32 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



On the evening of the 18th, during the darkness, 

 while forcing a belt of ground-ice, we touched the 

 bottom ; but the following morning, at four o'clock, 

 we were again on the way quite uninjured. 



On the 19th of September we succeeded in pushing 

 our way forward about fifty miles. On the 20th, 

 21st, 22d, 23d, 24th, and 25th, our combat with the 

 ice was continued, and we made very little progress. 

 On the 26th we rounded Cape Wankarem, where we 

 found tolerably clear water, caused by the rapidly 

 flowing river of the same name. The same evening 

 we also doubled Cape Onman, and on the following 

 day we went right across Koliutchin Bay, passing 

 close to Koliutchin Island. In the evening we moored 

 close west of the north-east point of the bay. 



The 28th of September was a cold but clear morn- 

 ing. The sea had, during the night, been covered 

 with a layer of ice one to two inches thick. We 

 rounded the point, but afterwards could only push 

 our way forward about four miles when we had again 

 to moor. I little thought on the morning of that 

 day that this would be the last time during 1878 

 that our vessel would be on the onward move. We 

 had before encountered stronger ice, and fought against 

 greater difficulties ; and now to reach Behring Strait 

 we had only 120 miles to accomplish of the 4000 

 which constitute the length of the Old World's 

 northern shores. 



At first no one would realise that we might be 



