stroem and the seaman Lundgren took part in the
magnetical and meteorological observations. Every one had his watch
of six hours, five of which were commonly passed in the ice-house.
To walk from the vessel to the observatory, distant a kilometre and
a half, with the temperature under the freezing point of mercury,
or, what was much worse, during storm, with the temperature at -36 deg.,
remain in the observatory for five hours in a temperature of
-17 deg., and then return to the vessel, commonly against the
wind--for it came nearly always from the north or north-west--was
dismal enough. None of us, however, suffered any harm from it. On
the contrary, it struck me as if this compulsory interruption to our
monotonous life on board and the long-continued stay in the open air
had a refreshing influence both on body and soul.

[Illustration: THE OBSERVATORY AT PITLEKAJ. (After a drawing by
O. Nordquist.) ]

In the neighbourhood of the ice-house the thermometer case was
erected, and farther on in the winter there were built in the
surrounding snowdrifts, two other observatories, not however of ice,
but of snow, in the Greenland snow-building style. Our depot of
provisions was also placed in the neighbourhood, and at a sufficient
distance from the magnetical observatory there was a large wooden
chest, in which the Remington guns, which were carried for safety in
excursions from the vessel, and other iron articles which the
observer had with him, were placed before he entered the
observatory.

The building of Tintinyaranga was followed by the Chukches with
great interest. When they saw that we did not intend to live there,
but that rare, glancing metal instruments were set up in it, and
that a wonderfully abundant flood of light in comparison with their
tent illumination was constantly maintained inside with a kind of
light quite unknown to them (stearine candles and photogen lamps) a
curious uneasiness began to prevail among them, which we could not
quiet with the language of signs mixed with a Chukch word or two, to
which our communications with the natives were at that time
confined. Even farther on in the year, when an efficient though
word-poor international language had gradually been formed between
us, they made inquiries on this point, yet with considerable
indifference. All sensible people among them had evidently already
come to the conclusion that it was profitless trouble to seek a
reasonable explanation of all