386 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [cuap. 



engineer Nordstrom and the seaman Lundgren took part in the 

 magnetical and meteorological observations. Every one had his 

 watch of six hours, five of which were commonly passed in the 

 ice-house. To walk from the vessel to the observatory, distant 

 a kilometre and a half, with the temperature under the freezing 

 point of mercury, or, what was much worse, during storm, with 

 the temperature at — 36°, remain in the observatory for five 

 hours in a temperature of —17°, and then return to the vessel, 

 commonly against the wind — for it came nearly always from the 

 north or north-west — was dismal enough. None of us, however, 

 suffered any harm from it. On the contrary, it struck me as 

 if this compulsory interruption to our monotonous life on board 

 and the long-continued stay in the open air had a refreshing- 

 influence both on body and soul. 



In the neighbourhood of the ice-house the thermometer case 

 was erected, and farther on in the winter there were built in the 

 surrounding snowdrifts, two other observatories, not however 

 of ice, but of snow, in the Greenland snow-building style. Our 

 depot of provisions was also placed in the neighbourhood, and 

 at a sufficient distance from the magnetical observatory there 

 was a large wooden chest, in which the Remington guns, which 

 were carried for safety in excursions from the vessel, and other 

 iron articles which the observer had with him, were placed before 

 he entered the observatory. 



The building of Tintinyaranga was followed by the Chukches 

 with great interest. When they saw that we did not intend 

 to live there, but that rare, glancing metal instruments were 

 set up in it, and that a wonderfully abundant flood of light in 

 comparison with their tent illumination was constantly main- 

 tained inside with a kind of light quite unknown to them 

 (stearine candles and photogen lamps) a curious uneasiness 

 began to prevail among them, which we could not quiet with 

 the language of signs mixed with a Chukch word or two, to 

 which our communications with the natives were at that time 

 confined. Even farther on in the year, when an efficient though 

 word-poor international language had gradually been formed 

 between us, they made inquiries on this point, yet with consider- 

 able indifference. All sensible people among them had evidently 

 already come to the conclusion that it was profitless trouble 

 to seek a reasonable explanation of all the follies which the 

 strange foreigners, richly provided with many earthly gifts but 

 by no means with practical sense, perpetrated. In any case 

 it w-as with a certain amazement and awe that they, when they 

 exceptionally obtained permission, entered one by one through 

 the doors in order to see the lamps burn and to peep into 

 the tubes. Many times even a dog-team that had come a long 

 way stopped for a few moments at the ice-house to satisfy the 



