XIII.] HEDENSTROM'S EXPEDITIONS. 553 



formerly been secretary to some eminent man in St. Petersburg. 

 He started in dog-sledges on the "tli March, 1809, from Ustjansk 

 going over the ice to LjachofF's Island, and thence to Faddejev 

 Island, where the expedition was divided into two parts. 

 Hedenstrom continued his course to Novaya Sibir, the south 

 coast of which he surveyed. Here he discovered among other 

 things the remarkable "tree mountain," which I have before 

 mentioned. His companions KoscHEViN and Sannikov ex- 

 plored Faddejev, Maloj and Ljachofif's Islands. On Faddejev, 

 Sannikov found a Yukagir sledge, stone skin-scrapers, and an 

 axe made of mammoth ivory, whence he drew the conclusion 

 that the island was inhabited before the Russians introduced 

 iron among the savage tribes of Siberia. 



The explorations thus commenced were continued in 1810. 

 The explorers started on the ^^ March from the mouth of the 

 Indigirka, and after eleven days' journey came to Novaya Sibir. 

 It had been Hedenstrom's original intention to employ reindeer 

 and horses in exploring the islands, but he afterwards abandoned 

 this plan, fearing that he would not find pasture for his draught 

 animals. Both Hedenstrom and Sannikov believed that they 

 saw from the north coast of the island bluish mountains on the 

 horizon in the north-east. In order to reach this new land the 

 former undertook a journey over the ice. It was so uneven, 

 however, that in four days he could only penetrate about seventy 

 versts. Here on the ^Ih.^^i^ ^^® ^^^^ with quite open water, 

 which appeared to extend to the Bear Islands, i.e. for a distance 

 of about 500 versts. He therefore turned southward, and 

 reached the mainland after forty-three days' very difficult 

 travelling over the ice. During the journey Hedenstrom was 

 saved from famine by his success in killing eleven Polar bears. 

 A new attempt, which he made the same spring to reach with 

 dog-sledijes the unknown land in the north-east, was also without 

 result in consequence of his meeting with broad, impassable 

 " leads " and openings in the ice, but even on this occasion he 

 believed that he found many indications of the existence of 

 an extensive land in the direction named. It was only with 

 great difficulty that on the ^th May he succeeded in reach- 

 ing the mainland at Cape Baranov over very weak ice. 



The same year Sannikov explored KotelnoJ! Island, where he 

 fell in with Bjelkov and several hunters, who had settled for the 

 summer on the west coast of the island to collect mammoth tusks 

 and hunt foxes there. He found also a Greek cross erected on 



Tomsk, on the 2n(I October (20th September), 1845, at the age of sixty-five. 

 Blo,t^raphic-al notes regardini^ Hedenstrom are to be foiuid in the Calendar 

 for the Irkutsh government for the year 1865, pp. 57-60 ; I have not, 

 however, succeeded in procuring tliis work, or in finding any other notices 

 of Hedenstrom's birthphace and life. 



