IV.] EXCURSION TO BELI OSTROV. 153 



north coast of Asia, Spitzbergen or perhaps Greenland. 

 Another portion of the wood sinks, before it reaches the sea, 

 often in such a way that the stems stand upright in the river 

 bottom, with one end, so to say, rooted in the sand. They may 

 thus be inconvenient for tlie navigation, at least at the shallower 

 places of the river. A bay immediately off Port Dickson 

 was almost barred by a natural palisade-work of driftwood 

 stems. 



August 7fh. The Vega coaled from the Exjiress. In the 

 evening the Lena arrived, 36 hours after the Vega had anchored, 

 that is to say, precisely at the aj^pointed time. Concerning this 

 excursion Dr. Almquist rej^orts : 



" On the 2nd Aug-ust we — Hovgaard, Nordquist and I — went 

 on board the Lena to make an excursion to Beli Ostrov. We 

 were to land on the south-western headland and there undertake 

 botanical and zoological researches. Thereafter we were to 

 direct some attention to the opposite shore of Yalmal and visit 

 the Samoyeds living there. 



" We left the Vega at eleven o'clock forenoon. In the course 

 of the day we saw here and there in the south scattered ice, and 

 at half-past ten at night we ran into a large belt, about 800 

 metres broad, of scattered ice, which lay stretched out from N.E. 

 to S.W. It was passed without difficulty. In the course of the 

 night we now and then fell in with a little scattered ice, and in 

 the morning ^vith a belt of masses of ice of considerable dimen- 

 sions ; sounding constantly in 10 to 3^ metres water we succeeded, 

 notwithstanding the foof and rain, in finding the straits between 

 Beli Ostrov and the mainland, and on the 3rd August at eleven 

 o'clock forenoon we anchored a little to the east of the southern 

 extremity of the island. The Lena lay in 3i metres water, 

 about an English mile out to sea. The water was shallow for 

 so great a distance from. the beach that we had to leave our 

 boat about 300 metres out to sea and wade to land. 



" Beli Ostrov consists entirely of fine sand, and only on that 

 part of the beach which is washed by the sea-water did we see 

 any stones as large as walnuts ; higher up we did not find a 

 piece of stone even of the size of the nail. The highest point 

 of the island appears to be scarcely three metres above the 

 surface of the sea. That part of the island over which the sea 

 water washes, that is, the beach and the deep bays which indent 

 the land here and there, shows the fine sand bare, without trace 

 of vegetation. Where the ground rises a little, it becomes 

 covered with a black and white variegated covering of mosses 

 and lichens ; scattered among which at long intervals are small 

 tufts of grass. First somewhat higher up, and properly only round 

 the marshy margins of the numerous small fresh-water lakes and 



