VARDOTOKOLGUEV 33 



than made up for by beauty of scenery in other ways — in 

 splendour of glacier or strength of the bastion cliffs across 

 which the sea-birds go in myriads like driven snow. 

 Here we had not this. 



We had only a long low line of level monotony ; of 

 snow that hung in festoons from the edge of a cliff which 

 seemed not more than some thirty feet high ; or again of 

 snow that formed tracks down the cliff's sides and across 

 the beach to meet the ice-fringe of the sea, or opened at 

 intervals to show a wall of sand or clay, washed into 

 darker streaks by meltings and slippings from above. 

 Such was Kolguev as we saw it first. 



Now you will remember, from the earlier part of this 

 story, that we had but few data to guide us in our attempt 

 to find a harbour for the Saxon. But before leaving- 

 England we had quite settled that the Waskina river 

 must be our first objective, and so far had had no 

 reason to change our views. It must either be the 

 Waskina, we thought, or Stanavoi Scharok, i.e. Scharok 

 harbour, on the eastern side of the island. 



You may very naturally wonder why we should have 

 pitched upon this particular point. 



Well, in the first place, in the only days of which we 

 had any accounts, traffic with Kolguev was from Mezen 

 and Indiga. The point at which these traders would 

 naturally touch would be the Waskina, and if there were 

 an entry there much used, one might expect to find it 

 marked in some way by beacons. And the fact that the 



