The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-06-04
PROFESSOR NospENsKJoLD's REPORT
or the First Successful Attempt to Mako the
Northeast Passage.
Translated for the NEW NonrH.wEsT BY Ole pjerEe.
Empoda, Kansas.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.

Translated for the New NOnrHwr-r by Ole pjerKe
Emporia, Kansas.l
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.
THE HIGHER ANIMAL FORMS
have peculiar charm TO the arctic voyager,
for hose, who, like him, brave the cold
aud darkness Of the Polar night. Touch
ing these Lieutenant Nordquist submits
the following:
U)The most common mammal that occurs
In the Tschutz Peninsula 10 the hare. IL
Ia some What different from the mountain
hare of Scandinavia by It's considerably
greater size dts weight 10 up to IA pounds),
and by Its broader nasal bone. It Is most
frequently met In herds OF five and six, on
the snow bare declvities near the tents,
Notwithstanding the hungry dogs that
plowl around.
(2)There is moderate number Of noun
tain Iox Vulpes ayopus). The common fox
(Vuipes pulgdris) In also frequent. red
fox which 1t. Busewitz shot from on board
10 October. deviated considerably from the
common fo1, and approaches In several re.
spects The mountain fox. His prey during
the winter seems TO be hare, ptarmigan and
lemming. have twice seen burrows three
to four feet deep. and not over foot wide
NJ the opening. which, according to the
Techukts. are dug by the fox in search
after lemming. (3)I have seen three vaiie-
ties OF the lemming; besides, according to
the Tsch, there occurs a small mouse, prob
ably the "spit" mouse. We found the
M. Torgnatus first the 18th OF January {;
the N. obensis on the 18Th of Feb. uaiy.
After that both varieties we've brought on
boaid by The Tsch and we saw often dur
ing the winter the lemming running on the
snow. m. obe,lsis seems the most plenti-
full Of the varieties. II Is . noticeable Pc
culiarity that Of the ten specimens We re-
ceived Of the M. Torgnatus nine were males.
Each of these specimens was provided with
that, for this variety, peculiar double form
Of claw on the two middle fagers on the
fore foot, which 10 caused by the extension
Of the sole or cushion. These two varie-
ties appear frequently enough on the snow,
but that Ia not the case with the Arrtcola
oSseurus. OF these obtained eight speci-
mems on May 9th from the village OF Top
ka, which Ia between Inivetlin and Beh-
rings Straits I received one also from
Irgunuk.
(4)Among the mammals that remain
here over wiutsr are rarely observed the
wolf and the wild reindeer. Tracks Of the
latter were seen on the 23d OF March, in
the mountainous tract fifteen +, twenty
miles south Of Iuivetlin.
According to the Tsch some few remain
Ia the coast mountains during winter
while the majority 90 southwark.
t5)Furtber, there are two other man.
mails that winter in this region, though
they are seen only during the summer and
autumn they hyberna.s the rest OF the
season these are the land bear and tho
marmel" % deer (Arctomys sp). We
saw no land bear, but Lieut.. Horguard aud
myself saw its track on the 9Th OF October,
about two or three miles from the coast.
The Tsch say this animal is quite common
In the summer. The marmel deer appear
In numbers. The first was brought on
board the Goth of May by Tsch. On the
next day saw one perched on a small hill
In which 1t had Its burrow.
Besides tho animals spoken Of, the Tsch
give account of one they name "Wau'
nat" and which burrows IN the banks OF
rivers. According TO the description they
give of 1t it Ia the common otter As IN
most places where the lemming Is COM
mon the "Ros cat" pronounced rus cat)
(Austela culgaris), q species OF ermine
Mote ID, OF which have obtained two
skins from the Tsch. Whether the ermine
occurs here cannot say with certainty !;
that 1t does seems probable, because the
natives relate there Ii found variety OF
weasel whose tail is tipped with black.
(OOf maripe animals only two have been
seen IN this Strait, namely, the Ring seal
(Phoea Jeotida) and the Polar bear. Once
or twice the tracks OF Polar bear have been
seen near shore. Tt seems. how ever, to
keep It's abode ct the openings Of the ice,
away toward the sea, where, during our
stay, two were killed by Tsch from villages
In the vicinity. The Phoea Joetida ID
probably tho only variety OF tho seal that
appears here In winter. 1t Is caught 10
great quantities, and furnishes (besides
fish and some vegetables) the chief nutri.
ment Of the Tsch.
(s)Of land birds there are only three va.
rieties that pass The winter In this region,
namely, the Strir nyetea, the Corpas coraz,
and the Logopus subalpino; the latter ID
the most common. On the 18th Of Septem.
ber while on q sleigh tour, and about ten
to twelve miles from the coast, saw t~c
great fiocks Of p;si miean Zone fock Wal
estimated at ffty). Near the sea, however,
especially during spring, on the contrary,
they live solitary. ....
(9)Ths raven appears generally near thu
Tsch villages, and builds its nest on rocky
precipices. The first raven egg was oh.
ksiMCu UAsS. hO Asuabs0aa WV 49,
seen the first time March 18th, but accord.
ing to the natives they are seen the whole
winter. In April and May We saw two
mountain owls May 21st two.
GOAT open places in the sea, according
TO the assertions Of the natives, are to b.
found two swimming birds throughout the
wintcr-the Uria (BrunichD and the Urio
gryls. We obtained . specimen Of the
FIRST May lsts and Of the latter The l9th'
Besides these possibly variety Of Asrgu
lus pass tho winter near open places In the
90. or this one specimen came to our
quarters November 3D.. A variety Of the
Fuligula also, Of which . specimen wa
bought March 10th, probably passes the
winter ~ above stated the native who
brought IL said be killed 1t in the channe
of the coast
SEARCHING FOR FOSSIL REMAINS.
Just before our prscipitate departure
from our winter quarters, received relis
BILE information that the bones Of . mann
moth were to be found In the estuary OF :