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JOSEPH WIGGINS

THE LIFE AND VOYAGES
OF JOSEPH WIGGINS, F.R.G.S.

MODERN DISCOVERER OF
THE KARA SEA ROUTE TO SIBERIA
BASED ON HIS JOURNALS & LETTERS

BY HENRY JOHNSON

AUTHOR OF "THE EXPLOITS OF MYLES STANDISH,"
"BOOK OF HEROES," ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1907

638 b* 2

«*N

-r

"Endurance is the crowning quality,
And patience all the passion of great hearts ;
Tliese are their stay." — J. Russell Lowell.

PREFACE

'' I HAVE a prejudice about book- writing, for I
think a man has no occasion to write of his
deeds and doings until he is on the point of
finishing his work. Then, when he has nothing
else to do, he may sit down and detail the
labours of his life."

This was the opinion of Captain Wiggins,
expressed in the course of a lecture in Sunderland
in 1895. Yielding to the urgent wishes of many-
friends, he fully intended to write some day an
account of his " deeds and doings." But the
period of leisure never came to him ; he died
in harness, and therefore the literary records of
adventurous British seamen lack a volume which
could not have failed to be a realistic and vivid
autobiography.

All who knew Captain Wiggins personally, in-
cluding friends in Russia and Siberia, and all who
followed his brave efforts in Arctic seas and in
Russian territory, will agree that a life like his
demands a literary memorial. The present volume
is an attempt to give effect to that conviction.

X PREFACE

The Captain left a large number of papers,
consisting of journals of his voyages, hundreds
of letters received from various correspondents
interested in his projects, as well as copies of
important letters from his own hand, and many
documents of other kinds. In making use of
this abundant material, every opportunity has
been taken of allowing the Captain to speak for
himself. A great number of passages are from
his own pen.

My hearty thanks are due to many kind
helpers. I am indebted to Mrs R. E. Wemyss,
the daughter of Sir Robert Morier, for permission
to make use of her father's letters ; to Lady
H. M. Stanley, for permission to print a letter
from the renowned African explorer ; to Madame
Olga Novikoff, Miss Annie E. Ridley, and Mrs
J. K. Lyal, for valuable information and sugges-
tions ; to Mr Henry Cooke, late Commercial Agent
at Moscow for the Board of Trade, and previously
British Vice-Consul at Archangel, for information
on the present aspects of the northern trade-route
question, and to other persons for help in the
solution of various queries.

For the loan of photographs and other illus-
trative matter I am indebted to Mr Charles L,

PREFACE 3d

W. Gardiner, of Lympstone, Devon, one of the
Captain's warmest and most disinterested sup-
porters ; Mr Joseph T. Sewell, of Whitby, brother
of Mr Phihp Sewell, the naturalist, who accom-
panied Captain Wiggins on one of his voyages ;
Mr J. Deans, of Sunderland ; the proprietors of
the Illustrated London News ; and to the Rev.
J. H. Ritson, M.A., Secretary of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, who has recently travelled
across Siberia.

But my thanks are chiefly due to the legal
representative of Captain Wiggins for placing
the Captain's papers at my disposal, and for
unremitting services throughout the preparation
of this book.

In the opinion of Sir Robert Morier, Captain
Wiggins was *' a great historical man " ; in the
opinion of a leading London journal, he is " worthy
to be placed beside Hawkins and Frobisher."
This biographical sketch will not have fulfilled
its purpose should it fail to make clear to its
readers the simple justice of such statements.

Henry Johnson.

London, September^ 1907.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER

PAGE

Parentage of Joseph Wiggins — Coaching days, and the rail-
way invasion — Nelson coachmen at the "Bull Inn,"
Whitechapel — Dickens at the " Bull " — Memories of
Bury St. Edmunds — Schooldays of Wiggins — Bound
apprentice to a shipoAvner — His brothers and sisters —
Hardships at sea — Mate of his ship — Master at twenty-
one — Captain of the Victoria — Becomes a shipowner —
Appointed Examiner in Navigation at Sunderland —
Elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society —
Mrs Wiggins— Friendship with Carl Rosa — Religious
and philanthropic work — A true gentleman . . 1-14

