his distinguished services as an arctic explorer.—from petersburg to jakutsk in 1820.—trade of jakutsk.—from jakutsk to nishne-kolymsk.—the badarany.—dreadful climate of nishne-kolymsk.—summer plagues.—vegetation.—animal life.—reindeer-hunting.—famine.—inundations.—the siberian dog.—first journeys over the ice of the polar sea, and exploration of the coast beyond cape shelagskoi in 1821.—dreadful dangers and hardships.—matiuschkin’s sledge-journey over the polar sea in 1822.—last adventures on the polar sea.—a run for life.—return to st. petersburg.
the expeditions which had been sent out during the reign of the empress anna for the exploration of the arctic shores of eastern siberia, had performed their task so badly as to leave them still almost totally unknown. to fill up this blank in geography, the emperor alexander ordered two new expeditions to be fitted out in 1820 for the purpose of accurately ascertaining the limits of these extreme frontiers of his immense empire. of the one which, under lieutenant anjou, commenced its operations from the mouth of the jana, and comprised within its range new siberia and the other islands of the lächow group, but little has been communicated to the public, all his papers having been accidentally burned; but the travels of lieutenant von wrangell, the commander of the second expedition, have obtained a world-wide celebrity. starting from the mouths of the kolyma, he not only rectified the errors of the coast-line of siberia, from the indigirka in the west to koliutschin island in the east, but more than once ventured in a sledge upon the polar ocean, in the hopes of discovering a large country supposed to be situated to the northward of kotelnoi and new siberia.
wrangell left st. petersburg on march 23, 1820, and experiencing in his journey of 3500 miles repeated alternations of spring and winter, arrived at irkutsk, where the gardens were in full flower, on may 20.
after a month’s rest, a short journey brought him to the banks of the lena, on which he embarked on june 27, to descend to jakutsk, which he reached on july 27. this small town of 4000 inhabitants bears the gloomy stamp of the frigid north, for though it has a few good houses, its dwellings chiefly consist of the winter yourts of the jakuts, with turf-covered roofs, doors of skins, and windows of talc or ice. the only “sight” of this dreary place is the old ruinous ostrog or wooden fort built by the cossacks, the conquerors of the country, in 1647. jakutsk is the centre of the interior trade of siberia. to this place are brought, in enormous quantities, furs of all kinds, walrus-teeth, and mammoth-tusks, from distances of many thousand versts, to an amount of half a million pounds.
the commercial sphere of the jakutsk merchants is of an immense extent. during a cold of ten and twenty degrees they set out for the lächow isles, for234 the fair of ostrownoje, for ochotsk, or kjachta. jakutsk merchants were the first who ventured in crazy ships across the sea of kamchatka, and discovered the island of kadjiak, eighty degrees of longitude from their home.
on september 12 wrangell left jakutsk, where regular travelling ends, as from thence to kolymsk, and generally throughout northern siberia, there are no beaten roads. the utmost that can be looked for are foot or horse tracks leading through morasses or tangled forests, and over rocks and mountains. travellers proceed on horseback through the hilly country, and, on reaching the plains, use sledges drawn either by reindeer or dogs.
in this manner wrangell crossed from the basin of the lena to that of the yana, never experiencing a higher temperature than +2°, and frequently enduring a cold of more than -12°, during the journey over the intervening hills, and then turning eastward, traversed the badarany, a completely uninhabited desert, chiefly consisting of swamps. these badarany never entirely dry up, even after the longest summer-drought. at that time a solid crust is formed, through which the horses frequently break, but they are preserved from totally sinking in the mire by the perpetually frozen underground. nothing can be more dismal and dreary than the badarany. as far as the eye reaches, nothing is to be seen but a covering of dingy moss, relieved here and there on some more elevated spots by wretched specimens of dwarf-larches. the winter is the only season for traversing this treacherous waste, but woe to the traveller should he be overtaken by a snow-storm, as for miles and miles there is no shelter to be found but that of some ruinous powarni, or post-station.
