414 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chat. 
an uncommon interest in a scientific and geographical respect, 
and therefore no long time can elapse until a scientific ex¬ 
pedition be sent to these regions. Just for this reason I now 
desired, as a preparation for a future voyage, to wander about 
here for a couple of days, partly on foot, partly by boat. 
The air was calm, but for the most part clouded, the 
temperature as high as 4- 4°, the sea clear of ice, the salinity of 
STOLBOVOJ ISLAND. 
After a drawing by O. Nordquist, 
the water 1 '8 per cent, with a temperature of 4 2° to + 3°. At 
first we made rapid progress, but after having in the after¬ 
noon of the 28th August sighted the westernmost islands, Semen- 
offskoj and Stolbovoj, the sea became so shallow that for long 
stretches we were compelled to sail in six to seven metres water. 
Some very rotten ice, or rather ice sludge, was also met with, 
which compelled us to make tedious dStours, and prevented the 
Vega from going at full speed. 
