We succeeded little better when we discovered farther on in the winter, while trimming the hold, a forgotten cask of bear's oil. We considered this _find_ a clear indication that instead of a stove fired with wood we should, according to the custom of the Polar races, use oil-lamps to mitigate the severe cold which deprived our stay in Tintinyaranga of part of its pleasure. But this mode of firing proved altogether impracticable. The fumes of the oil smelled worse than those of the charcoal, and the result of this experiment was none other than that the splendid crystals of ice, with which the roof and walls of the ice-house were gradually clothed, were covered with black soot. Firing with oil was abandoned, and the oil presented to our friends at Yinretlen, who just then were complaining loudly that they had no other fuel than wood.

Besides the nine scientific men and officers of the _Vega_, the engineer Nordstroem and the seaman Lundgren took part in the magnetical and meteorological observations. Every one had his watch of six hours, five of which were commonly passed in the ice-house. To walk from the vessel to the observatory, distant a kilometre and a half, with the temperature under the freezing point of mercury, or, what was much worse, during storm, with the temperature at -36 deg., remain in the observatory for five hours in a temperature of -17 deg., and then return to the vessel, commonly against the wind--for it came nearly always from the north or north-west--was dismal enough. None of us, however, suffered any harm from it. On the contrary, it struck me as if this compulsory interruption to our monotonous life on board and the long-continued stay in the open air had a refreshing influence both on body and soul.

In the neighbourhood of the ice-house the thermometer case was erected, and farther on in the winter there were built in the surrounding snowdrifts, two other observatories, not however of ice, but of snow, in the Greenland snow-building style. Our depot of provisions was also placed in the neighbourhood, and at a sufficient distance from the magnetical observatory there was a large wooden chest, in which the Remington guns, which were carried for safety in excursions from the vessel, and other iron articles which the observer had with him, were placed before he entered the observatory.

The building of Tintinyaranga was followed by the Chukches with great interest. When they saw that we did not intend to live there, but that rare, glancing metal instruments were set up in it, and that a wonderfully abundant flood of light in comparison with their tent illumination was constantly maintained inside with a kind of light quite unknown to them (stearine candles and photogen lamps) a curious uneasiness began to prevail among them, which we could not quiet with the language of signs mixed with a Chukch word or two, to which our communications with the natives were at that time confined. Even farther on in the year, when an efficient though word-poor international language had gradually been formed between us, they made inquiries on this point, yet with considerable indifference. All sensible people among them had evidently already come to the conclusion that it was profitless trouble to seek a reasonable explanation of all the follies which the strange foreigners, richly provided with many earthly gifts but by no means with practical sense, perpetrated. In any case it was with a certain amazement and awe that they, when they exceptionally obtained permission, entered one by one through the doors in order to see the lamps burn and to peep into the tubes. Many times even a dog-team that had come a long way stopped for a few moments at the ice-house to satisfy the owner's curiosity, and on two occasions in very bad drifting weather we were compelled to give shelter to a wanderer who had gone astray.

When this ice-house was ready and hourly observations began in it, life on board took the stamp which it afterwards retained in the course of the winter. In order to give the reader an idea of our every-day life, I shall reproduce here the spirited sketch of a day on the _Vega_, which Dr. Kjellman gave in one of his home letters:--

"It is about half-past eight in the morning. He whose
watch has expired has returned after five hours' stay in
the ice-house, where the temperature during the night has
been about -16 deg.. His account of the weather is good
enough. There are only thirty-two degrees of cold, it is
half-clear, and, to be out of the ordinary, there is no
wind. Breakfast is over. Cigars, cigarettes, and pipes are
lighted, and the gunroom _personnel_ go up on deck for a
little exercise and fresh air, for below it is confined
and close. The eye rests on the desolate, still
faintly-lighted landscape, which is exactly the same as it
was yesterday; a white plain in all directions, across
which a low, likewise white, chain of hillocks or
_torosses_ here and there raises itself, and over which
some ravens, with feeble wing-strokes, fly forward,
searching for something to support life with. 'Metschinko
Orpist,' 'metschinko Okerpist,' 'metschinko Kellman,' &c.,
now sounds everywhere on the vessel and from the ice in
its neighbourhood. 'Orpist' represents Nordquist,
'Okerpist' again Stuxberg. It is the Chukches' morning
salutation to us. To-day the comparatively fine weather
has drawn out a larger crowd than usual, thirty to forty
human beings, from tender sucking babes to grey old folks,
men as well as women; the latter in the word of salutation
replacing the _tsch_-sound with an exceedingly soft
caressing _ts_-sound. That most of them have come driving
is shown by the equipages standing in the neighbourhood of
the vessel. They consist of small, low, narrow, light
sledges, drawn by four to ten or twelve dogs. The sledges
are made of small pieces of wood and bits of
reindeer-horn, held together by sealskin straps. As
runner-shoes thin plates of the ribs of the whale are
used. The dogs, sharp-nosed, long-backed, and excessively
dirty, have laid themselves to rest, curled together in
the snow.

