The Voyage Of The Vega Round Asia And Europe Part 1

The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe.

by A.E. Nordenskieold.

PREFACE.

In the work now published I have, along with the sketch of the voyage of the _Vega_ round Asia and Europe, of the natural conditions of the north coast of Siberia, of the animal and vegetable life prevailing there, and of the peoples with whom we came in contact in the course of our journey, endeavoured to give a review, as complete as s.p.a.ce permitted, of previous exploratory voyages to the Asiatic Polar Sea. It would have been very ungrateful on my part if I had not referred at some length to our predecessors, who with indescribable struggles and difficulties--and generally with the sacrifice of health and life--paved the way along which we advanced, made possible the victory we achieved. In this way besides the work itself has gained a much-needed variety, for nearly all the narratives of the older North-East voyages contain in abundance what a sketch of our adventures has not to offer; for many readers perhaps expect to find in a book such as this accounts of dangers and misfortunes of a thousand sorts by land and sea. May the contrast which thus becomes apparent between the difficulties our predecessors had to contend with and those which the _Vega_ met with during her voyage incite to new exploratory expeditions to the sea, which now, for the first time, has been ploughed by the keel of a sea-going vessel, and conduce to dissipate a prejudice which for centuries has kept the most extensive cultivable territory on the globe shut out from the great Oceans of the World.

The work is furnished with numerous maps and ill.u.s.trations, and is provided with accurate references to sources of geographical information. For this I am indebted both to the liberal conception which my publisher, Herr FRANS BEIJER, formed of the way in which the work should be executed, and the a.s.sistance I have received while it was pa.s.sing through the press from Herr E.W. Dahlgren, amanuensis at the Royal Library, for which it is a pleasant duty publicly to offer them my hearty thanks.

A.E. NORDENSKIoLD.

STOCKHOLM, _8th October_, 1881.

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 a.s.serting 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 circ.u.mnavigation 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 pa.s.sage to China and j.a.pan--which for more than three hundred years had been a subject of compet.i.tion between the world's foremost commercial states and most daring navigators, and which, if we view it in the light of a circ.u.mnavigation of the old world, had, for thousands of years back, been an object of desire for geographers. I determined, therefore, at first to make use, for this purpose, of the funds which Mr. A.

SIBIRIAKOFF, after my return from the expedition of 1876, placed at my disposal for the continuation of researches in the Siberian Polar Sea. For a voyage of the extent now contemplated, this sum, however, was quite insufficient. On this account I turned to His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, with the inquiry whether any a.s.sistance in making preparations for the projected expedition might be reckoned upon from the public funds. King OSCAR, who, already as Crown Prince, had given a large contribution to the Torell expedition of 1861, immediately received my proposal with special warmth, and promised within a short time to invite the Swedish members of the Yenisej expeditions and others interested in our voyages of exploration in the north, to meet him for the purpose of consultation, asking me at the same time to be prepared against the meeting with a complete exposition of the reasons on which I grounded my views--differing so widely from the ideas commonly entertained--of the state of the ice in the sea off the north coast of Siberia.

This a.s.sembly took place at the palace in Stockholm, on the 26th January, 1877, which may be considered the birthday of the _Vega_ Expedition, and was ushered in by a dinner, to which a large number of persons were invited, among whom were the members of the Swedish royal house that happened to be then in Stockholm; Prince JOHN OF GLuCKSBURG; Dr. OSCAR d.i.c.kSON, the Gothenburg merchant; Baron F.W.

VON OTTER, Councillor of State and Minister of Marine, well known for his voyages in the Arctic waters in 1868 and 1871; Docent F.K.

KJELLMAN, Dr. A. STUTXBERG, the former a member of the expedition which wintered at Mussel Bay in 1872-73, and of that which reached the Yenisej in 1875, the latter, of the Yenisej Expeditions of 1875 and 1876; and Docents HJALMAR THeEL and A.N. LUNDSTRoM, both members of the Yenisej Expedition of 1875.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Oscar d.i.c.kson ]

After dinner the programme of the contemplated voyage was laid before the meeting, almost in the form in which it afterwards appeared in print in several languages. There then arose a lively discussion, in the course of which reasons were advanced for, and against the practicability of the plan. In particular the question concerning the state of the ice and the marine currents at Cape Chelyuskin gave occasion to an exhaustive discussion. It ended by His Majesty first of all declaring himself convinced of the practicability of the plan of the voyage, and prepared not only as king, but also as a private individual, to give substantial support to the enterprise. Dr. Oscar d.i.c.kson shared His Majesty's views, and promised to contribute to the not inconsiderable expenditure, which the new voyage of exploration would render necessary. This is the sixth expedition to the high north, the expenses of which have been defrayed to a greater or less extent by Dr. O. d.i.c.kson.[1] He became the banker of the _Vega_ Expedition, inasmuch as to a considerable extent he advanced the necessary funds, but after our return the expenses were equally divided between His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, Dr. d.i.c.kson, and Mr. Sibiriakoff.

