er. The wreck of a smaller vessel lay by its side. On the south
side was a flag-staff, and on it a red flag; Khabarova must then lie
behind it. At last one or two buildings or shanties appeared behind a
promontory, and soon the whole place lay exposed to view, consisting
of tents and a few houses. On a little jutting-out point close by us
was a large red building, with white door-frames, of a very homelike
appearance. It was indeed a Norwegian warehouse which Sibiriakoff had
imported from Finmarken. But here the water was shallow, and we had to
proceed carefully for fear of running aground. We kept heaving the lead
incessantly--we had 5 fathoms of water, and then 4, then not much more
than we needed, and then it shelved to a little over 3 fathoms. This
was rather too close work, so we stood out again a bit to wait till
we got a little nearer the place before drawing in to the shore.

A boat was now seen slowly approaching from the land. A man of middle
height, with an open, kindly face and reddish beard, came on board. He
might have been a Norwegian from his appearance. I went to meet him,
and asked him in German if he was Trontheim. Yes, he was. After
him there came a number of strange figures clad in heavy robes of
reindeer-skin, which nearly touched the deck. On their heads they wore
peculiar "bashlyk"-like caps of reincalf-skin, beneath which strongly
marked bearded faces showed forth, such as might well have belonged
to old Norwegian Vikings. The whole scene, indeed, called up in my
mind a picture of the Viking Age, of expeditions to Gardarike and
Bjarmeland. They were fine, stalwart-looking fellows, these Russian
traders, who barter with the natives, giving them brandy in exchange
for bearskins, sealskins, and other valuables, and who, when once
they have a hold on a man, keep him in such a state of dependence that
he can scarcely call his soul his own. "Es ist eine alte Geschichte,
doch wird sie immer neu." Soon, too, the Samoyedes came flocking on
board, pleasant-featured people of the broad Asiatic type. Of course
it was only the men who came.

The first question I asked Trontheim was about the ice. He replied that
Yugor Strait had been open a long while, and that he had been expecting
our arrival every day since then with ever-increasing anxiety. The
natives and the Russians had begun to jeer at him as time went on,
and no Fram was to be seen; but now he had his revenge and was all
sunshine. He thought the st