CHAPTER II

THE SIBERIAN PROBLEM

The Captain worried by his "sea-legs" — Studying maps —
Ice reported to block the ocean-way to Siberia— Cost
of overland transit of merchandise — Vast extent and
resources of Siberia — The population — Aborigines —
Exiles as 'colonists — A "Land of Goshen" running to
waste — Russian traders of the sixteenth century —
Adventurers into the Kara Sea — The three channels to
the Sea — The Captain forms a theory — Wants experience
in the "habits" of ice — Decides to go to the north-east . 15-21

xiii

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER III

VOYAGE OF THE DIANA

PAGE

Chartering the Diana — Advice from Dr Petermann — Objects
of the voyage — Stanley eager to go with the Captain —
Journal of the voyage — Early difficulties — Qualities of
the Diana — Lady Chang — Norwegian scenery — Christen-
ing party at Tromsoe — Prophets of evil at Hammerfest
—Amongst the ice — Charming colouring of ice-blocks —
Moored to a floe — Diana's prowess — In the Kara Sea —
Trapped — Tragic relics on the Samoyede coast —
Dodging, twisting, turning, and wriggling — "Oh, for
a balloon ! " — Effects of mirage — A climate for con-
sumptives— In the Muddy Gulf — Interviewing natives —
Norwegian fishing-boats — Rounding White Island — At
the mouth of the Obi— Tantalising situation — Home-
ward bound — Searching for the Austrian expedition —
Results of the voyage — The Captain's modesty — His
place among Arctic explorers — His voyage provokes
emulation ....... 22-53

CHAPTER IV

ADVENTURES OF A YARMOUTH CUTTER

Presentation to the Captain by Lieutenant Weyprecht —
Another expedition projected — Only a "whim" of the
Captain's— " An awfu' darin' man" — The Whim starts
for the Kara Sea — Frustration of intentions — The
" unexpected " happens at Vardoe — Meeting with
Admiral Glassenoff and Professor Mohn — A visit to
Archangel, and what came of it — The Captain rejoins
the Whim at Seven Islands — Near Kologu.eve Island-
Long and tedious voyage home — Norwegian fishermen's
dread of Russian taxation — " Snapshots " of lovely
scenery — Lady Chang in trouble — "Grace Holman" — _

The herring fleet — "Poor little IFliim" on her beam ^

ends— Safe at Sunderland— The gains of the voyage —
Correspondence with M. Sidoroff— The Royal Geo-
graphical Society, and the Meteorological Office — Letter
to Nordenskiold — The Professor and the " humble
mariner " meet at St. Petersburg — Dinner to the
explorers— Story of the first St. Petersburg interlude —
High hopes collapse — Toiling and moiling at Havre —
A fit of depression ...... 54-81

{

CONTENTS XV

CHAPTER V

VOYAGE OP THE THAMES

FAOB

Relative values of "mustard" and "beef" — Tlie Captain
buoyant again — Mr Charles L. W. Gardiner — Funds
for another voyage — Purchase of the Thames — Objects
of the voyage — Exploits of the Glowworm — Tribute to
Sir Hugh Willoughby, Chancellor, and Pet — Offer of
reward by M. Sibiriakoff — Dazzling sight at Nova
Zembla — Survey of Lutke Island and ]\Iuddy Gulf — A
visit from natives — A short cut to the Obi — "Dodging
about" — Rattling down the Yalmal coast — Blowing a
"sneezer" — Trying to enter the Kara River — A family
of Samoyedes — At White Island— A " council of war "
— In the Yenesei — Difficulties of progress — Driftwood
centuries old — In a deserted village— Looking for the
promised cargo — At Sverevo — Overreaching natives —
Work for the steam-launch— Nearly blown up — Arrival
at Kureika — Captain Schwanenberg and his cargo —
Farewell to the crew of the Thames — Off to Europe by
sledge ....... 82-114

