, 1879-01-14

t,hccnt pure forms nf sea iifc-large specimens
Of the remarkable Crlnnttla Alcctn Eschrfcl.t1,
numerou. stsr''al, sin'k,, and Panop!s),
pycnogontdcs, etc. The dredging near the
eoast now began 10 yield Dr.. Killlmann some
large tca nl0a- But on thc klDrG the higher
fauna anil flora wero still 70 roo7 that tn: t1,ast
rocky shores ot snitzbcrgen and Nova zcmhia.
Auke, fcti-hreasie1 geese, pnfllns, black guile
mots. and tcrns. whtcI. tr,ngrrrntc nt 8nftz-
bergen III tlonaunda and Thousands, arc here
there iii the air with their ecascless cbatterine,
Screams, and .quarrclEng for food, appear here
but rarcly, eacl In twu species, md It tsccrnh A
II they 9uarrclctl less here Only snow --osrrowt.
ak or teyen species of wndlnE birds, and %
larger numbers. II VIC add to these an occa-
eioual plarmIgan, 4 mountain owt fstrir nyetea)
and species Of falcon. The whole bird fife OF
s rsssp + I II a + s
tnAi6 In the sea outside only two wnlruscs, somo
large seals tphoca bnrbatB( mud crow. u other
seals {phoea f,ispida). Fish probably exist here
aJundantlv.
A M,NEnA1o0lcAL piscovERY.
must here mention very remarkable dis
coycry While the ship was lying fnoorcd to
one Of the few pieces OF floating leg which VIC
encountered anil found to 6e Of sufficient
strength 10 hear dozen men, Lieut.. Nord9uist
aud descended on thc leo to SEQ whether there
could find any truce Of the remarkable sub.
stance Of cosmic origin which found In 1871
on tho ice At the northern coast Of spltzberxcii.
gould and nothing Of the sort here. But Lieut..
Nortlqnst directed MY attention to some yellow
spots on tho Ice. which askcd him to collect
shd lmWl to the hotanlsts OF tie expedition for
cxami1ati"n, thinking t!.cy proceeded from,
tcrward uadc 1t was discovered that the SUBJ
stance In question was Of no organic product,
hut coarsc ennl. eonstStluu excluslvcly uf very
beautifully formed crystals, OF diameter
have not yet had tino Or opportunity 10 exam
tue them more closely, but, as an experienced
mtncrn!otist, tut see that this mineral Is nu
common terrestrial one, but ttst It, perhaps, is
= substance crystalLzed from the sea water by
tho seyFru winter frost.
AcrtxtA nAnroR.
Wa!t!nr for clear weather, we mcre lying at
anchor IRON the 18th tu tic lsst, Of August, i.
an excellent harbor tn the sound between the
Island Of Taimyr and the Continent, which
have named Aetinia Ilaebor, on pccotlnt Of tho
numerous acttHas here ,rclged.
FLORA AND yAGNA.
The land WIS free fr,]tn snow and covered
With 4 gray -grten carpet VI plants cotnpoecd OF
d thick growth uf different Kinds ri grass,
mos6cs, and llc,icps. The number Ut species of
the pl'ancrogamous plants was very acanty, bus
iornls evidently a pasture for reindeer much
finer than that which exists In tho valleys ftcE
10 reindeer aft tho Bclsound. the Tccijorl,
and tho storfJord Of spItzberRen. Russian
these regions, and yet wc only aaw hero u few
reindeer, which, unfortunately, were too Shy to
| reward tho skill OF onr spor,slnet1. Capt.
Jol,ansen attributed this fac', perhaps cor
recely, to tho presenee Of tho wolves !u tho
Vicinity llc told us that be he'd seen wolses'
| trnrks and reindeer lust killed by wolf.
slTE FOIL STATION.