"The salutation is followed almost immediately to-day as
on preceding days by some other words: 'Ouinga mouri
kauka,' which may be translated thus: 'I am so hungry; I
have no food; give me a little bread!' They suffer hunger
now, the poor beings. Seal flesh, their main food, they
cannot with the best will procure for the time. The only
food they can get consists of fish (two kinds of cod), but
this is quite too poor diet for them, they have fallen off
since we first met with them.

"Soon we are all surrounded by our Chukch acquaintances.
The daily market begins. They have various things to
offer, which they know to be of value to us, as weapons,
furs, ornaments, playthings, fish, bones of the whale,
algae, vegetables, &c. For all this only 'kauka' is now
asked. To-day the supply of whales' bones is large, in
consequence of our desire, expressed on previous days, to
obtain them. One has come with two vertebrae, one with a
rib or some fragments of it, one with a shoulder-blade.
They are not shy in laying heavy loads on their dogs.

"After the close of the promenade and the traffic with the
natives, the gunroom _personnel_ have begun their labours.
Some keep in their cabins, others in the gunroom itself.
The magnetical and meteorological observations made the
day before are transcribed and subjected to a preliminary
working-out, the natural history collections are examined
and looked over, studies and authorship are prosecuted.
The work is now and then interrupted by conversation
partly serious, partly jocular. From the engine-room in
the neighbourhood we hear the blows of hammers and the
rasping of files. In the 'tweendecks, pretty well heated,
but not very well lighted, some of the crew are employed
at ordinary ship's work; and in the region of the kitchen
the cook is just in the midst of his preparations for
dinner. He is in good humour as usual, but perhaps
grumbles a little at the 'mosucks' (a common name on board
for the Chukches), who will not give him any peace by
their continual cries for 'mimil' (water.)

"The forenoon passes in all quietness and stillness.
Immediately after noon nearly all the gunroom people are
again on deck, promenading backwards and forwards. It is
now very lively. It is the crew's meal-time. The whole
crowd of Chukches are collected at the descent to their
apartment, the lower deck. One soup basin after the other
comes up; they are immediately emptied of their contents
by those who in the crowd and confusion are fortunate
enough to get at them. Bread and pieces of meat and bits
of sugar are distributed assiduously, and disappear with
equal speed. Finally, the cook himself appears with a
large kettle, containing a very large quantity of meat
soup, which the Chukches like starving animals throw
themselves upon, baling into them with spoons, empty
preserve tins, and above all with the hands.
Notwithstanding the exceedingly severe cold a woman here
and there has uncovered one arm and half her breast in
order not to be embarrassed by the wide reindeer-skin
sleeve in her attempts to get at the contents of the
kettle. The spectacle is by no means a pleasant one.

"By three o'clock it begins to grow dark, and one after
the other of our guests depart, to return, the most of
them, in the morning. Now it is quiet and still. About six
the crew have finished their labours and dispose of the
rest of the day as they please. Most of them are occupied
with reading during the evening hours. When supper has
been served at half-past seven in the gunroom, he who has
the watch in the ice-house from nine to two next morning
prepares for the performance of his disagreeable duty; the
rest of the gunroom _personnel_ are assembled there, and
pass the evening in conversation, play, light reading, &c.
At ten every one retires, and the lamps are extinguished.
In many cabins, however, lights burn till after midnight.

"Such was in general our life on the _Vega_. One day was
very like another. When the storm howled, the snow
drifted, and the cold became too severe, we kept more
below deck; when the weather was finer we lived more in
the open air, often paying visits to the observatory in
the ice-house, and among the Chukches living in the
neighbourhood, or wandering about to come upon, if
possible, some game."

The snow which fell during winter consisted more generally of small simple snow-crystals or ice-needles, than of the beautiful snow-flakes whose grand kaleidoscopic forms the inhabitants of the north so often have an opportunity of admiring. Already with a gentle wind and with a pretty clear atmosphere the lower strata of the atmosphere were full of these regular ice-needles, which refracted the rays of the sun, so as to produce parhelia and halos. Unfortunately however these were never so completely developed as the halos which I saw in 1873 during the sledge-journey round North-east Land on Spitzbergen; but I believed that even now I could confirm the correctness of the observation I then made, that the representation which is generally given of this beautiful phenomenon, in which the halo is delineated as a collection of regular circles, is not correct, but that it forms a very involved system of lines, extended over the whole vault of heaven, for the most part coloured on the sun-side and uncoloured on the opposite side, of the sort shown in the accompanying drawings taken from the account of the Spitzbergen Expedition of 1872-73.