CHAPTER VI

SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE

Accidents — Attractions of a post-house — A breakdown — A
lazy driver — The British flag at the fore — Officialism
at Turukhansk — A woman driver — Forest scenery —
Welcome at Yeneseisk — Reception by the Governor-
General of Siberia — Advantages of a Government pass —
Krasnoiarsk — Entertainment at Omsk— Shipbuilding at
Tiumen — Crossing the Urals — Nishni Novgorod — Re-
ception at Moscow — Arrival at St. Petersburg — Benefits
of teetotalism — Frozen spirits — The Captain reports his
voyage to the Society for Naval Communications —
Elected Life Member — Presentation by the Society —
The Captain's address to the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Commerce — On the navigation of the Obi —
Reasons for preferring the Isthmus route — Fails to rouse
the Russian merchants — Stranded — "A friend in need"
— Leaves St. Petersburg with "nothing but thanks and
Life-Memberships". ..... 115-133

xvi CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

ICK-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI

PAGE

Flying visit to England — From Charing Cross to the Yenesei
with Mr H. Seebohm— Buying the I6is— Sledging up
the river to Kureika — Ascent and descent of river banks
— Kamin Pass — Sagacity of sledge-dogs — " Keeping
shop" at Turukhansk— A grasping Governor— Greeting
from the crew of the Thames — Cutting out the ship
from the ice— Break-up of the ice— Niagara outrivalled
— Advent of summer — Starting for Dudinka — On a
shoal — A question of "two minutes" — Abandonment of
the Tliames — Testing the crew's pluck — Seebohm on
"a thorough Englishman "—The "offence" of sailing a
teetotal ship— Relations between Captain and crew — To
Golchika in the Ihis — An appeal to British patriotism
fails — Sale of the Ihis — Seebohm's criticisms . .134-153

CHAPTER VIII

UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI

The exploit of the Ihis — A paradise of ferns — Fruit and
flowers of Siberian forests — Scenes on the river-banks —
The Scoptsi sect — A fine ground for yachtsmen — Low
prices of live stock — An official shark— Scheme for
surveying the peninsulas — Sale of the Thames at
Yeneseisk — Devotion of the Captain's crews — Down
the river again — Archbishop of Krasnoiarsk — On a
shoal — Thanksgiving service — A Tongousk canoe —
Hunting a squirrel — Daily diet — Entrancing scenery
— Native gratitude- — "Jolly priests" — The Vodka curse
— A breechloader's doings — Attack on a woman —
Religious abasement — Happy sledge-dogs — Vegetation
in springtime — An Ostjak family — The old cooper-
hermit — Condition of exiles — Ostjak tea-party — Trans-
ference of the Thames — Too late for the Fraser — High
temperature — Back to Yeneseisk — Splendid sturgeon-
Migration of swans — An ill-paid doctor — Effects of
s]iirits in a cold climate — Weird rocks — The travels of
drift-wood — At Yeneseisk once more— 25,000 miles in
thirteen months, and no practical results — Pluck and
energy undiminished ..... 154-188

CONTENTS xvii

CHAPTER IX

FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES

PAGE

— Encouragement of competition — The best kind of
monopoly — A foolhardy expedition — " Eggshells of
steamers" — Development of the sea-route stopped by
speculators — Russian disaster — Voyages of Wiggins in
southern seas — Acquaintanceship with General Gordon . 189-201

CHAPTER X

VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX

Formation of the Phrenix Company — Sir Robert Morier —
Mr H. N. Sulivan — Arrangements for working the
Yenesei — Incidents of the voyage of the Phcenix — Sun
and cloud effects — Rocks on the Yenesei highlands —
The blind "king" of the Samoyedes— Forcing a way
through the rapids — Tribute to the Captain's skill —
Ovation at Yeneseisk — Congratulations from England —
Visit to gold mines — Krasnoiarsk — Christmas festi\dties
in Siberia — A teetotal banquet — Sledging under
difficulties — Social entertainments at Tomsk — The
Aristocratic and Democratic Clubs — Tomsk University

— Doing business en route for home — Mr Sulivan's
visit to St. Petersburg — Concessions obtained by Sir
Robert Morier from the Russian Government . . 202-214

