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CHAPTER XI.

Third Journey on the Ice of the Polar Sea.-Preparations.-Mortality among the Dogs.-Departure from Nishne Kolymsk.-Journey towards the North.-Waves of Drifted Snow.--Encounters with White Bears.-Deposit of Provisions.Difficulties. Accident. High Hummocks. Second Deposit of Provisions.-The Expedition Divided.-False Appearances of Land.-Return to the Deposits of Provisions.-The Expedition Re-united.-Proceed Northward again.-Easter. -Breaking up of the Ice.-Hummocks.-Turn to the Eastward.-State of the Ice.-Cape Schelagskoi.—Arrival at the First Deposit of Provisions. -Return to the Coast.-Pochodsk.-Famine.Arrival at Nishne Kolymsk.—Inundation.

THE short summer of 1821, which to the inhabitants of Nishne Kolymsk had been marked by so many failures in the produce both of the fisheries and the chase, was succeeded by a long winter of suffering. Our own position was a painful one, unable as were to relieve the general distress. To the want of provisions was added a new misfortune, hitherto almost unknown in this district, namely, a wide-spreading malady amongst the dogs. This disease had shown itself during the summer on the

banks of the Lena, the Jana, and the Indigirka. Very soon after the beginning of winter it reached the: banks of the Kolyma. As our intended journey over the ice depended on our having the ninety-six dogs required for eight sledges, I sought anxiously to adopt such precautions as might secure those we obtained from infection. Orders were given to procure as quickly as possible at least a hundred healthy dogs, and to take them immediately to the greater and lesser Tschukotschje rivers, to be kept there at the expense of the expedition, cutting off all communication with the neighbouring district. Part of our provisions had also to be conveyed to the storehouse, which had been built near the Baranicha river. But whilst we were endeavouring to execute these plans, the malady spread so rapidly that we had the utmost difficulty in obtaining thirty-six dogs instead of the required ninety-six; and though they were instantly sent away, they almost all died. The mortality increased daily with the increasing intensity of the cold, and it soon extended to all the villages and settlements in the Kolymsk district. The inhabitants felt the loss of these valuable and almost indispensable servants more acutely than they did the scarcity, to occasional returns of which, they are in great measure accustomed and resigned. Such was the unhappy state of things at the opening of a new year (1822). As the time of our departure was near, I gave up all hopes of procuring more dogs in our own district, and sent one of the most trustworthy of the Cossacks to the Indigirka, where the sickness did not prevail, with a commission to purchase sixty, and to keep them in readiness until

further orders near the greater Tschukotschje river, feeding them well. On the 5th of March I received information from him that he had found it impossible to collect more than forty-five good dogs, with which he awaited me at the appointed place.

As the intensity of the cold diminished, the sickness gradually abated, until at last it entirely subsided; but not until the inhabitants had lost fourfifths of their dogs. Most of those which survived were the property of the Cossacks, who, on seeing the difficulty in which I found myself relatively to the journey which it was our duty to make, came forward of their own accord, and in conjunction with some of the citizens, most generously volunteered to fit out twenty sledges, with twelve dogs each. We had now nearly three hundred, including those at the Tschukotschje river, but there were not more than sixty amongst them which we could depend upon for a distant journey; the rest were all so weak as to be almost unserviceable. I was obliged, therefore, materially to alter my original plan, which had been to form the expedition into two divisions. This was necessarily given up, as well as the intention of beginning our journey over the ice from the mouth of the great Baranicha, where a large hut and a store had been constructed, as before mentioned. The store was empty, as it had been barely possible, for want of dogs, to convey provisions as far as Sucharnoje.

Every thing was at length ready for our departure, the sledges being loaded with dried and frozen fish, and other necessaries; and we left Nishne Kolymsk on the 10th of March. My companions were MM.

R

Matiuschkin and Kosmin, and the sailor Nechoroschkow. Dr. Kyber was bent on accompanying. us, notwithstanding his weak state of health, and actually set off with us; but in spite of all his efforts, he found himself obliged to return from Sucharnoje on the 14th.

We had only five proper travelling-sledges, with teams of dogs fit for the whole journey; the remaining nineteen sledges carried provisions, and were to return as soon as empty.

One of the drivers

was to serve as interpreter to the Tschuktschi.

We reached Sucharnoje on the 12th of March, and spent the 13th in necessary preparations. We took provisions for ourselves for forty days, and for the dogs for thirty-five days, and began our journey over the ice on the 14th. On the 15th we reached the greater Baranow Rock, where we took up as much drift-wood as we could add to our loads. Unluckily we found only larch, which is heavy in carriage, and burns quickly. Having become aware of this on our previous journeys, I had had a store of birch-wood brought from the two Aniuj rivers to Nishne Kolymsk, and dried to make it lighter. We had enough for fifteen days' consumption, besides four pood of train-oil, which would serve for ten days more. Altogether we had fuel for nearly forty days, but our sledges were rather heavily laden in consequence.

On the 16th we drove northwards with a strong breeze from the East, dark weather and snow. The North and North-West sides of the greater Baranow Rock, which are washed by the waves, consist of perpendicular slate-rocks, six fathoms in height, and

occasionally broken by a few ravines. After going eight wersts, we found ourselves at the most northern point of the rock, where a few insulated pillars give the appearance of a ruined castle.

From this point we took our course straight across the sea, in a N. 30° E. direction. It appeared to me that the object of our journey would be best answered by proceeding to the N. E., until we should come to 71° lat. in the meridian of Cape Schelagskoi, and 150 wersts distant from that promontory. I then proposed to form a deposit of provisions, to send back the empty sledges, and with the remainder to pursue my researches to the East, North, and North-West. In this manner our present journey would form a continuation of that of the preceding year, and we might hope for a satisfactory conclusion in respect to the existence or non-existence of the problematical northern land.

About one werst and a-half from the shore, we came to a considerable group of irregular hummocks, and after driving among them for eighteen wersts, we halted; not that we required rest, but in order to repair two of the travelling-sledges which had been injured, and to wait for the provision-sledges, which did not come up with us till late in the night, and then in a very bad condition. They had been so much damaged in passing the hummocks, that we were obliged to expend a large part of our store of birchwood in mending them. This unsatisfactory work occupied us during the whole of the following day, and we could not continue our journey until 11 o'clock on the 18th. We had heavy snow, a cutting N.W. wind, and a temperature of +2°. The hummocks dimi

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