horizon in the
north-east. In order to reach this new land the former undertook a
journey over the ice. It was so uneven, however, that in four days
he could only penetrate about seventy versts. Here on the 9th
April/28th March, he met with quite open water, which appeared to
extend to the Bear Islands, _i.e._ for a distance of about 500
versts. He therefore turned southward, and reached the mainland
after forty-three days' very difficult travelling over the ice.
During the journey Hedenstroem was saved from famine by his success
in killing eleven Polar bears. A new attempt, which he made the same
spring to reach with dog-sledges the unknown land in the north-east,
was also without result in consequence of his meeting with broad,
impassable "leads" and openings in the ice, but even on this
occasion he believed that he found many indications of the existence
of an extensive land in the direction named. It was only with great
difficulty that on the 20th/8th May he succeeded in reaching the
mainland at Cape Baranov over very weak ice.

The same year Sannikov explored Kotelnoj Island, where he fell in
with Bjelkov and several hunters, who had settled for the summer on
the west coast of the island to collect mammoth tusks and hunt foxes
there. He found also a Greek cross erected on the beach and the
remains of a vessel, which, to judge from its construction and the
hunting implements scattered about in the neighbourhood, appeared to
have belonged to an Archangel hunter, who had been driven by wind or
ice from Spitzbergen or Novaya Zemlya.

Next summer "the Hedenstroem expeditions" were concluded with the
survey of the north coast of Novaya Sibir by CHENIZYN, and by a
repetition of the attempt to penetrate from Cape Kamennoj over the
ice in a north-easterly direction, this time carried out by the
Cossack TATARINOV, and finally by a renewed exploration of Faddejev
Island by Sannikov. Tatarinov found the ice, probably in the end of
March, so thin, that he did not dare to proceed farther, and beyond
the thin ice the sea was seen to be quite open. Sannikov first
explored Faddejev Island. He thought he saw from the hills of the
island a high land in the north-east, but when he attempted to reach
it over the ice, he came upon open water twenty-five versts from
land. He therefore returned the same spring to Ustjansk in order
there to equip a caravan consisting of twenty-three reindeer, which
started on the 14th/2nd May to go ove