CHAPTER XI

INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT

Chartering the Labrador — Enthusiasm of Sir Robert Morier

— Wiggins sumuioned to St. Petersl)urg — In a pre-
dicament on the frontier — At the British Embassy —
Consultations with Sir Robert Morier and Russian
Ministers — Sir Robert's despatch to Lord Salisbury —
Mr Victor Morier decides to sail with the Captain
— The Ambassador's speech at South Shields — Inspection

of the Labrador 215-235

xviii CONTENTS

CHAPTER XII

ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED

PAGE

Sailing of the Labrador — Bad news from the Yenesei —
Waiting at Vardoe for the Seagull — Mr Victor Morier
and Mr Philip Sewell — Starting from Vardoe — The
expedition doomed — Labrador at Khabarova — Rescue
of shipwrecked seamen — Mr Morier's sledging adventure
—In the Kara Sea again — Tantalising news — Robert
Wiggins and the Phcenix — Sir Robert Morier's sympathy
with the Captain — The Anglo-Siberian Syndicate — The
Captain at the Society of Arts — Commerce "travelling
hand in hand Avith Peace" — The friendship of Russia
— A " lion " of the season — Audience at Marlborough
House — "A great historical man" — The Labrador starts
again — The fiasco — Mismanagement and muddle — The
Captain's defence — Too many masters . . . 236-255

CHAPTER XIII

BIDING HIS TIME

Welcome to the Captain after defeat — A question of ways
and means — Earl Grey on the Captain's qualities —
Voyage to South America — Expedition of the Biscaya,
the Thule, and the Bard — The pioneer's assertions
verified — Voyage to the Amazon — Death of Victor
Morier — His appointments in South Africa — Death of
Sir Robert Morier — Respect for his memory shown by
the Czar — His warm feeling for Wiggins — A memento
of "infinite kindness" — Mr F. W. Leyborne-Popham
— The Blencathra and the Minusinsk — Miss Helen
Peel decides to go to the Kara Sea — Mr F. G. Jackson
— Commission from the Russian Government — Material
for the Trans-Siberian Railway .... 256-267

CHAPTER XIV

ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION

Sailing of the Orestes, the Blencathra, the Minusinsk, and
three Russian vessels — The Samoyedes of Khabarova —
Miss Peel's sledging experiences — The "great Ice-

CONTENTS xix

PAGB

Cellar" like the Lake of Geneva — Eecreations of the
pleasure party — Rejoicings at Golchika — Transhipment
of rails — Return of the pleasure-party — Miss Peel's
impressions of her trip — Wiggins goes up the Yenesei
once more — Excitement at Yeueseisk — Thanksgiving
service in the Cathedral — Banqueting — Wiggins in St.
Petersburg — Causes of failures — Presentation of silver
plate to the Captain by order of the Czar — The Times
on the Presentation — Neglect of the British Government
to support the Captain's projects — Presentation to
Wiggins of the Murchison Grant — Speech at the
Geographical Society's Dinner — The Windward —
Another Commission from Russia . . . 268-284

CHAPTER XV

ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA

Departure of the Stjernen, the Pervoi, and the Vtoroi — A
remarkable wedding trip — Arrival of the ships at
Lokovoi Protok — The Stjernen homeward bound — Fog,
treacherous currents, and misleading soundings — On a
reef — Saving the crew — Camping on the tundra — Mr
Hugh Popham's plucky venture — Scaring the natives —
Koshevin, the "good Samaritan" — Making up a rescue
party — Searching for natives and reindeer — Incidents of
the journey to St. Petersburg — The food of reindeer —
Attacked by wolves — Twenty-five miles a day — Samo-
yede women's kindness — Frost-bitten seamen — Telegram
to England — From Pustozersk to St. Petersburg —
Reindeer exchanged for horses — In the forest — Scaring
away wolves — Accidents — Reception at Archangel — A
hundred and eleven days over the snow — Welcome
at St. Petersburg — Russian search expeditions — The
Russian Press on Wiggins — Interview with the Gi'and
Duke Michaelovitch — Meeting of the Imperial Societies
to hear the Captain's account of his work and aims — An
historical gathering— Count Witte and Wiggins— The
Emperor's interest and support — "A great Yes, or a
great No" 285-300

