54 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



months, opposite to and east from the efflux of a 

 river ; but against this must be placed the difficulties 

 to be met with at and around Cape Tchelyuskin and 

 Taimyr Island. That a passage is to be found there 

 also once or several times in the summer is equally 

 certain, but that may occur so late that before one 

 can reach Behring Strait the winter has again set in. 

 At the same time, I will not by any means say that 

 there may not be found there during the whole 

 summer and autumn a channel free from ice ; but as 

 there is no river effluent in the vicinity of Cape 

 Tchelyuskin and Taimyr Island, which, with suffi- 

 cient strength, can force the ice northwards, as is the 

 case with the great rivers Obi, Yenisei, Lena, and 

 Kolyma, it may be inferred that the ice there is 

 principally influenced by the winds namely, that 

 the north wind forces the ice towards land, the south 

 having a contrary effect, and that, consequently, the 

 doubling of these points cannot be calculated upon 

 with certainty at any time, even during the navigable 

 season. The North-east Passage cannot, therefore, 

 in its entirety be made available for the purposes of 

 commerce ; but still, an annual traffic might easily 

 be carried on from the westward to the Obi and Yeni- 

 sei, and from the eastward to the Lena. Unquestion- 

 ably the way now lies open to Siberia's three greatest 

 rivers ; and that land, so rich in minerals, timber, 

 and grain, whose export and import trade has hitherto 

 been conducted by means of caravans, ought now to 