Another very beautiful phenomenon, produced by the refraction of the solar rays by the ice-needles, which during winter were constantly mixed with the atmospheric strata lying nearest the surface of the earth, was that the mountain heights to the south of the _Vega_ in a certain light appeared as if feathered with fire-clouds. In clear sunshine and a high wind we frequently saw, as it were, a glowing pillar of vapour arise obliquely from the summits of the mountains, giving them the appearance of volcanos, which throw out enormous columns of smoke, flame-coloured by the reflection from the glowing lava streams in the depths of the crater.

A blue water-sky was still visible out to sea, indicating that open water was to be found there. I therefore sent Johnsen the hunter over the ice on the 18th December to see how it was. In three-quarters of an hour's walking from the vessel he found an extensive opening, recently covered with thin, blue, newly frozen ice. A fresh northerly breeze blew at the time, and by it the drift-ice fields were forced together with such speed, that Johnsen supposed that in a couple of hours the whole lead would be completely closed.

In such openings in Greenland white whales and other small whales are often enclosed by hundreds, the natives thus having an opportunity of making in a few hours a catch which would be sufficient for their support during the whole winter, indeed for years, if the idea of _saving_ ever entered into the imagination of the savage. But here in a region where the pursuit of the whale is more productive than in any other sea, no such occurrence has happened. During the whole of our stay on the coast of the Chukch country we did not see a single whale. On the other hand, masses of whales' bones were found thrown up on the beach. At first I did not bestow much attention upon them, thinking they were the bones of whales that had been killed during the recent whale-fishing period. I soon found however that this could not have been the case. For the bones had evidently been washed out of the sandy dune running along the beach, which had been deposited at a time when the present coast lay ten to twenty metres below the surface of the sea, thus hundreds or thousands of years ago, undoubtedly before the time when the north coast of Asia was first inhabited by man. The dune sand is, as recently exposed profiles show, quite free from other kitchen-midden remains than those which occur upon its surface. The whales' bones in question were thus _subfossil_. Their number was so great, that in the systematic examination of the beach in the immediate neighbourhood of the vessel, which I undertook during spring with the assistance of Dr. Kjellman and half a dozen of the sailors, thirty neck-bones and innumerable other bones of the whale were found in a stretch of from four to five kilometres. Of course masses of bones are still concealed in the sand; and a large number of lower jaw-bones, ribs, shoulder-blades, and vertebrae had been used for runner-shoes, tent-frames, spades, picks and other implements. A portion, after being exposed for several years to the action of the air, had undergone decay. The bones are therefore found in greatest number at those places where the sand of the dune has been recently carried away by the spring floods or by the furious winds which prevail here, and which easily gain the ascendency over the dry sand, bound together only by widely scattered Elymus-stalks. The largest crania belonged to a species nearly allied to the _Balaena mysticetus_. Crania of a species of Rachianectes are also found along with some bones of smaller varieties of the whale. No complete skeleton however has been found, but we brought home with us so large a quantity of the loose bones that the collection of whales' bones alone would have formed a full cargo for a small vessel. These bones will be delineated and described by Professor. A.W. MALM in _The Scientific Work of the Vega Expedition_. Special attention was drawn to a skeleton, belonging to the _Balaena mysticetus_, by its being still partially covered with skin, and by deep red, almost fresh, flesh adhering to those parts of it which were frozen fast in the ground. This skeleton lay at a place where the dune sand had recently been washed away and the coarse underlying sand uncovered, the whale-_mummy_ also I suppose coming to light at the same time. That the whale in question had not stranded in the memory of man the Chukches assured me unanimously. In such a case we have here a proof that even portions of the flesh of gigantic sea-animals have been protected against putrefaction in the frozen soil of Siberia--a parallel to the mammoth-_mummies_, though from a considerably more recent period.

