beset by the
ice very soon on the north coast of Novaya Zemlya, where in many and
great dangers the winter passed. On the 29th of October the sun
disappeared for 109 days! The winter over, the months of May, June, and
July were spent in trying to saw the _Tegethoff_ out of the ice; but all
the efforts made were futile. The north wind in July sent the ice
southward, but in a month the return drift set in with southerly winds,
and no hope of the breaking up of the ice was entertained. In August,
1873, the crew sighted land; it was approached, and named after Count
Wilczek, the originator of the expedition.

The gloom of Arctic night prevented any more exploration. The vessel
continued to drift northward, and at length the floe was driven on an
island, where it remained with the vessel, three miles from the shore.
The second winter now began. In January the cold was very severe: the
oil froze, the lamps went out, and the brandy even was congealed into a
solid mass. Bears paid the voyagers frequent visits, and many were
shot; but all males, no female bears appeared.

In March, Lieutenant Payer and his party went on a sledge-journey in a
north-west direction to Hall Island. The whole region seemed "devoid of
life"--ice and great glaciers everywhere. The cold was intense. This
party returned, and another journey was undertaken to the north with the
sleighs, equipped as directed by Sir L. McClintock. This expedition
resulted in the discovery of Franz-Joseph Land, as it was named after
the Emperor. It is like Eastern Greenland--a "land of desolation," with
high mountains and vast glaciers, of a greenish-blue colour. The
vegetation is extremely poor, and the country is uninhabited.

Further on they reached another territory, which they named Crown Prince
Rudolf Land, the habitation of millions of sea-birds, and thousands of
bears, seals, and foxes. A great glacier was crossed, but as it was
quitted an immense fissure engulfed the sleigh with the stores, while
the others only narrowly escaped by cutting the traces. Lieutenant
Payer hurried back for assistance, and at length dogs, men, and sleigh
were pulled up, safe and nearly sound. Rounding Auk Cape, the explorers
reached open water by the shore.

Pressing on to latitude 81 degrees 57 minutes north, the party reached
their farthest point. From an elevated position the explorer made his
observations, which led him to the conclusion that there is no open
pola