xxvi ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



of their voyage, lie says : ' We first landed on its southern point at the 

 mouth of the river Waskina, whence Ruprecht made an excursion into 

 the interior with reindeer. After spending ten days here we deter- 

 mined to travel right round the island, and began sailing along the 

 west coast, landing at the small stream Gusina (N. lat. 69 26') and at 

 the Konkina ; however, when we had reached the northern end of the 

 island we were compelled by an unfavourable wind to turn and steer 

 for Swyatoi Nos, on the shore of Timan. In August we again visited 

 Kolgujew, and, since we wished to sail round the east coast, we repaired 

 to Stanavoi Scharok, where we stayed six days, which Ruprecht again 

 utilised for an excursion into the interior. It must, however, be 

 mentioned that our stay on Kolguev was made under the most un- 

 favourable conditions. Of the sixteen days which we passed at the 

 mouth of the Waskina and in Stanavoi Scharok, the weather on ten 

 was such that it was impossible to think of investigations and excursions 

 on the island. The violent storms did not allow us once to leave the 

 cabin.' 



Thus Professor Saweljew. The work they did in the six days at 

 their disposal, excellent as it was, could obviously not be exhaustive, 

 and as I spent not six days, but three months, on the island, I was able 

 to add a great deal to it. 



In our own day Kolguev has been sighted by the various Arctic 

 voyagers going east and north-east, but I can find no record of any 

 other visit but one. 



1858. — In this year a priest, who does not give his name, but who, 

 I believe, was chief priest of Archangel, sailed to Kolguev in a fisher- 

 man's boat — probably from Mezen, and has left a curious Russian 

 paper about it, 1 which, in the translation, is very quaint. 



'I intended to go to Kolguev,' he said, 'to preach Jesus Christ and 

 to baptize. before starting there I sang Te Dennis during three 

 days. . . . The chief thing to be dreaded is the crossing of 150 versts 



of the open 



"... I do not desire to speak about all I had to endure during 

 this voyage. One cannot gain much lying on one's back; if you use 

 knowledge ami prudence in dealing with the sea you shall never be 



1 Maximow's Morskoi Sbornik. 