at length, fifty-two days after leaving jakutsk, wrangell arrived on november 2 at nishne-kolymsk, the appointed head-quarters of the expedition, where he was welcomed with a cold of -40°, or 72° below the freezing-point of water.
even in siberia the climate of this place is ill-reputed for its severity, which is as much due to its unfavorable position as to its high latitude (68° n.). the town stands on a low swampy island of the kolyma, having on the west the barren tundra, and on the north the arctic ocean, so that the almost constant north-west winds have full scope for their violence, and cause frequent snow-storms even in summer.
the mean temperature of the whole year is only +14°. the river at nishne-kolymsk freezes early in september, but lower down, where the current is less rapid, loaded horses can sometimes cross on the ice as early as august 20, nor does the ice ever melt before june.
although the sun remains fifty-two days above the horizon, the light, obscured by almost perpetual mists, is accompanied with little heat, and the solar disc, compressed by refraction into an elliptical form, may be looked at with the naked eye without inconvenience. in spite of the constant light, the common order of the parts of the day is plainly discernible. when the sun sinks down to the horizon, all nature is mute; but when, after a few hours, it rises in the skies, every thing awakens, the few little birds break out in feeble twitter, and the shrivelled flowers venture to open their petals.
although winter and summer are in reality the only seasons, yet the inhabitants235 fancy they have spring when about noon the rays of the sun begin to make themselves felt, which generally takes place about the middle of march, but this so-called spring has frequent night-frosts of twenty degrees. their autumn is reckoned from the time when the rivers begin to freeze over, that is, from the first days of september, when a cold of thirty degrees is already by no means uncommon. as may easily be supposed in a climate like this, the vegetation of summer is scarcely more than a struggle for existence.
in the latter end of may the stunted willow-bushes put out little wrinkled leaves, and those banks which slope towards the south become clothed with a semi-verdant hue; in june the temperature at noon attains 72°; the flowers show themselves, and the berry-bearing plants blossom, when sometimes an icy blast from the sea destroys the bloom. the air is clearest in july, and the temperature is usually mild, but then a new plague arises for the torment of man. millions and millions of mosquitoes issue from the swamps of the tundra, and compel the inhabitants to seek refuge in the dense and pungent smoke of the “dymokury,” or large heaps of fallen leaves and damp wood, which are kindled near the dwellings and on the pasture-grounds, as the only means of keeping off those abominable insects.
these tormentors, however, are not without use, for they compel the reindeer to migrate from the forests to the sea-shore and the ice, thus exposing them to the attack of the hunters, and they also prevent the horses from straying in the plains, and wandering beyond the protection of the smoke.
scarcely is the mosquito plague at an end, when the dense autumn fogs rising from the sea spoil the enjoyment of the last mild hours which precede the nine months’ winter. in january the cold increases to -45°; breathing then becomes difficult; the wild reindeer, the indigenous inhabitant of the polar region, withdraws to the thickest part of the forest, and stands there motionless, as if deprived of life.
with the 22d november begins a night of thirty-eight days, relieved in some degree by the strong refraction and the white of the snow, as well as by the moon and the aurora. on the 28th december the first pale glimmering of dawn appears, which even at noon does not obscure the stars. with the re-appearance of the sun the cold increases, and is most intense in february and march at the rising of the sun. even in winter completely clear days are very rare, as the cold sea-wind covers the land with mists and fogs.