On the stoain auucl' we carried will! Us Lieut..
ralandcr. accompanied b. Lieut. llnrgaael,
niado bomc excursions TO e1anlnd tho sound,
which separates Tho Taimyr Island from the
Continent. iiat sound was found too shallow
md obstructcd and thu current running west
ward IN the sound too strong for thc Vega 10
penetrate safely un that route to TIC Taltnyr
Bay. Butt iu case Station Of observation should
not he established at tic very Cape lscheliusktn
can recommend the Actluia aaEbur "a Il stat1un
for the metcorologtcal obscryat!ons which, &C.
cordinG to tho propusal Ut Sir. Wtyprecht, arc
to be male simultaneously at mohy different
paccs tn the far North. The harbor forms
bay: sheltered q! alt aides, and offering good
anthorngs: Although the continuous iog had
not yet lifted the Vega and the Lena again set
sail On tho 18th, continuing their route for Cape
Thc1cl tAekin. The experience wo hare Inter
Entnrl Of the weather n these Fc0ions proves
TINT VIC acted wisely. We would probably have
bccu obliged 10 wait for clear weather TIL the
aea was aWaln covered with Ice.
ukcIlAHIED ISLANDS.
VIC btcamcd On along the Western coast OF the
Ta!myF Islands, It Ia surrounded ly number
OF Islands which arc not 10 bu found on the map,
and IL possihiy 'tssn dfsdcd by sounda Into
scycrhl parta. a
TAtMYK fsLANn.
Tho northern extremity Of the Tainiyr Island
does not seem to extend "a far toward the north
as indicated on the chart. leu We only saw ju
small quantity, md only bay Ice, which was 80
fEuEt'e that unt could hardly sec q plcco strong
enough 70 bear couple Of men. Al! that Ice
WIS almost fres fro,a leo. We were eyen during
our journey aRa'n cxposedt to some motion Of the
sca. !!
Un tho 18th Of August we sealu steamed On,
fhtk sf .
Tsghcljusktn In MI extremely thck for. which
only oeraslohaily lifted 10 much that tho con-
tours Of the country wero vtstllu. During
the day we paascd MI extensive tell u unh5ukch
side Ut tilu peninsula Of Tscl.eljusklu. Owing
to the mirage, cuusol By the refrnctEn near the
orlzon, the leo appcarcd to b. tAlck md t.luh,
but On our arr1yi Ut the border Ut the Ice Itself
II seemed that also this waa solid Ice. almost va
porous a. that which fursticu the batlus III tco
which VIC mt sometimes In the sea.
TIE NORTH CARE or AslA.
Tho fog prevented lis from sccang far, and
nlreally feared that tho most nurtllcrh point Ut
Asla intEht b. SO cnve!ppsl that We should not
bo ab1e 10 land ttlers; but E0on peepetl out
pgatn an ice free cape iii tho northeast u little
creeks open toward ths uorsh aud thcru FREQ
that crccf on tho lulh & August at U o'cluck
p. ILL.,, Hugs ayng, aud firing salute Will, ouu VI
tbs snull cuus tue Vega carried. He had
reached the tt.t goal q 91r Journey, tho most
4 sur REGEtTlOk COMMITTEE.
Tho sky nut! clcarett, and tbu pronIontory lay
bciusc us in the su'lAnu al,d Ireu from snow.
just ~ 0u our urrival Ut fulaci III l61t here,
too, NC wero received by large iolur hcar,
who, even before VIC Ind caat anchor, was walk
Ing to aud fro un tho beach, now aud then Iuok-
lug aud snutllnR III the direction vi tho creek,
VI II 10 ascertain what MuinvItcd guests were
now approaching region wt!rrc, until now, thu
bear lad held undtJputeL tway. Frightcncd BY
thu salute, hc took to his legs In haste, and
thereby escaped tho balls Of our sportsineu.
LAfuiNu AND OBSERVATIONS.
In Hrsler to take Ill astronomical observation
on this important spot, aud 10 give our xooo-
glsta and botaniAts au opportunity t.' MAKE somo
G1curslons, | remained hetu until the following
uoou. Capc TeehslIlskiM Ia formed by u Low
pro.nontoFy divided In two paris by thu creek.
where the vessels had caet aiel!or. A HILL with
graduuI.v sloptug sides. extsuls from tue cast
cru ocaeh parallel witt thu coast souah-
from the astronomical observations aud the trl-
angular Measurements which were Hia3tu, tho
WcstCri polnt ID situatcd tn Latitude II acIrcea
" minutes " secons!a north and longitude iu
degrees IS mlhAtes seconds east Of aireeu-
Wtch, 1hs eastern uUtUt Ii il ltttfH further Ii.