ossils, among them ammonites with
exquisite pearly lustre, which Hedenstroem brought home from the rock
strata on Kotelnoj Island, hold out inducement to further
researches, which ought to yield the geologist valuable information
as to the former climate and the former distribution of land and sea
on the surface of the globe. The knowledge of the hydrography of
this region is besides an indispensable condition for judging of the
state of the ice in the sea which washes the north coast of Asia.
Here lies the single available starting-point for the exploration of
the yet altogether unknown sea farther to the north, and from hills
on the two northernmost islands Hedenstroem thought that across the
sea to the north-west and north-east he saw obscure outlines of new
land, on which no man had yet set his foot. All these circumstances
confer on this group of islands an uncommon interest in a scientific
and geographical respect, and therefore no long time can elapse
until a scientific expedition be sent to these regions. Just for
this reason I now desired, as a preparation for a future voyage, to
wander about here for a couple of days, partly on foot, partly by
boat.

[Illustration: STOLBOVOJ ISLAND. After a drawing by O. Nordquist. ]

The air was calm, but for the most part clouded, the temperature as
high as +4 deg., the sea clear of ice, the salinity of the water
1.8 per cent, with a temperature of +2 deg. to +3 deg.. At first
we made rapid progress, but after having in the afternoon of the
28th August sighted the westernmost islands, Semenoffskoj and
Stolbovoj, the sea became so shallow that for long stretches we were
compelled to sail in six to seven metres water. Some very rotten
ice, or rather ice sludge, was also met with, which compelled us to
make tedious _detours_, and prevented the _Vega_ from going at full
speed.

The animal life was among the scantiest I had seen during my many
travels in the Polar Seas. A few seals were visible. Of birds we saw
some terns and gulls, and even far out at sea a pretty large number
of phalaropes--the most common kind of bird on the coast of the
Asiatic Polar Sea, at least in autumn. Stolbovoj Island was,
especially on the north side, high with precipitous shore-cliffs
which afforded splendid breeding-places for looms, black guillemots
and gulls. At all such cliffs there breed on Spitzbergen millions of
sea fowl, which are met with out on the surrounding sea in great
flocks searc