456 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
of the year, afforded to the botanists of the V^ga valuable in¬ 
formation regarding the flora of the region. 
On the 22nd I made, along with Captain Palander, an excursion 
in the steam launch to take soundings farther to the east. We 
soon succeeded in discovering a channel of sufficient depth and 
not too much blocked with ice, and on the 23rd the Vega was 
able to resume her voyage among very closely packed drift-ice, 
often so near the land that she had only a fourth of a metre of 
water under her keel. We went forward however, if slowly. 
The land here formed a grassy plain, still clear of snow, rising 
inland to gently sloping hills or earthy heights. The beach 
was strewn with a not inconsiderable quantity of driftwood, and 
here and there were seen the remains of old dwelling-places. 
On the evening of the 23rd September we lay-to at a ground-ice 
in a pretty large opening of the ice-field. This opening closed 
in the course of the night, so that on the 24th and 25th we 
could make only very little progress, hut on the 26th we 
continued our course, at first with difficulty, hut afterwards 
in pretty open water to the headland which on the maps is 
called Cape Onman. The natives too, who came on board here, 
gave the place that name. The ice we met with on that day 
was heavier than before, and bluish-white, not dirty. It was 
accordingly formed farther out at sea. 
On the 27th we continued our course in somewhat open water 
to Kolyutschin Bay. No large river debouches in the bottom 
of this great fjord, the only one on the north coast of Asia which, 
by its long narrow form, the configuration of the neighbouring 
shores, and its division into two at the bottom, reminds us of the 
Spitzhergen fjords which have been excavated by glaciers. The 
mouth of the bay was filled with very closely packed drift-ice 
that had gathered round.the island situated there, which was 
inhabited by a large number of Chukch families. In order to 
avoid this ice the Vega made a considerable dHour up the fjord. 
The weather was calm and fine, but new ice was formed eveiy- 
