214 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[CHAr. IV. 
The great inundation had even taken the migrating birds at 
unawares. For long stretches there was not a dry spot for 
them to rest upon, and thus it happened that exhausted ptarmigan 
alighted among the men on the roof; once a ptarmigan settled 
on Meyenwaldhs head, and a pair on the dogs. 
On the 23rd June the water began to fall, and by the 25th it 
had sunk so low that Nummelin and his companions could leave 
the roof and remove to the deserted interior of the house. 
The narrative of Nummelin’s return to Europe by sea, in 
company with Schwanenberg, belongs to a following chapter. 
