INTR OD UCTION 3 1 



New Siberian Islands* as early in the summer as the ice 

 would permit. 



" Arrived at the New Siberian Islands, it will be ad- 

 visable to employ the time to the best advantage in ex- 

 amining the conditions of currents and ice, and to wait 

 for the most opportune moment to advance as far as 

 possible in ice-free water, which, judging by the accounts 

 of the ice conditions north of Bering Strait given by 

 American whalers, will probably be in August or the 

 beginning of September. 



" When the right time has arrived, then we shall 

 plough our way in amongst the ice as far as we can. We 

 may venture to conclude from the experience of the 

 Jcannctte expedition that we should thus be able to reach 

 a point north of the most northerly of the New Siberian 

 Islands. De Long notes in his journal that while the ex- 

 pedition was drifting in the ice north of Bennett Island 

 they saw all around them a dark ' water-sky ' — that is to 

 say, a sky which gives a dark reflection of open water — 

 indicating such a sea as would be, at all events, to some 

 extent navigable by a strong ice -ship. Next, it must 

 be borne in mind that the whole Jcannettc expedition 

 travelled in boats, partly in open water, from Bennett 

 Island to the Siberian coast, where, as we know, the 



* I first thought of choosing the route through Bering Strait, because 

 I imagined that I could reach the New Siberian Islands safer and earlier in 

 the 3'ear from that side. On further investigation I found that this was 

 doubtful, and I decided on the shorter route through the Kara Sea and 

 north of Cape Cheliuskin. 



