206 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
of about 500 versts. He therefore turned southward, and 
reached the mainland after forty-three days’ very difficult 
travelling over the ice. During the journey Hedenstrom was 
saved from famine by his success in killing eleven Polar bears. 
A new attempt, which he made the same spring to reach with 
dog-sledges the unknown land in the north-east, was also without 
result in consequence of his meeting with broad, impassable 
“ leads ” and openings in the ice, but even on this occasion he 
believed that he found many indications of the existence of 
an extensive land in the direction named. It was only with 
great difficulty that on the ^-§th May he succeeded in reach¬ 
ing the mainland at Cape Baranov over very weak ice. 
The same year Sannikov explored Kotelnoj Island, where he 
fell in with Bjelkov and several hunters, who had settled for the 
summer on the west coast of the island to collect mammoth tusks 
and hunt foxes there. He found also a Greek cross erected on 
the beach and the remains of a vessel, which, to judge from its 
construction and the hunting implements scattered about in the 
neighbourhood, appeared to have belonged to an Archangel 
hunter, who had been driven by wind or ice from Spitzbergen 
or Novaya Zemlya. 
Next summer “ the Hedenstrom expeditions ” were concluded 
with the survey of the north coast of Novaya Sibir by Chenizyn", 
and by a repetition of the attempt to penetrate from Cape 
Kamennoj over the ice in a north-easterly direction, this time 
carried out by the Cossack Tatarinov, and finally by a renewed 
exploration of Faddejev Island by Sannikov. Tatarinov found 
the ice, probably in the end of March, so thin, that he did not 
dare to proceed farther, and beyond the thin ice the sea was seen 
to be quite open. Sannikov first explored Faddejev Island. He 
thought he saw from the hills of the island a high land in the 
north-east, but when he attempted to reach it over the ice, he 
came upon open water twenty-five versts from land. He there¬ 
fore returned the same spring to Ustjansk in order there to 