XX CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVI

CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER

PAGE

At the London Chamber of Commerce — Conditions for
navigating the Kara Sea — Revolutionary efifects of the
Trans-Siberian Raihvay — The cry for new markets —
Advantages of the ocean route — At the Society of Arts
— Erratic condition of the compass in Polar Seas —
Address at the Working Men's College — Meeting at
Birmingham — Nationalities represented in Siberia — The
exile class — An " old grandfather - admiral " — Lecture
at Newcastle — Carrying tea from China to Moscow —
Amongst his friends in Sunderland — On book-writing
— Peace promoted by commerce — At Middlesbrough —
Tour of the Czarevitch — Wealth of Yeneseisk — Two
lectures at Dundee — Kara Sea compared with Hudson's
Bay — Siberian compared with African mines — Education
in Siberia — At the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce —
The Jews of Siberia — Presentation by the British and
Foreign Sailors' Society ..... 301-316

CHAPTER XVII

LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK

Voyages of the Lorna Boone and the Burnoul — Support of
Siberian merchants — Caught in the ice— Adventure of
Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham — Another sledge journey
across the tundra — An early winter — Banquet to the
Captain at Yeneseisk — Speeches of Siberians — The wizard
and the bag of wind — The Kara Sea unknown to Siberians
before the Captain's voyage — "A true cosmopolitan" —
Presentation from the Yeneseisk Town Council — The
Ladies' Gymnase — In St. Petersburg again . . 317-325

CHAPTER XVIII

A BROKEN VOYAGE

Mismanagement and its result — Flotilla of six steamers —
Arrangements for the voyage to the Yenesei — Captain
Wiggins and the Glenr)iore — A preposterous order from
London — The predicament at Vardoe — The Captain
refuses to proceed — His attempts to avert failure — His

CONTENTS xxi

PAGE

final decision — Voyage of the Lorna Doone and the
Dolphin — The Captain's devotion to the interests of
Mr Leyborne-Popham — Newspaper rumours — " Serious
Allegations" — Vindication of Wiggins by Lieutenant-
Colonel Vilkitsky ...... 32G-337

CHAPTER XIX

CLOSING YEARS

— Russian project for i-elieving starving Siberians —
Appointment offered to the Captain — In St, Petersburg
— Searching for vessels — The Imperial Commission —
The Captain's illness — Transacting business in the sick-
room— Rising and falling hopes — Sailing of the fleet
without the Captain — A bitter disappointment — The
irony of the situation — Death of the Captain — Con-
dolence from Russia — Success of Russian expedition —

Mr W. Byford 338-353

CHAPTER XX

CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES

— " The Wliite Squall " — His love of animals — A
Siberian dog at Victoria Station — The end of "Lady
Chang" — The dogs at Sandringham — "Sailors' Knots"
— Impression created by Wiggins in Russia — Madame
Novikoflfs testimony — The mainstay of his career . 354-366

xxii CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXI

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

PAGE

Summary of results — Tests made by Russia of the sea-passage
— Siberian exports and imports — A new view of the
" Land of Exile " — Public Companies — Reasons for
cessation of traffic — Expenses of Kara Sea Expeditions —
Remission of Customs' dues necessary — Privileges granted
to Wiggins — Present attitude of the Russian Govern-
ment— Hostility of Russian manufacturers — The feeling
in Siberia — Entrepots — Mr Henry Cooke's Report —
Revolution in prices — Limitations of the Trans-Siberian
Railway traffic — Increase of population — Emigration —
Proposed railway from Obdorsk to the Yugor Straits —
Russia's opportunity — The successes of Wiggins not "a
run of luck" — The policy of patience — Estimate of
Wiggins' work ...... 367-378

Index ........ 379-396

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

BURYING-PLACE

FIGURE OF A BIRD IN IRON^ FORMERLY WORSHIPPED BY
' SAMOYEDES

f CAPTAIN WIGGINS (Phofogravure) .

t BRONZE CROSS, FOUND NEAR A SIBERIAN
IRKUTSK, LARGEST CITY IN SIBERIA
SECTION OF THE DIANAS KEEL
CAPTAIN WIGGINS AND '^LADV CHANG "
A ROAD IN SIBERIA
MR CHARLES L. W. GARDINER
THE TBAMES ENTERING THE KARA SEA
ANCIENT GRAVES IN SIBERIA
YENESEISK ....
MONASTERY AT EKATERINBURG
DOG-SLEDGE CARAVAN ON THE YENESEI
TOWN ON THE LOWER YENESEI
POST BOAT ON THE YENESEI

RUSSIAN EXILES

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ETC., TOBOLSK

IX)WEB TOWN, TOBOLSK

BLIND '' KING " OF THE SAMOYEDES

MARKET IN MOSCOW

SIR ROBERT B. D. MORIER, G.C.B., G.C.M.G

CAPTAIN WIGGINS IN THE CABIN OP THE LABRADOR

OLD CHURCH AT KHABAROVA

SAMOYEDE WOMAN .

