m] the time for release approaching. 449 



moment appeared to be yet far distant. The ice indeed 

 became clear of snow in the beginning of July, and thus the 

 slush and the flood water were lessened, which during the pre- 

 ceding weeks had collected on its surface and made it very 

 difficult to walk from the vessel to land. Now, again pretty 

 dry-shod and on a hard blue ice-surface, we could make ex- 

 cursions in the neighbourhood of the vessel. We had however 

 to be cautious. The former cracks had in many places been 

 Avidened to greater or smaller openings by the flood water run- 

 ning down, and where a thin black object — a little gravel, a 

 piece of tin from the preserved provision-cases, &c. — had lain 

 on the ice there were formed round holes, resembling the seal- 

 holes which I saw in spring laid bare after the melting of the 

 snow on the ice in the fjords of Spitzbergen. The strength 

 of the ice besides was nearly unaltered, and on the 16th July 

 a heavily loaded double sledge could still be driven from the 

 vessel to the. shore. 



On the 17th the "year's ice " next the land at last broke up, 

 so that an extensive land clearing arose. But the ground- 

 ices were still undisturbed, and between these the "year's ice" 

 even lay so fast, that all were agreed that at least fourteen 

 days must still pass before there was any prospect of getting 

 free. 



When on the 16th the reindeer-Chukch Yettugin came on 

 board, and, talking of the collection of whale-bones in which 

 we had been engaged some days before, informed us that 

 there was a mammoth bone at his tent, and that a mammoth 

 tusk stuck out at a place where the spring floods had cut into 

 the bank of a river which flows from Table Mount to Riraitinop, 

 I therefore did not hesitate to undertake an excursion to the 

 place. Our absence from the vessel was reckoned at five or six 

 days. It was my intention to go up the river in a skin boat 

 belonging to Notti to the place where the mammoth tusk was, 

 and thence to proceed on foot to Yettugin's tent, Yettugin 

 assured us that the river was sufiiciently deep for the flat- 

 bottomed boat. But when we had travelled a little way into 

 the country it appeared that the river had fallen considerably 

 during the day that Yettugin passed on the vessel. So certain 

 was I however that the ice-barrier would not yet for a long 

 time be broken up, that I immediately after my return from the 

 excursion, which had thus been rendered unsuccessful, made 

 arrangements for a new journey in order with other means of 

 transport to reach the goal. 



While we were thus employed the forenoon of the 18th passed. 

 We sat down to dinner at the usual time, without any suspicion 

 that the time of our release was now at hand. During dinner 

 it was suddenly observed that the vessel was moving slightly. 



G G 



