186 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
cessfiil voyages and to make suggestions as to the measures 
that ought to be taken to ensure better success to next year’s 
undertaking. His proposals on this point were mainly in the 
direction of building at Tobolsk a new vessel, which should 
accompany the Tobol during the dangerous voyage, and confer 
upon it greater safety. This was approved by the Board of 
Admiralty, but the vessel could not be got ready till the summer 
of 1736, on which account that year’s voyage was undertaken in 
the same way as that of the preceding year, and with the same 
success. The new vessel was not ready until 1737. It came 
with the shipbuilder Koschelev and the mate Minin on the 
ig^th June to Obdorsk, where Owzyn took command of it, handing 
over the old one to Koschelev, and beginning his fourth voyage 
down the Gulf of Ob. This time he had better success. After 
sailing past Gyda Bay, he came, without meeting with any 
serious obstacles from ice, on the f Jth August to Cape Mattesol, 
’ and on the September to a storehouse erected for the expe¬ 
dition by the care of the authorities on the bank of the Yenisej 
in 71° 33' N.L. The Yenisej froze over on the ^ October. 
Four years had thus gone to the accomplishment of Owzyn’s 
purpose, but it can scarcely be doubted that if he had not turned 
so early in the season, and if he had had steam, or a sailing 
vessel of the present day at his disposal he would have been able 
to sail from the Ob to the Y enisej in a few weeks. It is at all 
events Owzyn’s perseverance to which we are in great measure 
indebted for the mapping of the Gulf of Ob, and the Bays of Tas 
and Gyda.^ 
3. Voyages from the Yenisej toivards Gape Taimur .—In the 
winter of 1738 Owzyn and Koschelev were called to St. Peters¬ 
burg to answer for themselves with reference to a complaint 
lodged against them by the men under their command.^ In 
1 Wrangel, i. p. 38. 
According to P. von Haven {Nye og forhedrede Efterrctningar om det 
Russiske R\ge^ Kjobenliavn, 1747, ii. p. 20), “it was the custom in Peters- 
