106 Chapter IV. 



and who, when once they have a hold on a man, keep 

 him in such a stare of dependence that he can scarcely 

 call his soul his own. " Es 1st eine alte Geschichte, doch 

 wird sie immer neu." Soon, too, the Samoyedes came 

 flocking on board, pleasant-featured people of the 

 broad Asiatic type. Of course it was only the men who 

 came. 



The first question I asked Trontheim was about the 

 ice. He replied that Yugor Strait had been open a 

 long while, and that he had been expecting our arrival 

 every day since then with ever-increasing anxiety. The 

 natives and the Russians had begun to jeer at him as 

 time went on, and no Frani was to be seen ; but now 

 he had his revenge and was all sunshine. He thought 

 the state of the ice in the Kara Sea would be favourable ; 

 some Samoyedes had said so, who had been seal 

 hunting near the eastern entrance of the Strait a day 

 or two previously. This was not very much to build 

 upon, certainly, but still sufficient to make us regret 

 that we had not got there before. Then we spoke of 

 the Urania, of which no one, of course, had seen 

 anything. No ship had put in there for some time, 

 except the sealing sloop we had passed in the morning. 



Next we enquired about the dogs and learned that 

 everything was all right with them. To make sure, 

 Trontheim had purchased forty dogs, though I had only 

 asked for thirty. Five of these, from various mishaps, 

 had died during their journey one had been bitten to 



