cxxii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



An important series of experiments was made with the 

 Negretti-Zambra and Casella deep-sea self-registering ther- 

 mometers, showing that in the Sea of Kara, as well as off 

 the coast of Nova Zembla, the temperature of the sea-water 

 at the surface is very variable, and dependent upon the 

 temperature of the air, upon the neighborhood of ice, and 

 upon the influx of warm fresh-water from the Obi and Yen- 

 isei, but that at the depth of ten fathoms the temperature is 

 nearly or quite constant (between 1 and 2 C). If in the 

 northern part of the Sea of Kara, where the water on the 

 surface is almost completely free of salt, and at this time of 

 the year very warm, a flask filled with water from the sur- 

 face is sunk to a depth of ten fathoms, the water becomes 

 frozen. There are thus no warm-water ocean currents here 

 at any considerable depth below the surface. It is believed 

 that the percentage of salt at the bottom is very constant. 



On the 8th of August the party landed for a few hours on 

 the northwestern side of Jalmal, where an astronomical de- 

 termination of the position of the place was made. Traces 

 of men and of Samoyede sledges were visible on the beach. 

 Close to the shore was found a sacrificial altar, consisting of 

 about fifty skulls and bones of the polar bear, walrus, and 

 reindeer. In the middle of this heap of bones were two 

 rude idols, hewn from drift-wood roots, newly besmeared in 

 the eyes and mouth with blood ; also two poles provided 

 with hooks, from which hungr bones of the reindeer and bear. 

 Close by was a fireplace and a heap of reindeer bones, the 

 latter clearly the remnant of a sacrificial meal. 



After a stay of a few hours, the party set sail for the 

 north, until farther advance was prevented by impassable 

 masses of great even ice-fields at 75 30' north latitude, 

 and 79 30' east longitude. Following the edge of the ice 

 eastward, they finally reached the north side of the mouth 

 of the river Yenisei on the 15th, and they had now attained 

 the goal which great seafaring nations had striven in vain 

 for centuries to reach. 



Here the vessel remained engaged in various occupations 

 until August 19, when she proceeded to the northern part 

 of Nova Zembla, and on the 23d of August reached 75 24' 

 north latitude and G6 24' east longitude a little south of 

 Cape Middendorff, on the northeast coast of Nova Zembla. 