PARTY ON BOARD THE BLBNCATBRA

EKATERINBURG, FROM CZAR's BRIDGE

LANDMARK DIVIDING EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC SIBERIA

THE

• •

Cover

Frontispiece

: Title-page

To face page 17

Page 44

To face page 46

105

120

137

140

156

173

179

193

206

213

219

235

240

266

276

XXlll

XXIV

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SILVER SERVICE PRESENTED TO CAPTAIN WIGGINS

WRECK OF THE Sl'JERNEN .

HOLIDAY OF RAILWAY NAVVIES

HIGH STREET, YENESEISK ,

SAMOYEDES AND THEIR DWELLING

CAPTAIN WIGGINS .

FERRY OVER THE ANGARA

ON LAKE BAIKAL .

ANCIENT SACRED STONE

A DANGEROUS SPOT ON THE YENESEI

GROUP OF THREE SIBERIAN DOGS .

SIBERIAN VILLAGE .

PALACE OF ARCHBISHOP, IRKUTSK .

MAP OF THE KARA SEA AND THE RIVERS YENESEI AND OBI At the End

To face page

280

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373
373

JOSEPH WIGGINS

CHAPTER I

FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER

Parentage of Joseph Wiggins — Coaching days, and the rail-
way invasion — Nelson coachmen at the " Bull Inn,"
Whitechapel — Dickens at the " Bull " — Memories of
Bury St. Edmunds — Schooldays of Wiggins — Bound
apprentice to a shipowner — His brothers and sisters —
Hardships at sea — Mate of his ship — Master at twenty-
one — Captain of the Victoria — Becomes a shipowner —
Appointed Examiner in Navigation at Sunderland —
Elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society —
Mrs Wiggins — Friendship with Carl Rosa — Religious
and philanthropic work — A true gentleman.

Joseph Wiggins — born at Norwich on September
3, 1832 — might have become a flourishing coach-
proprietor, had not the railway invasion swept the
coaches from the turnpike roads of England,
calling forth from their owners stern denuncia-
tions of the ruinous advancement of science.

Not only his father — also named Joseph — but
his two uncles as well, drove some of the celebrated
Nelson coaches, which ran from Norwich and other
places to London. The Nelson firm consisted of
Mrs Ann Nelson and her three sons. Their
headquarters were at the " Bull Inn," 25 Aldgate

2 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

High Street, Whitechapel. Her son Robert had
quarters at the " Belle Sauvage," Ludgate Hill,
and drove the Defiance to Exeter. Mrs Nelson
treated her coachmen and guards with the con-
sideration to which they were undoubtedly entitled.
A comfortably - furnished room was reserved for
their sole use at the " Bull," and bad luck to the
stranger who dared to step across the threshold.
On one occasion, at least, the regulations were
relaxed, for Charles Dickens contrived to gain
admittance, to the mutual entertainment of guest
and hosts, whilst the incidents and perils of the
Norwich road were fully and humorously discussed.

Coaching must have been highly lucrative,
especially to a firm with a large rolling-stock and
an unblemished reputation. Mrs Nelson retired
with a handsome competence, leaving the reins of
government to her son John, who died a wealthy
man, at a good age, in 1868, having doubtless taken
the precaution to invest his savings to considerable
advantage.

Mrs Nelson, we are told, was " a very masterful
woman," and consequently, it is not surprising that
the three Wiggins brothers quarrelled with her —
or she with them — and decided to start business on
their own account. They became the owners of
the Wonder, the Little Wonder, the Rival, and
one or two other coaches, and gained distinction
in their calling, by being the first to estabhsh the
system of running between Norwich and London
in one day. A coach started at either end ; they

i] AT BURY ST. EDMUNDS 3

met at Bury St. Edmunds, where the drivers ex-
changed places, and went straight on to their re-
spective destinations. One of the brothers created
a sensation in December 1842, by setting off from
Norwich with Iiis Christmas load, driving a team
of six greys, " managed in a style which was never
before attempted by any coachman on the road."

