110 EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES 
Archangel, fitted out a vessel carrying 14 men. She was des- 
tined for Spitzbergen, to be employed in the whale and seal 
fishery. For eight successive days after they had sailed, the 
wind was fair ; but on the ninth it changed, so that instead of 
getting to the west of Spitzbergen, the usual place of ren- 
dezvous for the Dutch ships and those of other nations annu- 
ally employed in the Avhale fisheries, they were driven east- 
ward of those Islands, and after some days they found them- 
selves at a small distance from one of them, called East Spitz- 
bergen, 
Having approached the island within about three versts, 
or two English miles, their vessel was suddenly surrounded 
by ice, and they found themselves in an extremely dangerous 
situation. In this alarming state a consultation was held, 
when the mate, Alexis Himkofl^, declared he recollected he 
had heard that some of the people of Mesen, having some 
time before formed a resolution of wintering on this island, 
had accordingly carried from that town timber proper for 
building a hut, and had actually erected one at some distance 
from the shore. 
This information induced the whole company to resolve on 
wintering there ; if, as they hoped, the hut still existed ; for 
they clearly perceived the imminent danger in which they 
vvf^re, and that they must inevitably perish if they continued 
in the ship. They therefore, despatched four of the crew in 
search of the hut, or any other succor they could meet with: 
These were Alexis Hirakoff, the mate, Ivan Himkofi*, his 
godson, Stephen Scharapoff, and 'Feodor Weregin. As the 
shore on which they were to land was uninhabited, it was ne- 
cessary that they should make some provision for their expe- 
dition. They had almost two miles to travel over loose bridg- 
es of ice, which being raised by the waves and driven against 
each other by the wind, rendered the way equally difficult and 
dangerous. Prudence, therefore, forbade their loading them- 
selves too much, lest, being overburthened, they might sink 
between the pieces of ice and perish. 
Having thus maturely considered the nature of their un- 
dertaking, they provided themselves with a musket, a powder- 
horn, containing twelve charges of powder, with as many 
balls ; an axe, a small kettle, a bag with about twenty pounds 
of flour, a knife, a tinder-box and tinder, a bladder filled with 
tobacco, and every man his Avooden pipe. Thus ecjuipped, 
these four sailors arrived on the Island, little suspecting the 
misfortune that was about to befall them. The first thing they 
