LIEUTENANT HARBER's EXPEDITION. 397 



breaking, up, so that the roads were nearly impassable. 

 Three hundred and fifty versts were traveled in post-wagons, 

 over 900 versts in sleds (much of the latter being through 

 mud and water), and nearly 250 versts were made on horse- 

 back. " Just as we had crossed a river by swimming our 

 horses," says Harber. "and when the opposite bank was 

 reached, a wonderful noise from up the river caused the 

 natives to hasten up the river bank with horses and parcels, 

 and at once the river rose some six feet in three minutes, 

 and the river itself was filled with immense masses of ice in 

 which no boat could live." 



Vitimsk was finally reached, April 28th. Mr. Scheutze 

 had seen the steamer and reported unfavorably respecting it. 

 The same day Harber went on to Viska, where he learned 

 that it would be nearly impossible to get to Voronzofsky 

 where the steamer was; it was 110 versts distant through 

 an uninhabited country, and the river, the only route to the 

 place, was no longer safe. "I concluded," says Harber, "to 

 wait at Viska until the river broke up, and in the meantime 

 to have two dories built. I also found a boat fifty feet long 

 and nearly ten feet beam, which could readily be made into 

 a schooner sufficiently large and strong to do work along the 

 coast outside of the delta. I accordingly purchased it and 

 commenced repairing it." 



Finally, towards the last of May, Harber and Scheutze 

 reached Voronzofsky, and navigated the steamer to Viska. 

 "During the trip down the river," says Harber, writing from 

 Viska, June llth, " I inspected the hull and engines and 

 measured the amount of Avood she burned. The result was, 

 we found her quite unfit for our purpose and I declined to 

 accept her. Too large a surface was exposed to the action 

 of the waves, and she burned so much fuel that we would 

 have to return frequently for wood. We were detained here, 

 but now all is ready, and we leave at once with our boats. 

 I still hope to reach the delta by July 1st. I go prepared 

 to search the delta, and from the Olenek to the Yana, should 

 it seem advisable." 