Christmas Eve was celebrated in the usual northern fashion. We had indeed neglected, as in the Expedition of 1872-73, to take with us any Christmas tree. But instead of it Dr. Kjellman prevailed on our Chukch friends to bring with dog-sledges willow-bushes from the valleys lying beyond the mountains to the south. By means of these a bare driftwood stem was converted into a luxuriant, branchy tree which, to replace the verdure, was clothed with variegated strips of paper, and planted in the 'tweendecks, which after our enclosure in the ice had been arranged as a working room, and was now set in order for the Christmas festivities, and richly and tastefully ornamented with flags. A large number of small wax-lights, which we had brought with us for the special purpose, were fixed in the Christmas tree, together with about two hundred Christmas boxes purchased or presented to us before our departure. At six o'clock in the afternoon all the officers and crew assembled in the 'tweendecks, and the drawing of lots began, now and then interrupted by a thundering polka round the peculiar Christmas tree. At supper neither Christmas ale nor ham was wanting. And later in the evening there made their appearance in the 'tweendecks five punchbowls, which were emptied with songs and toasts for King and Fatherland, for the objects of the Expedition, for its officers and men, for the families at home, for relatives and friends, and finally for those who decked and arranged the Christmas tree, who were the sailors C. Lundgren and O. Hansson, and the firemen O. Ingelsson and C. Carlstroem.

The other festivals were also celebrated in the best way, and at midnight before New Year's Day the new year was shot in with sharp explosive-shell firing from the rifled cannon of the _Vega_, and a number of rockets thrown up from the deck.

[Footnote 249: Equal to 6.64 English miles. ]

[Footnote 250: When it had become evident that we could make no further advance before next year, Lieut Brusewitz occasionally measured the thickness of the newly formed ice, with the following results:--

THICKNESS OF THE ICE. 1 December, 56 centimetres. 1 May. 154 centimetres 1 January, 92 ,, 15 ,, 162 ,, 1 February, 108 ,, 1 June, 154 ,, 15 ,, 120 ,, 15 ,, 151 ,, 1 March, 123 ,, 1 July, 104 ,, 1 April, 128 ,, 15 67 ,, (full of holes). 15 ,, 139 ,, 18 ,, The ice broke up. ]

[Footnote 251: Low brush is probably to be met with in the interior of the Chukch peninsula at places which are protected from the cold north winds. ]

[Footnote 252: According to H. Wild's newly-published large work, "_Die Temperatur Verhaeltnisse des Russischen Reiches_, 2e Halfte, St. Petersburg, 1881," the Old World's cold-pole lies in the neighbourhood of the town Werchojansk (67 deg. 34' N.L. 133 deg. 51' E.L. from Greenwich). The mean temperature of the different months and of the whole year is given in the note at page 411. If the data on which these figures rest are correct, the winter at Werchojansk is immensely colder than at the _Vega's_ winter station. ]

[Footnote 253: 1 lb.=100 ort=425.05 gram. 1 kanna=100 cubic inches=2.617 litres. ]

[Footnote 254: To carry animals for slaughter on vessels during Polar expeditions cannot be sufficiently recommended. Their flesh acts beneficially by forming a change from the preserved provisions, which in course of time become exceedingly disagreeable, and their care a not less important interruption to the monotony of the winter life. ]

[Footnote 255: I give here an extract from the Vocabulary, that the reader may form some idea of the language of the north-east point of Asia:--

_Tnaergin_, heaven. _Tirkir_, the sun. _Yedlin_, the moon. _Angatlingan_, a star. _Nutatschka_, land. _Angka_, sea. _Ljedljenki_, winter. _Edljek_, summer. _Edljongat_, day. _Nekita_, night. _Ayguon_, yesterday. _Ietkin_, to-day. _Ergatti_, to-morrow. _Gnunian_, north. _Emnungku_, south. _Nikayan_, east. _Kayradljgin_, west. _Tintin_, ice. _Atljatlj_, snow. _Yeetedli_, the aurora. _Yengeen_, mist. _Tedljgio_, storm. _Eek_, fire. _Kljautlj_, a man, a human being. _Oraedlja_, men. _Neairen_, a woman. _Nenena_, a child. _Empenatschyo_, father. _Empengau_, mother. _Ljeut_, head. _Ljeutljka_, face. _Dljedljadlin_, eye. _Liljaptkourgin_, to see. _Huedljodlin_, ear. _Huedljokodljaurgin_, to hear. _Huadljomerkin_, to understand. _Huedljountakurgin_, not to understand. _Yeka_, nose. _Yekergin_, mouth. _Kametkuaurgin_, to eat. _Yedlinedljourgin_, to speak. _Mammah_, a woman's breast. _Mammatkourgin_, to give suck. _Yeet_, foot. _Retschaurgin_, to stand. _Yetkatjergin_, to lie. _Tschipiska_, to sleep. _Kadljetschetuetjakurgin_, to learn. _Pintekatkourgin_, to be born. _Kaertraljirgin_, to die. _Kamakatan_, to be sick. _Kamak_, the Deity, a guardian Spirit. _Yaranga_, tent. _Etschengeratlin_, lamp. _Orguor_, sledge. _Atkuat_, boat. _Anetljkatlj_, fishing-hook. _Anedljourgin_, to angle. _Uadlin_, knife. _Tschupak_, _Kameak_, dog. _Umku_, Polar bear. _Rerka_, walrus. _Memetlj_, seal. _Korang_, reindeer. _Gatlje_, bird. _Enne_, fish. _Gurgur_, dwarf-birch. _Kukatkokongadlin_, willow-bush. _Gem_, I. _Gemnin_, mine. _Get_, you. _Genin_, yours. _Enkan_, he. _Muri_, we. _Turi_, you. _Mayngin_, much. _Pljukin_, little. _Konjpong_, all. _I_, yes. _Etlje_, no. _Metschinka_, thanks. _Ennen_, one. _Nirak_, two. _Nrok_, three. _Nrak_, four. _Metljingan_, five. ]