the character of the vegetation corresponds with that of the climate. moss, stunted grass, dwarfish willow-shrubs, are all that the place produces. the neighboring valleys of the aniuj, protected by mountains against the sea-wind, have a somewhat richer flora, for here grow berry-bearing plants, the birch, the poplar, absinthe, thyme, and the low-creeping cedar. this poverty, however, of the vegetable world is strongly contrasted with the profusion of animal life over these shores and on the polar sea. reindeer, elks, bears, foxes, sables, and gray squirrels fill the upland forests, while stone-foxes burrow in the low grounds. enormous flights of swans, geese, and ducks arrive in spring, and seek deserts where they may moult and build their nests in safety. eagles, owls, and gulls pursue their prey along the sea-coast; ptarmigan run in troops236 among the bushes; little snipes are busy among the brooks. in the morasses the crows gather round the huts of the natives; and when the sun shines in spring, the traveller may even sometimes hear the note of the finch, and in autumn that of the thrush. but the landscape remains dreary and dead; all denotes that here the limits of the habitable earth are passed, and one asks with astonishment what could induce human beings to take up their abode in so comfortless a region?
in the district of kolymsk, which surpasses in size many a european kingdom, the population, at the time of wrangell’s visit, consisted of 325 russians, 1034 jakuts, and 1139 jukahires of the male sex, of whom 2173 had to pay the jassak, consisting of 803 fox and 28 sable skins, worth 6704 roubles, besides which they were taxed to the amount of 10,847 roubles in money. thus the russian double-eagle made, and no doubt still makes, the poor people of kolymsk pay rather dear for the honor of living under the protection of its talons.
the cossacks, in virtue of their descent from the original conquerors of the country, enjoy the enviable privilege of being tax free; they are, however, obliged to render military service when required. they form the small garrison of nishne-kolymsk, and every year twenty-five of them repair to the fair of ostrownoje, to keep the wild tchuktchi in check. the russians are chiefly the descendants of fur-hunters or of exiles; and though they have adopted the native clothing and mode of life, they are still distinguishable by their more muscular frame. the women, who are somewhat better-looking than the female jakuts and jukahires, are fond of music, and their traditional songs dwell on the beauties of nature—the rustling brook, the flowery mead, the nightingale’s note—all things belonging to a world of which they have no idea.
the dwellings of the russians are hardly to be distinguished from the yourts of the native tribes. they are made of drift-wood, and, as may easily be imagined, are very small and low. the interstices are carefully stopped up with moss, and the outside is covered with a thick layer of clay. an external mud wall rises to the height of the roof to keep off the wind. in a hut like this wrangell spent many a winter month, but when the cold was very intense, he was not able to lay aside any part of his fur clothing, though sitting close to a large fire. when he wanted to write he had to keep the inkstand in hot water; and at night, when the fire was allowed to go out for a short time, his bedclothes were always covered with a thick snow-like rime.
the existence of the people of kolymsk depends upon fishing and hunting, in which they are assisted by their dogs. these faithful, but cruelly-treated animals, are said to resemble the wolf, having long, pointed, projecting noses, sharp and upright ears, and long bushy tails. their color is black, brown, reddish-brown, white, and spotted, their howling that of a wolf. in summer they dig holes in the ground for coolness, or lie in the water to escape the mosquitoes; in winter they burrow in the snow, and lie curled up, with their noses covered with their bushy tails. the preparation of these animals for a journey must be carefully attended to; for a fortnight at least they should be put on a small allowance of hard food, to convert their superfluous fat into firm flesh; they must also be driven from ten to twenty miles daily, after which they have237 been known to travel a hundred miles a day without being injured by it. a team consists commonly of twelve dogs, and it is of importance that they should be accustomed to draw together. the quick and steady going of the team, as well as the safety of the traveller, mainly depends on the docility and sagacity of the foremost dog or leader. no pains are therefore spared in his education, so that he may understand and obey his master’s orders, and prevent the rest from starting off in pursuit of the stone-foxes or other animals that may chance to cross their path. their usual food is frozen fish, and ten good herrings are said to be a proper daily allowance for each dog while on duty. when not actively employed, they are obliged to content themselves with offal, and towards spring, when the winter’s provisions are generally exhausted, they suffer the keenest hunger.
this season is also a hard time for the wandering tribes of the neighborhood. then they flock to nishne-kolymsk, and to the other russian settlements on the kolyma, but here also famine stares them in the face. there is, indeed, a public corn magazine, but the price of flour is raised by the cost of transport to such an exorbitant height, as to be completely beyond the reach of the majority of the people. three such dreadful springs did wrangell pass at kolymsk, witnessing scenes of misery never to be forgotten.
