drifted down towards the coast, but still left an open ice-free
channel along the land. Here the higher animal world was exceedingly
poor, which, as far as the avi-fauna was concerned, must be in some
degree ascribed to the late season of the year. For Wrangel mentions
a cliff at the Bear Islands which was covered with numberless birds'
nests. He saw besides, on the largest of these islands, traces of
the bear, wolf, fox, lemming, and reindeer (Wrangel's _Reise_, i.
pp. 304 and 327). Now the surrounding sea was completely deserted.
No Polar bear saluted us from the ice-floes, no walruses, and only
very few seals were visible. During many watches not a single
natatory bird was seen. Only the phalarope was still met with in
large numbers, even pretty far out at sea. Perhaps it was then
migrating from the north. The lower animal world was more abundant.
From the surface of the sea the drag-net brought up various small
surface crustacea, inconsiderable in themselves, but important as
food for larger animals; and from the sea-bottom were obtained a
large number of the same animal forms as from the sound at
Svjatoinos, and in addition some beautiful asterids and a multitude
of very large beaker sponges.

On the 3rd September, after we had sailed past the Bear Islands, the
course was shaped right for Cape Chelagskoj. This course, as will be
seen by a glance at the map, carried us far from the coast, and thus out
of the channel next the land, in which we had hitherto sailed. The ice
was heavy and close, although at first so distributed that it was
navigable. But with a north wind, which began to blow on the night
before the 1st September, the temperature fell below the freezing-point,
and the water between the pieces of drift-ice was covered with a very
thick crust of ice, and the drift-ice came closer and closer together.
It thus became impossible to continue the course which we had taken. We
therefore turned towards the land, and at 6 o'clock P.M., after various
bends in the ice and a few concussions against the pieces of ice that
barred our way, again reached the ice-free channel, eight to twelve
kilometres broad, next the land. While we lay a little way in among the
drift-ice fields we could see no sign of open water, but it appeared as
if the compact ice extended all the way to land, a circumstance which
shows how careful the navigator ought to be in expressing an opinion as
to the nature of the _pack_ beyond the immediate