510 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
house had a sail drawn over it. As supports of the three 
variation instruments large blocks of wood were used, whose 
lower ends were sunk in pits, which, with great trouble, were 
excavated in the frozen ground, and then, when the block 
supports were placed, were filled with sand mixed with water. 
The ice-house was a spacious observatory, well-fitted for its 
purpose in every respect. It had but one defect, the tempera¬ 
ture was always at an uncomfortably low point. As no iron 
could be used in the building, and we had no copper-stove with 
us, we could not have any fireplace there. We endeavoured, 
indeed, to use a copper fireplace, that had been intended for 
sledge journeys, for heating, but only with the result that the 
observatory was like to have gone to pieces. We succeeded 
little better when we discovered farther on in the winter, while 
trimming the hold, a forgotten cask of bears oil. We con¬ 
sidered this find a clear indication that instead of a stove fired 
with wood we should, according to the custom of the Polar 
races, use oil-lamps to mitigate the severe cold which deprived 
our stay in Tintinyaranga of part of its pleasure. But this mode 
of firing proved altogether impracticable. The fumes of the 
oil smelled worse than those of the charcoal, and the result of 
this experiment was none other than that the splendid crystals 
of ice, with which the roof and walls of the ice-house were 
gradually clothed, were covered with black soot. Firing with 
oil was abandoned, and the oil presented to our friends at 
Yinretlen, who just then were complaining loudly that they 
had no other fuel than wood. 
Besides the nine scientific men and officers of the Vega, the 
engineer Nordstrom and the seaman Lundgren took part in the 
magnetical and meteorological observations. Every one had his 
watch of six hours, five of which were commonly passed in the 
ice-house. To walk from the vessel to the observatory, distant 
a kilometre and a half, with the temperature under the freezing 
point of mercury, or, what was much worse, during storm, with 
