280 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [chap. 



immense censer. The odour from it was at first not particularly- 

 pleasant, but it soon became so strong and disagreeable that 1, 

 who had my place in front of the audience, was like to choke, 

 though the ceremony was performed in the open air. Soon the 

 clerk was completely concealed in a dense cloud of smoke, and 

 it was now observed that his skin cloak had been set fire to at 

 the same time as the incense. The service, however, was not 

 interrupted by this incident, but the fire was merely extin- 

 guished by a bucket of water being thrown, to the amusement 

 of all, over the clerk. 



At nine in the morning the Lena continued her voyage up 

 the river with the priest and the Crown officials on board, but 

 they had soon to be landed, because in their joy they had 

 become dead drunk. On the 13th September Schigansk was 

 reached, and samples of the coal found there were taken 

 on board, but these proved unserviceable,^ and on the 21st 

 September the Lena reached Yakutsk. The first vessel which, 

 comins from the ocean, reached the heart of Siberia was 

 received with great goodwill and hospitality, both by the 

 authorities and the common people. But when Johannesen did 

 not find here Sibiriakoff's representative, Kolesoff, he continued 

 his voyage up the river, until, on the 8th October, he came to 

 the village Njaskaja, 220 versts from Vitim, in about 60° N.L. 

 Here he turned back to Yakutsk and laid up the steamer in 

 winter quarters a little to the south of that town. 



Both the Fraser and Express and the Lc7ia had thus fully 

 answered the purposes intended before the departure of the 

 expedition, and their voyages will always form an important 

 link in the chain of the attempts through which navigation in 

 the Siberian Polar Sea has been opened. 



In order to give an idea of the influence which this sea-route 

 may have on the commerce of the world, and the new source of 

 fortune and prosperity which thereby may be rendered accessible 

 to millions, I shall in a few words give an account of the nature 

 of the territory which by means of this sea-communication 

 will be brought into contact with the old civilised countries 

 of Europe. 



If we take Siberia in its widest sense, that is to say, if we 

 include under that name not only Siberia proper, but also the 

 parts of High Asia which lie round the sources of the great 

 Siberian rivers, this land may very well be compared in extent, 



1 A coal seam is often unfit for use near the surface, where for centuries 

 it has been uncovered and exposed to tlie action of the atmosphere, while 

 farther down it may yield very good coal. It is probable besides that the 

 layers of shale, which often surround the coal seams, have in this case 

 been mistaken for the true coal. For those who are inexperienced in coal- 

 mining to make such a mistake is the rule and not the exception. 



