162 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [chap. 



In 1876 M. Sidoroff, well known for the lively interest which 

 he takes in navigation in the Siberian waters, had a ship Sevemoe 

 Sianie (the Aurora) built and fitted out at Yeniseisk, in order to 

 carry goods from the Yenisej to Europe. The vessel was placed 

 under the command of a Russian sea-captain, Schwanenberg. 

 Under him Nummelin served as mate, and the vessel had a 

 crew of eighteen men, most of whom had been exiled to Siberia for 

 crime. In consequence of various mishaps the vessel could not 

 get farther the first year than to the neighbourhood of the 

 mouth of the Yenisej, where it was left in winter quarters 

 at the place which has been named above, Nummelin and 

 four exiles remained on board, while Schwanenberg and the 

 rest of the crew returned to Yeniseisk on the 28th September, 

 Frost had already commenced. During the two following weeks 

 the temperature kept in the neighbourhood of the freezing 

 point ; clear weather alternating with snow and rain. 



On the 5th of October the crew withdrew to their winter 

 quarters, having previously collected driftwood and placed it 

 in heaps in order that they might easily find it under the snow. 



On the 16th October the thermometer at eight o'clock in the 

 morning showed —4*5° and afterwards sank lower every day, until 

 after the 21st October the mercury for some days was constantly 

 under —10°, On the 26th October the temperature was —18°, 

 but in the beginning of November it rose again to — 2°. On the 

 6th November it sank again to — 17°, but rose on the 11th to 

 — 3'5.° On the 14th November the thermometer showed -23'5°, 

 on the 21st — 29"5°, Next day in the morning it stood at — 32°, 

 and in the evening at— 37°, but these figures were arrived at 

 hy guess, the instrument not indicating so low temperatures. 

 This temperature of —30° to —32°, varying with frozen 

 mercury, continued till the end of November, when it rose again 

 to — 11*5°. At Christmas there was again a temperature of— 31° 

 and the six following days the mercury was frozen, with which 

 the new year came in. The temperature then rose again to — 20°, 

 but soon sank so that from the 16th January the mercury was 

 frozen for five days. On the 22nd January the reading was — 9°. 

 On the 26th the mercury froze again, and on the 29th the temper- 

 ature was — 6°. During the month of February the temperature 

 never rose above — 24°; the mercury was frozen on the 20th, 25th, 

 26th, and 28th. This was the case on the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 

 14th, 16th, and 18th March; on the 22nd March the reading 

 was -7°, on the 30th — 29°. April began with -31°, but the 

 temperature afterwards rose, so that on the 16th it reached - 11° 

 and varied between — 21° and — 6° (the 25th). On the 2nd May the 

 reading in the morning and evening was — 12°, at mid-day — 2° to 



Schwanenberg and Nummelin. Schwanenberg had come to Gothenburg 

 some days before with his Yeniseisk-built vessel. 



