. The life and voyages of Joseph Wiggins; modern discoverer of the Kara Sea route to Siberia, based on his journals & letters . andsails could propel us, averaging some eight or nineknots an hour. The weather, clear and beautiful,showed us the high land, still reaching far away onour left, and any one would have said now that wewere running along the high main shores of theMediterranean, and not entering the estuary of anArctic River. All was sunshine and very lovely,only the distant hills covered with snow. The sunshone powerfully. Thermometer 40° to 45° in theshade, temperature of water the
. The life and voyages of Joseph Wiggins; modern discoverer of the Kara Sea route to Siberia, based on his journals & letters . andsails could propel us, averaging some eight or nineknots an hour. The weather, clear and beautiful,showed us the high land, still reaching far away onour left, and any one would have said now that wewere running along the high main shores of theMediterranean, and not entering the estuary of anArctic River. All was sunshine and very lovely,only the distant hills covered with snow. The sunshone powerfully. Thermometer 40° to 45° in theshade, temperature of water the same. We came to anchor for the night close underthe high headland of Cape Schantsky, the weatherhaving changed to heavy showers of snow andsleet, with hght wind from south-west. At 4 were again under weigh. Steamed on towardsthe mouth of the river, keeping five fathoms by thelead. The sun soon appeared, and we made goodheading close to the shore. We sighted a villageahead, at the point or entrance of the river itself—probably Soposhnagorka, as laid down on Nordens-kiolds chart. Soon we distinguished the wooden. •^ v.] A DEAD VILLAGE 105 crosses above graves. At 9 were abreast ofthe village, consisting of some six huts, built in theRussian style. Immense piles of drift-wood on theshore, but no signs of life. We thought that Captain Schwanenberg musthave been do^vn with his vessel thus far, so decidedto land and examine the huts for records. Hemay have been here, we thought, and, giving usup, have returned to Dudinka. Soon we werestruggling over the immense drift-trees, some ofthem monsters. We were surprised at times tofind ourselves suddenly sinking up to the waist,through the rotten timber giving way. It musthave been there for centuries. At last we reached a hut, to find it roofless;probably it had not been inhabited for many sHpped on to the others, and with the sameresult. Outside were lying about large troughs,made out of the drift-trees. Being
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