but when the distress of the people has reached its highest point, relief is generally at hand. troops of migratory birds come from the south, and furnish some food for the despairing population. the supply is increased in june, when the ice breaks on the kolyma, for in spite of the faultiness of the nets and the want of skill of the fishermen, the river is the principal source of plenty during the summer, and supplies, moreover, the chief provisions for the following winter. but with these gifts the kolyma brings the plague of inundations, so that during the summer of 1822 wrangell was obliged to spend a whole week on the flat roof of his hut.
the chief resource of the jukahires of the river aniuj is the reindeer chase, the success of which mainly decides whether famine or some degree of comfort is to be their lot during the coming winter. the passage of the reindeer takes place twice a year; in spring, when the mosquitoes compel them to seek the sea-shore, where they feed on the moss of the tundra, and in autumn, when the increasing cold forces them to retire from the coast. the spring migration, which begins about the middle of may, is not very profitable, partly because the animals are meagre, and their furs in bad condition, and partly because it is more difficult to kill them as they pass the frozen rivers. the chief hunting is in august and september, when the herds, consisting each of several thousand deer, return to the forests. they invariably cross the river at a particular spot, where a flat sandy bank makes their landing easier; and here they press more closely together, under the guidance of the strongest animals of the herd.
the passage takes place after some hesitation, and in a few minutes the river is covered with swimming reindeer. the hunters, hidden in creeks or behind stones and bushes, now shoot forth in their small boats and wound as many as they can. while they are thus busy, they run some risk of being overturned in the turmoil, for the bucks defend themselves with their horns, their238 teeth, and their hind legs, while the roes generally attempt to spring with their fore feet upon the edge of the boat. when the hunter is thus overset, his only chance of safety is to cling to a strong animal, which safely brings him to the shore. but the dexterity of the hunters renders such accidents rare. a good hunter will kill a hundred reindeer and more in half an hour. in the mean time the other boats seize the killed animals, which become their property, while those that are merely wounded and swim ashore belong to the hunters, who, in the midst of the tumult, where all their energies are taxed to the utmost, direct their strokes in such a manner as only severely to wound the larger animals. the noise of the horns striking against each other, the waters tinged with blood, the cries of the hunters, the snorting of the affrighted animals, form a scene not to be described.
the people of the aniuj were already suffering great distress when, on september 12, 1821, the eagerly-expected reindeer herds made their appearance on the right bank of the river. never had such a multitude been seen; they covered the hills, and their horns might have been mistaken at a distance for a moving forest. in a short time numbers of the siberian tribes had assembled, ready to destroy them. but the wary animals, alarmed by some circumstance or other, took another road, and, leaving the banks of the river, vanished on the mountains. the despair of the people may be imagined; some lamented aloud and wrung their hands, others threw themselves upon the ground and scratched up the snow, others stood motionless like statues—a dreadful image of the universal misery. the later fishing-season likewise failed in this deplorable year, and many hundreds died in the following winter.
while the men of kolymsk are busily employed during the short summer in hunting, fishing, and hay-making, the women wander over the country, particularly in the mountains, to gather edible roots, aromatic herbs, and berries of various kinds, which latter, however, do not every year arrive at maturity. the berry-gathering here, like the vintage elsewhere, is a time of merriment. the younger women and girls go together in large parties, passing whole days and nights in the open air. when the berries are collected, cold water is poured over them, and they are preserved in a frozen state for a winter treat. social parties are not unknown at kolymsk, and are perhaps not less entertaining than in more refined communities. floods of weak tea (for the aromatic leaves “which cheer, but not inebriate,” are very dear at kolymsk) form the staple of the entertainment; and as sugar is also an expensive article, every guest takes a lump of candy in his mouth, lets the tea which he sips flow by, and then replaces it upon the saucer. it would be considered very unmannerly were he to consume the whole piece, which thus is able to do duty at more than one soirée. next to tea, brandy is a chief requisite of a kolymsk party.
the busiest time at kolymsk is in february, when the caravan from jakutsk arrives on its way to the fair of ostrownoje. it consists of about twenty merchants, each of whom leads from ten to forty sumpter horses. this is the time not only for sale and purchase, but also for hearing the last news from the provincial capital jakutsk, and receiving intelligence six months old from moscow and st. petersburg.
