278 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
abundant resources. But Lasarev was clearly unfit for the task 
he had undertaken, of commanding an Arctic exploratory 
expedition. In the middle of summer many of his crew were 
attacked by scurvy. Some few weeks after his departure from 
Archangel, at a time when pools of excellent drinking-water are 
FBIEDRICH BENJAMIN VON LUTKE. 
Born in 1797 in St. Petersburg. 
to be found on nearly every large piece of drift-ice, and rapid 
torrents of melted snow empty themselves everywhere along the 
coast into the sea, he complains of the difficulty of procuring 
fresh water, &c. The expedition accordingly was altogether 
fruitless. 