I very soon had the satisfaction of appointing, as superintendents of the botanical and zoological work of the expedition in this new Polar voyage, my old and tried friends from previous expeditions, Docents Dr. Kjellman and Dr. Stuxberg, observers so well known in Arctic literature. At a later period, another member of the expedition that wintered on Spitzbergen in 1872-73, Lieutenant (now Captain in the Swedish Navy) L. PALANDER, offered to accompany the new expedition as commander of the vessel--an offer which I gladly accepted, well knowing, as I did from previous voyages, Captain Palander's distinguished ability both as a seaman and an Arctic explorer. Further there joined the expedition Lieutenant GIACOMO BOVE, of the Italian Navy; Lieutenant A. HOVGAARD, of the Danish Navy; Medical candidate E. ALMQUIST, as medical officer; Lieutenant O. NORDQUIST, of the Russian Guards; Lieutenant E. BRUSEWITZ, of the Swedish Navy; together with twenty-one men--petty officers and crew, according to a list which will be found further on.

An expedition of such extent as that now projected, intended possibly to last two years, with a vessel of its own, a numerous well-paid _personnel_, and a considerable scientific staff, must of course be very costly. In order somewhat to diminish the expenses, I gave in, on the 25th August, 1877, a memorial to the Swedish Government with the prayer that the steamer _Vega_, which in the meantime had been purchased for the expedition, should be thoroughly overhauled and made completely seaworthy at the naval dockyard at Karlskrona; and that, as had been done in the case of the Arctic Expeditions of 1868 and 1872-73, certain grants of public money should be given to the officers and men of the Royal Swedish Navy, who might take part as volunteers in the projected expedition. With reference to this pet.i.tion the Swedish Government was pleased, in terms of a letter of the Minister of Marine, dated the 31st December, 1877, both to grant sea-pay, &c., to the officer and eighteen men of the Royal Navy, who might take part in the expedition in question, and at the same time to resolve on making a proposal to the Diet in which additional grants were to be asked for it.

The proposal to the Diet of 1878 was agreed to with that liberality which has always distinguished the representatives of the Swedish people when grants for scientific purposes have been asked for; which was also the case with a private motion made in the same Diet by the President, C.F. WAERN, member of the Academy of Sciences, whereby it was proposed to confer some further privileges on the undertaking.

It is impossible here to give at length the decision of the Diet, and the correspondence which was exchanged with the authorities with reference to it. But I am under an obligation of grat.i.tude to refer to the exceedingly pleasant reception I met with everywhere, in the course of these negotiations, from officials of all ranks, and to give a brief account of the privileges which the expedition finally came to enjoy, mainly owing to the letter of the Government to the Marine Department, dated the 14th June, 1878.

Two officers and seventeen men of the Royal Swedish Navy having obtained permission to take part in the expedition as volunteers, I was authorised to receive on account of the expedition from the treasury of the Navy, at Karlskrona--with the obligation of returning that portion of the funds which might not be required, and on giving approved security--full sea pay for two years for the officers, petty officers, and men taking part in the expedition; pay for the medical officer, at the rate of 3,500 Swedish crowns a year, for the same time; and subsistence money for the men belonging to the Navy, at the rate of one and a half Swedish crowns per man per day. The sum, by which the cost of provisions exceeded the amount calculated at this rate, was defrayed by the expedition, which likewise gave a considerable addition to the pay of the sailors belonging to the Navy. I further obtained permission to receive, on account of the expedition, from the Navy stores at Karlskrona, provisions, medicines, coal, oil, and other necessary equipment, under obligation to pay for any excess of value over 10,000 Swedish crowns (about 550_l_.); and finally the vessel of the expedition was permitted to be equipped and made completely seaworthy at the naval dockyard at Karlskrona, on condition, however, that the excess of expenditure on repairs over 25,000 crowns (about 1,375_l_.) should be defrayed by the expedition.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _THE VEGA._ Longitudinal section. ]

Plan of arrangement under deck.

1. Powder magazine.

2. Instrument room.

3. Sofa in gunroom.

4. Cabin for Lieut. Brusewitz 5. Cabin fur Lieuts. Bove and Hovgaard.

6. Pantry during winter.

7. Corridor.

8. Cabin for Dr. Stuxberg and Lieut. Nordquist.

9. Gunroom.

10. Table in gunroom.

11. Cabin for Dr. Almquist.

12. Cabin for Dr. Kjellman.

13. Stove.

14. Cabin for Capt. Palander.

15. Cabin for Prof. Nordenskiold.

16. Corridor (descent to gunroom).

17. Coal bankers.

18. Boiler.

19. Storeroom 'tween decks.

20. Pilot's cabin.

21. Cabin for Lieut. Bove built in j.a.pan.

22. Cabin for two petty officers.

23. Petty officers' mess.

24. Cabin for carpenter's effects ) built 25. Cabin for collections. ) in j.a.pan 26. Cabin for library.

27. Gunroom pantry.

28. Hatch to provision room.

29. Hatch to the cable-tier.

30. Hatch to room set apart for scientific purposes.

31. Galley.

32. Bunks for the crew--double rows.

33. Cable-tier and provision store.

34. Hatch to store-room.

35. Hatch to room for daily giving out of provisions.

36. Hatch to rope-room.

37. Sail-room.

38. Storeroom for water and coal.

39. Engine-room.

40. Cellar.

Plan of upper deck

_a._ Thermometer case.

_b._ The rudder.

_c._ Binnacle with compa.s.s.

_d._ ) Skylights to the gunroom.

_e._ ) _f._ Mizenmast.

_g._ Descent to the gunroom ) companion common _h._ Descent to the engine ) to both.

_i._ Bridge.

_k._ Funnel.