239 from this short account of kolymsk life it may well be imagined what a sensation it must have made in so secluded a place when wrangell arrived there in november, and informed the people that he was come to spend the better part of the next three years among them.
the winter was passed in preparation for the next spring expeditions, for during the long arctic night the darkness prevents travelling, and the snow acquires a peculiar hardness or sharpness from the extreme cold, so that then four times the number of dogs would be needed. but as in summer the thawing is likewise a hindrance, wrangell had in reality only about ten weeks every year, from march till the end of may, for the accomplishment of his task.
as may easily be supposed, it was no easy matter to make the necessary arrangements for an expedition requiring some hundreds of dogs, and provisions for several weeks; but such was the energy displayed by wrangell and his colleagues, that on february 19, 1821, they were able to start on their first journey over the ice of the polar sea, which they reached on the 25th. nine sledges, with the usual team of twelve dogs to each, were provided for the present excursion, six of which were to carry provisions and stores, to be distributed in different dépôts, and then to return. the provisions for the dogs consisted of 2400 fresh herrings, and as much “jukola” as was equivalent to 8150 dried herrings. the increasing cold and the violence of the wind made travelling very difficult. to guard the dogs from being frozen, the drivers were obliged to put clothing on their bodies, and a kind of boots on their feet, which greatly impeded their running. at times the frost was so intense that the mercury congealed while wrangell was making his observations. he thus describes the manner in which he passed the nights on the polar sea in his tent:—
“between tea and supper the sledge-drivers went out to attend and feed their dogs, which were always tied up for the night, lest they should be tempted away by the scent of some wild animal. meanwhile, we were engaged in comparing our observations, and in laying down on the map the ground which we had gone over in the course of the day; the severe cold, and the smoke which usually filled the tent, sometimes made this no easy task. supper always consisted of a single dish of fish or meat soup, which was boiled for us all in the same kettle, out of which it was eaten. soon after we had finished our meal, the whole party lay down to sleep. on account of the cold we could not lay aside any part of our travelling-dress, but we regularly changed our boots and stockings every evening, and hung those we had taken off, with our fur caps and gloves, on the tent-poles to dry. this is an essential precaution, particularly in respect to stockings, for with damp clothing there is the greatest risk of the part being frozen. we always spread the bear-skins between the frozen ground and ourselves, and the fur coverings over us, and, being well tired, we usually slept very soundly. as long as all the sledge-drivers continued with us, we were so crowded that we had to place ourselves like the spokes of a wheel, with our feet towards the fire and our heads against the tent wall. in the morning we generally rose at six, lit the fire, and washed ourselves before it with fresh snow; we then took tea, and immediately afterwards dinner240 (which was similar to the supper of the night before). the tent was then struck, and every thing packed and stowed on the sledges, and at nine we usually took our departure.”
the chief impediments to journeying on the ice were found to be the hummocks, often eighty feet high, which lie in ridges at certain distances, parallel perhaps to the shore. along the line or lines where the ice is periodically broken, it is forced by pressure and the tossing of a tempestuous sea into those irregular ridges through which wrangell had sometimes to make a way with crowbars for half a mile. the “polinyas,” or spaces of open water in the midst of the ice, offered less hindrance, as they might be avoided; but in this neighborhood, and sometimes even where no hole in the ice was visible, layers of salt were met with, which cut the dogs’ feet, and at the same time increased the labor of the draft, the sledges moving over the salt with as much difficulty as they would over gravel.
