urse of the night, that a couple of hours' work with
axes and ice-hatchets was required to open a channel through it. On
the other side of this belt of ice we came again into pretty open
water, but the fog, instead, became so dense that we had again to
lie-to at a ground-ice, lying farther out to the sea but more to the
west than our former resting-place. On the night before the 11th
there was a violent motion among the ice. Fortunately the air
cleared in the morning, so that we could hold on our course among
pretty open ice, until on the approach of night we were obliged as
usual to lie-to at a ground-ice.

The following day, the 12th September, when we had passed Irkaipij,
or Cape North, a good way, we fell in with so close ice that there
was no possibility of penetrating farther. We were therefore
compelled to return, and were able to make our way with great
difficulty among the closely packed masses of drift ice. Here the
vessel was anchored in the lee of a ground-ice, which had stranded
near the northernmost spur of Irkaipij, until a strong tidal current
began to carry large pieces of drift-ice past the vessel's
anchorage. She was now removed and anchored anew in a little bay
open to the north, which was formed by two rocky points jutting out
from the mainland. Unfortunately we were detained here, waiting for
a better state of the ice, until the 18th September. It was this
involuntary delay which must be considered the main cause of our
wintering.

[Illustration: IRKAIPIJ. (After a drawing by O. Nordquist.) ]

Irkaipij is the northernmost promontory in that part of Asia, which
was seen by Cook in 1778. It was, therefore, called by him Cape
North, a name which has since been adopted in most maps, although it
is apt to lead to confusion from capes similarly named being found
in most countries. It is also incorrect, because the cape does not
form the northernmost promontory either of the whole of Siberia, or
of any considerable portion of it. For the northernmost point of the
mainland of Siberia is Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost in the land
east of the Lena Svjatoinos, the northernmost in the stretch of
coast east of Chaun Bay, Cape Chelagskoj, and so on. Cape North
ought, therefore, to be replaced by the original name Irkaipij,
which is well known to all the natives between Chaun Bay and
Behring's Straits.

[Illustration: REMAINS OF AN ONKILON HOUSE.
_a._ Seen from the side.
_b._ From above. (After a draw