When Joseph Wiggins, junior, was six years
old he went with his parents to live at Bury
St. Edmunds. Before leaving Norwich, his father
was presented by friends and patrons with a silver
cup as a testimony of respect. One of the most
vivid recollections of the son, remaining with him
to the end of life, was a ride on his father's coach
to the great city.

Joseph Wiggins took the " Dog " Inn, at Bury,
renaming it " The Eastern Counties Raih-oad
Tavern," whence his coaches started for the
south, competing with the Phenomena, owned by
John Nelson and others. It seems odd that, in
renaming his hostelry, he should have paid so
much deference to the " railway fiend," which was
gradually creeping towards Bury, intent on robbing
coach-proprietors of their livelihood. His action
seemed like offering a sop to Cerberus. Tlie fact
is he was under a slight obligation to the " fiend,"
with whom he had formed a temporary alliance.

The coaching fraternity were deprived of their
vocation gradually. When the railway reached
Brentwood, the Company contracted with the
brothers to carry passengers to tliis place, where

4 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

the coach, with its hving load, was transferred
to a truck, and jolted by rail to London. At
Shoreditch terminus the coach was removed from
the truck, and drawn, by a team in readiness, to
its destination — the " Green Dragon," Bishopsgate
Street, and sometimes other coaching inns. A
similar arrangement was carried out when the
iron road reached Colchester ; but when it touched
Ipswich the passengers from Norwich left the
coach and entered the train.

This enterprising competitor of Mrs Nelson
died at Bury in December 1843, leaving his
widow and eight children only slenderly provided
for. Mrs Wiggins returned to Norwich with her
family, and at least one of her children, Joseph,
left Bury with keen reluctance and regret. The
ancient place, with its associations, going back
to the beginning of English history, with its rich
pastures and cornfields, had won a warm place in
the lad's lieart, which was never usurped as the
years passed on. The following fragment, in
praise of Bury, was found amongst the Captain's
papers, evidently written after lie had crossed
many seas, and reflecting, in some degree, his
love of nature and his descriptive powers.

*' There is another old town of dear remem-
brance to me — Bury St. Edmunds. It has gi'own
up round the old Abbey, now in ruins, and is
surrounded by park-like scenery. Oh, the happy
hours which I have spent, wandering about — in
and out among the ruais of the Abbey, in the

,.] OLD MEMORIES 5

ancient churches, and among the ivy-clad tombs
in a secluded spot, where now rest my father
and my Uttle sister ! Not far from this dear spot
is the httle wicket-gate, leading into the Abbey
grounds, and to the running stream, meandering
along to pour out its waters, in turbulent fashion,
through the quaint arches of the Abbey walls.

"Many and many a time have I made my
way through the grounds, into old Eastgate
Street, and tlien away through green fields and
pastures toM'ards Foi-nliam and other hamlets ;
along the banks of the quiet streamlet, across
meadow and mead, over liedgerow and dyke,
througli glen and through glade — the sweet
flowers and grasses underfoot, the lark overhead
pouring forth his song, as 'From his light wing
the bright dew he is shaking' — by my side Crib,
trustiest of companions, joyously barking.

"So, through fence-gap and turnstile, till the
dusty road was reached, just in time to hear
the echoing Iiorn of the red - coated guard of
the Newmarket coach. Little Wonder. Then the
coachman sliook his reins, as he dashed past with
his high-mettled horses, just to test my running
powers. Then the bounding spurt of nimble feet
across the dusty track of flashing wheels, the
click of hand on hindmost handle, the spring to
the step, the grasp of the horny hand of the
good-natured guard, as he helped the bound
to the hinder seat ; the meiTy twinkle of the
coachee's eye, as, with backward glance, he assured

