aj, drawn by R. Haglund

162. An Evening in the Gun-room of the _Vega_ during the Wintering,
drawn by ditto, engraved by R. Lindgren

163. Refraction Halo, drawn by ditto

164. Reflection Halo, drawn by ditto

165. Section of the Beach Strata at Pitlekaj

166. Christmas Eve on the _Vega_, drawn by V. Andren

ERRATA [ Transcriber's note: these have been applied to the text ]

Page 44, under Wood-cut _for_ "chammmorus" _read_ "chamaemorus."

Page 58, lines 21, 24, end 28 _for_ "pearls" _read_ "beads."

Page 140, line 13 from top, _for_ "swallow" _read_ "roll away."

Page 184, last line, _for_ "one-third" _read_ "one-and-a-half times."

Page 377, note, _for_ "It is the general rule" _read_
"For the northern hemisphere it is a general rule."

Page 476, line 12 from top, _for_ "leggins" _read_
"leggings."

Page 481, under wood-cut, _for_ "half the natural size"
_read_ "one-third of the natural size."

Page 494, under wood-cut, _for_ "half the natural size"
_read_ "one-third of the natural size."

INTRODUCTION.

The voyage, which it is my purpose to sketch in this book, owed its
origin to two preceding expeditions from Sweden to the western part
of the Siberian Polar Sea, in the course of which I reached the
mouth of the Yenisej, the first time in 1875 in a walrus-hunting
sloop, the _Procven_, and the second time in 1876 in a steamer, the
_Ymer_.

After my return from the latter voyage, I came to the conclusion,
that, on the ground of the experience thereby gained, and of the
knowledge which, under the light of that experience, it was possible
to obtain from old, especially from Russian, explorations of the
north coast of Asia, I was warranted in asserting that the open
navigable water, which two years in succession had carried me across
the Kara Sea, formerly of so bad repute, to the mouth of the
Yenisej, extended in all probability as far as Behring's Straits,
and that a circumnavigation of the old world was thus within the
bounds of possibility.

It was natural that I should endeavour to take advantage of the
opportunity for making new and important discoveries which thus
presented itself. An opportunity had arisen for solving a
geographical problem--the forcing a north-east passage to China and
Japan--which for more than three hundred years had been a subject of
competition between the world's foremost commercial states and most
daring navigators, and which, if we view it in the light