n the river bank and gave
evidence, along with a number of large boats drawn up on land, and
wooden vessels intended for salting fish, of the industry which had
been carried on there earlier in the summer. It was at this place that
Nummelin passed one of the severest winters that Arctic literature has
to record.[101]

In 1876 M. Sidoroff, well known for the lively interest which he
takes in navigation in the Siberian waters, had a ship _Severnoe
Sianie_ (the _Aurora_) built and fitted out at Yeniseisk, in order
to carry goods from the Yenisej to Europe. The vessel was placed
under the command of a Russian sea-captain, Schwanenberg. Under him
Nummelin served as mate, and the vessel had a crew of eighteen men,
most of whom had been exiled to Siberia for crime. In consequence of
various mishaps the vessel could not get farther the first year than
to the neighbourhood of the mouth of the Yenisej, where it was left
in winter quarters at the place which has been named above. Nummelin
and four exiles remained on board, while Schwanenberg and the rest
of the crew returned to Yeniseisk on the 28th September. Frost had
already commenced. During the two following weeks the temperature
kept in the neighbourhood of the freezing point; clear weather
alternating with snow and rain.

On the 5th of October the crew withdrew to their winter quarters,
having previously collected driftwood and placed it in heaps in
order that they might easily find it under the snow.

On the 16th October the thermometer at eight o'clock in the morning
showed -4.5 deg. and afterwards sank lower every day, until after the 21st
October the mercury for some days was constantly under -10 deg.. On the 26th
October the temperature was -18 deg., but in the beginning of November it
rose again to -2 deg.. On the 6th November it sank again to -17 deg., but rose
on the 11th to -3.5 deg.. On the 14th November the thermometer showed
-23.5 deg., on the 21st -29.5 deg.. Next day in the morning it stood at -32 deg.,
and in the evening at -37 deg., but these figures were arrived at _by
guess_, the instrument not indicating so low temperatures. This
temperature of -30 deg. to -32 deg., varying with frozen mercury, continued till
the end of November, when it rose again to -11.5 deg.. At Christmas there
was again a temperature of -31 deg. and the six following days the mercury
was frozen, with which the new year came in. The temperature then rose
again to -20 deg., but soon