in spite of all these hindrances, wrangell extended his exploration of the coast fifty versts beyond cape shelagskoi, where the want of fuel and provisions compelled him to return. the dépôts which he had made as he advanced, were found partly devoured by the stone-foxes and gluttons, so that the party was compelled to fast during the two last days of the journey. after an absence of three weeks nishne-kolymsk appeared like a second capua to wrangell, but time being precious he allowed himself but a few days’ rest, and started afresh, on march 26, for cape shelagskoi, with the intention of penetrating as far as possible to the north on the ice of the polar sea. the caravan consisted of twenty-two sledges, laden with fuel and provisions for thirty days, including food for 240 dogs. so imposing a train had certainly never been seen before in these desolate regions, for the part of the coast between the kolyma and cape shelagskoi is wholly uninhabited; on one side the occasional excursions of the russians terminate at the baranow rocks, and on the other the tchuktchi do not cross the larger baranow river. the intervening eighty versts of coast are never visited by either party, but considered as neutral ground. on april 1 wrangell reached the borders of the polar sea, and proceeding northward to 71° 31´, found the thickness of the ice, which he measured by means of a hole, to be about a foot, very rotten, and full of salt; the soundings, twelve fathoms, with a bottom of soft green mud. the wind increasing in violence, he heard the sound of the water beneath, and felt the undulatory motion of the thin crust of ice.
“our position,” says the bold explorer, “was at least an anxious one; the more so as we could take no step to avoid the impending danger. i believe few of our party slept, except the dogs, who alone were unconscious of the great probability of the ice being broken up by the force of the waves. next day, the wind having fallen, i had two of the best sledges emptied, and placed in them provisions for twenty-four hours, with the boat and oars, some poles and boards, and proceeded northward to examine the state of the ice; directing m. von matiuschkin, in case of danger, to retire with the whole party as far as might be needful, without awaiting my return. after driving through the thick brine with much difficulty for seven versts, we came to a number of large241 fissures, which we passed with some trouble by the aid of the boards which we had brought with us. at last the fissures became so numerous and so wide that it was hard to say whether the sea beneath us was really still covered by a connected coat of ice, or only by a number of detached floating fragments, having everywhere two or more feet of water between them. a single gust of wind would have been sufficient to drive these fragments against each other, and being already thoroughly saturated with water, they would have sunk in a few minutes, leaving nothing but sea on the spot where we were standing. it was manifestly useless to attempt going farther; we hastened to rejoin our companions, and to seek with them a place of greater security. our most northern latitude was 71° 43´ at a distance of 215 versts in a straight line from the lesser baranow rock.” after rejoining his companions, and while still on the frozen sea, so thick a snow-storm came on that those in the hindmost sledge could not see the leading ones. unable either to pitch their tent or to light a fire, they were exposed during the night to the whole fury of the storm, with a temperature of +7°, without tea or soup, and with nothing to quench their thirst or satisfy their hunger but a few mouthfuls of snow, a little rye biscuit, and a half-spoilt fish. on april 28 they arrived at nishne-kolymsk, after an absence of thirty-six days, during which they had travelled above 800 miles with the same dogs, men and animals having equally suffered from cold, hunger, and fatigue.
