206 A Cruise to Russian Lapland. 



esting island until the visit of Mr. Trevor-Battye in 1894, 

 the outcome of which was his delightful volume ' Ice-bound on 

 Kolguev/ We quite realize and appreciate his courage, 

 almost temerity, in landing and being left with a single 

 companion on this bleak and desolate island, scantily pro- 

 vided with stores, and not knowing for certain whether the 

 island was inhabited even by a few wandering Samoyeds, 

 nor whether Russian traders from the Petchora still continued 

 their summer visits to Kolguev. 



Rounding the north of Kolguev, we found that a marvel- 

 lous change had taken place during the past ten days. The 

 great fields of pack-ice, which then extended from the north 

 of the island to Novaya Zemlya, had completely disappeared, 

 and we steamed into Kostin Schar on the evening of the 17th 

 July without encountering any ice worth mentioning. 



After visiting an island at the entrance of Kostin Schar, 

 on which we found an extensive breeding-place of Briinnich^s 

 Guillemots, we anchored in a bay on the mainland of Novaya 

 Zemlya, in latitude 71° 21' N. From there excursions were 

 made inland. Several reindeer were seen, but they were 

 wild and difficult of approach. The country thereabouts is 

 much broken up by streams, gullies, and lakes, the latter 

 still covered in part with ice. Though this portion of Novaya 

 Zemlya is hilly and rocky, probably 500 to 800 feet in alti- 

 tude, it presents no insuperable difficulties to an active 

 walker, nor was there sufficient snow left to form any serious 

 obstacle to progress. Indeed, we thought, had time been at 

 our command, that we might without great difficulty have 

 reached the base of the interior mountain-ranges, which rise 

 here, probably, to a height of some 2000 feet, at a distance 

 of about 15 miles from the coast. These interior ranges 

 were at this time only partially snow-clad, and we saw no 

 traces of glaciers in their valleys nor on their flanks. 



On the 19th of July we left this anchorage, and, steaming 

 into the Kostin Schar, landed on and examined several 

 islands. The following day we took up our anchorage in 

 Nechwatowa Bay, a well-sheltered and secure harbour. From 

 there excursions were made inland. Leaving this anchorage 