[Footnote 256: The King of Sweden has since ordered a gold medal to be given to Wassili Menka in recognition of the fidelity with which he executed the commission of carrying our letters to a Russian post station. ]

[Footnote 257: See page 119. ]

END OF VOL. I.

THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA ROUND ASIA AND EUROPE. VOL II

THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA ROUND ASIA AND EUROPE WITH A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF PREVIOUS JOURNEYS ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF THE OLD WORLD

BY A.E. NORDENSKIOeLD

TRANSLATED BY ALEXANDER LESLIE

_WITH FIVE STEEL PORTRAITS, NUMEROUS MAPS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS_

IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL II

London MACMILLAN AND CO. 1881

CONTENTS OF VOL II

CHAPTER XI.

Hope of release at the new year--Bove's excursion to the open water--Mild weather and renewed severe cold--Mercury frozen--Popular lectures--Brusewitz's excursion to Najtskaj--Another despatch of letters home--The natives' accounts of the state of the ice on the coast of Chukch Land--The Chukches carry on traffic between Arctic America and Siberia--Excursions in the neighborhood of winter quarters--The weather during spring--The melting of the snow--The aurora--The arrival of the migratory birds--The animal world of Chukch Land--Noah Elisej's relief expedition--A remarkable fish--The country clean of snow--Release--The North-East Passage achieved.

CHAPTER XII

The history, _physique_, disposition, and manners of the Chukches.

CHAPTER XIII

The development of our knowledge of the north coast of Asia--Herodotus--Strabo--Pliny--Marco Polo--Herbertstein's map--The conquest of Siberia by the Russians--Deschnev's voyages--Coast navigation between the Lena and the Kolyma--Accounts of islands in the Polar Sea and old voyages to them--The discovery of Kamchatka--The navigation of the Sea of Okotsk is opened by Swedish prisoners of war--The Great Northern Expedition--Behring--Schalaurov--Andrejev's Land--The New Siberian islands--Hedenstroem's expeditions--Anjou and Wrangel--Voyages from Behring's Straits westward--Fictitious Polar voyages.

CHAPTER XIV

Passage through Behring's Straits--Arrival at Nunamo--Scarce species of seal--Rich vegetation--Passage to America--State of the ice--Port Clarence--The Eskimo--Return to Asia--Konyam Bay--Natural conditions there--The ice breaks up in the interior of Konyam Bay--St. Lawrence Island--Preceding visits to the Island--Departure to Behring Island

CHAPTER XV

The position of Behring Island--Its inhabitants--The discovery of the Island by Behring--Behring's death--Steller--The former and present fauna of the Island: foxes, sea otters, sea cows, sea lions, and sea bears--Collection of bones of the Rhytina--Visit to a "rookery"--Torporkoff Island--Alexander Dubovski--Voyage to Yokohama--Lightning stroke

CHAPTER XVI

Arrival at Yokohama--A Telegram sent to Europe--The stranding of the Steamer _A.E. Nordenskioeld_--_Fetes_ in Japan--The Minister of Marine, Kawamura--Prince Kito-Shira Kava--Audience of the Mikado--Graves of the Shoguns--Imperial Garden at Tokio--The Exhibition there--Visit to Enoshima--Japanese Manners and Customs--Thunberg and Kaempfer.

CHAPTER XVII

Excursion to Asamayama--The Nakasendo road--Takasaki--Difficulty of obtaining Quarters for the Night--The Baths at Ikaho--Massage in Japan--Swedish matches--Traveling in _Kago_--Savavatari--Criminals--Kusatsu--The Hot Springs and their healing power--Rest at Rokurigahara--The Summit of Asamayama--The Descent--Journey over Usui-toge--Japanese Actors--Pictures of Japanese Folk life--Return to Yokohama

CHAPTER XVIII