neither discomfort, however, nor danger prevented wrangell from undertaking a third excursion in the following spring. he had great difficulty in procuring the necessary dogs, a disease which raged among them during the winter having carried off more than four-fifths of these useful animals. at length his wants were supplied by the people of the indigirka, where the sickness had not extended, and on march 14, 1822, he again set out for the borders of the polar sea. during this expedition a large extent of coast was accurately surveyed by wrangell, who sent out his worthy assistant matiuschkin, with two companions, in an unloaded sledge, to see if any farther advance could be made to the north. having accomplished ten versts, matiuschkin was stopped by the breaking up of the ice. enormous masses, raised by the waves into an almost vertical position, were driven against each other with a dreadful crash, and pressed downward by the force of the billows to re-appear again on the surface covered with the torn-up green mud which here forms the bottom of the sea. it would tire the reader were i to relate all the miseries of their return voyage; suffice it to say that, worn out with hunger and fatigue, they reached nishne-kolymsk on may 5, after an absence of fifty-seven days. such sufferings and perils might have excused all further attempts to discover the supposed land in the polar sea, but nothing daunted by his repeated failures, wrangell determined on a fourth expedition in 1823, on which he resolved to start from a more easterly point. on reaching the coast, the obstacles were found still greater than on his previous visits to that fearful sea. the weather was tempestuous, the ice thin and broken. it was necessary at times to cross wide lanes of water on pieces of ice; at times the thin ice bent beneath the weight of the sledges, which were then saved only by the sagacity of the dogs,242 who, aware of the danger, ran at their greatest speed until they found a solid footing. at length, about sixty miles from shore, they arrived at the edge of an immense break in the ice, extending east and west farther than the eye could reach.
“we climbed one of the loftiest hummocks,” says wrangell, “whence we obtained an extensive view towards the north, and whence we beheld the wide ocean spread before our gaze. it was a fearful and magnificent, but to us a melancholy spectacle! fragments of ice of enormous size floated on the surface of the water, and were thrown by the waves with awful violence against the edge of the ice-field on the farther side of the channel before us. the collisions were so tremendous that large masses were every instant broken away, and it was evident that the portion of ice which still divided the channel from the open ocean would soon be completely destroyed. had we attempted to ferry ourselves across upon one of the floating pieces of ice, we should not have found firm footing upon our arrival. even on our own side fresh lines of water were continually forming, and extending in every direction in the field of ice behind us. we could go no farther. with a painful feeling of the impossibility of overcoming the obstacles which nature opposed to us, our last hope vanished of discovering the land, which we yet believed to exist. we saw ourselves compelled to renounce the object for which we had striven through three years of hardships, toil, and danger. we had done what honor and duty demanded; further attempts would have been absolutely hopeless, and i decided to return.”
they turned, but already the track of their advance was scarcely discernible, as new lanes of water had been formed, and fresh hummocks raised by the sea. to add to their distress, a storm arose, which threatened every moment to swallow up the ice island, on which they hoped to cross a wide space of water which separated them from a firmer ground.
“we had been three long hours in this position, and still the mass of ice beneath us held together, when suddenly it was caught by the storm, and hurled against a large field of ice; the crash was terrific, and the mass beneath us was shattered into fragments. at that dreadful moment, when escape seemed impossible, the impulse of self-preservation, implanted in every living being, saved us. instinctively we all sprang at once on the sledges, and urged the dogs to their full speed. they flew across the yielding fragments to the field on which we had been stranded, and safely reached a part of it of firmer character, on which were several hummocks, where the dogs immediately ceased running, conscious, apparently, that the danger was past. we were saved! we joyfully embraced each other, and united in thanks to god for our preservation from such imminent peril.”
but their misfortunes did not end here; they were cut off from the deposit of their provisions; they were 360 versts from their nearest magazines, and the food for the dogs was now barely sufficient for three days. their joy may be imagined when, after a few versts’ travelling, they fell in with matiuschkin and his party, bringing with them an abundant supply of provisions of all kinds.
to leave nothing undone which could possibly be effected, wrangell advanced243 to the eastward along the coast, past cape north, seen in cook’s last voyage, and proceeded as far as koliutschin island, where he found some tchuktchi, who had come over from bering’s straits to trade.
with this journey terminated wrangell’s labors on the coasts, or on the surface of the polar sea, and, at the beginning of the following winter, we find him taking a final leave of nishne-kolymsk. on january 10, 1824, he arrived at jakutsk, and a few months later at petersburg. if we consider the difficulties he had to encounter, and his untiring zeal and courage in the midst of privations and dangers, it is only fair to admit that his name deserves to be ranked among the most distinguished explorers of the arctic world.
