-90 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



nication has been had with St. Lawrence Bay this sea- 

 son, and he knew no more than we could tell him. 



I confess I am seriously embarrassed. I fully hoped 

 to find our schooner here, and to learn some tidings of 

 the Swede. I am disappomted in both. I have not 

 coal enough in the ship to warrant me in going away 

 without waiting for the schooner, and it follows that I 

 must await her arrival. Then we must go to St. Law- 

 rence Bay for one more effort to learn something of 

 Nordenskjold, and, should we learn nothing of him, 

 poke along the northern coast of Siberia until we are 

 frozen in for the winter. Meanwhile our fine season is 

 slipping away, when we might reiich Kellett Land and 

 push on to the northward. There are only ten tons of 

 coal here at the station, and that is wanted this winter. 

 I had an idea of pushing over to St. Lawrence Bay to 

 ask about Nordenskjold, and then coming back to meet 

 the schooner ; but this would require us to make double 

 the distance and burn double the coal, and that will not 

 do. Then I thought of going across and leaving orders 

 for the schooner to follow us ; but it might take her so 

 long to get across that I gave that up. So I am re- 

 signed to wait patiently for the Fanny A. Hyde to 

 arrive. 



I have got all the natives at work making our cloth- 

 ing, and it is somewhat of a comfort that in one respect 

 our time is not being wasted. Our dogs and sleds and 

 harness are all ready. These dogs are fine animals, 

 young and active, and they took to me very kindly 

 to-day when I visited them on shore. 



This is a miserable place. There are exactly four 

 white men here, and not one white woman. Of the 

 four white men, one is a servant, one Mr. Newman, the 

 agent, one his brother, and the fourth is a private in 



