20 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



south of Cape Tchelyuskin. The land here lay con- 

 siderably farther west than as delineated on the chart. 



On the afternoon of the 19th of August we 

 doubled the Old World's most northerly point, Cape 

 Tchelyuskin, the Vega being the first vessel which 

 has succeeded in so doing. At 6 P.M. we anchored in 

 a creek on the eastern side of the above cape. The 

 national flag was hoisted, a salute given; while on 

 the shore stood a large polar bear to bid us welcome. 

 That night and the following forenoon were em- 

 ployed in deciding the position of the Cape (which 

 was found to be lat K. 77 36', long. E. 103 25'), 

 and in making various scientific investigations. 



At 1 P.M. on the 20th of August we raised our 

 anchor and steered in a north-easterly and easterly 

 direction as far as the ice permitted. We now no 

 longer followed the coast, our intention being to see 

 if we might not possibly discover farther out some 

 hitherto unknown islands or continents. But by the 

 22d we were so entangled in compact drift-ice, that 

 during the fog which prevailed we found the utmost 

 difficulty in finding our way back to the coast. To 

 penetrate farther east in this latitude was then, 

 impossible. 



On the morning of the 24th we were again near 

 land, and found there a channel from three to five 

 miles broad, and almost quite free from ice. We 

 sailed along the coast in this stream almost directly 

 south, in a depth of eight to fifteen fathoms. Our 