6 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

himself of my safety ; the crack of his long whip,
urging his steeds to a smart canter ; the swaying
coach, the merry horn keeping time and tune with
rattling hoofs, as they sped on over hill and through
hamlet, across bridges and brooks — ' on and on,
with bugle and song,' till the tortuous streets of
the quiet old town were threaded, and the doorstep
' of the old house at home ' was reached, with the
welcome of tired old Crib as we touched the ground.
Oh ! the joys of childhood — how bright they seem,
and how dear to memory ! "

Joseph had been taught in two or three schools,
and now, on returning to his birthplace, he became
a pupil at Farnell's School, in Theatre Street. He
was a bright, affectionate, good-natured boy, self-
willed and determined, though unselfish. His
attractive qualities won for him many friends, and
amongst them was one, described by the Captain
as "a lad with cvn-ly hair, called Jarrold." This
friend was Thomas Jarrold, afterwards a member
of the well-known firm of publishers of that name.

When fourteen years of age he had to choose
a vocation, and his choice fell on a seafaring life.
He was apprenticed for five years to his uncle,
Joseph Potts, a shipowner, of Sunderland. With
the benedictions and wise counsels of his mother,
he set off by coach for Lynn, to join a brig trading
to the Baltic and South America. His first captain
was James Horan, afterwards the junior partner in
the firm of Anderson & Horan, of Sunderland.

Joseph Wiggins' mother died in 1847. His

i] RAPID ADVANCEMENT 7

eldest brother went to Australia, and was never
heard of again. Two brothers were lost at sea,
another enlisted in the Horse Guards, and his
brother Robert adopted a sea-faring Ufe, obtained
a master's certificate, and afterwards co-operated
with Joseph in the Siberian enterprise. Two sisters
died, and a third is still living — the only survivor
of the family.

The lot of the sailor-boy, in the days when
Joseph Wiggins began his roving career, was far
harder than it is to-day. Humane regulations,
issued by the Board of Trade, have vastly
improved the condition both of the apprentice
and the able-bodied seaman. Joseph had his
share of hardship and brutal treatment, and in
manhood he told his juvenile friends many a
rousing story, not only of ill-usage, but also of
adventure and narrow escapes from death.

At the expiration of his apprenticeship he was
appointed mate of his vessel, and at the age of
twenty- one was master of a ship, trading to the
Mediterranean. A few years later, he passed an
examination which qualified him to command
a steamship, and, when only twenty - seven, he
obtained the command of a steamer, the Victoria,
of 4,000 tons, being the largest steamer of the day,
the Great Eastern alone excepted. For his skilful
handling of the Victoria, when aground in the
Baltic whilst in charge of a pilot, and bringing
her home for repairs, he received the thanks of
the underwriters, and a present of £100.

8 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

The most trying and terrible experience of his
seafaring life occun*ed in the middle of the Atlantic
in 1862. In January of that year he left the
Thames in command of the steamer Spartan,
bound for Halifax and St John's, carrying several
passengers and a quantity of Government stores.
On February 10 the ship encountered a heavy gale
and a tremendous sea. The next day, whilst all
hands were engaged in taking in sails, a fearful
sea broke over her, carrying everything before it,
and washing overboard several of the crew, some
of whom were washed on board again ; but the
chief mate and two men were lost. A few
extracts from the Captain's report furnish a
graphic and tragic picture of some of the events
which followed.

"Midnight. — Blowing a hurricane. Sea running
in mountains. Ship labouring frightfully. Engines
working slowly and heavily. Could not keep ship's
bow to sea. She lay wallowing in the trough.
All things swept off deck. Cargo apparently
shifting to leeward.

"12.30 A.M. — Lee decks continually under water.
Found lee ports closed ; with much difficulty
succeeded in opening them myself. Bunker lids
washed away ; but managed to get them on again.

" 12.50 A.M. — A fearful sea broke over ship fore
and aft, carrying away both lifeboats and part of
bridge, stove-in weather side of foreward house,
washed off engine-room skylights and bunker
lids, swamped stokehole, and put out port fire.

, ] FIGHTING A HURRICANE 9

Engineer reported no hope of keeping in fires.
Requested him to go down, and exhort his men
to work. I went into forecastle and did the same
to sailors, who were nearly panic-stricken. On
going aft, found the whole poop-front stove-in,
and saloon all destroyed, with everything in it.
Enquired for passengers. Found two sitting on
the poop-stairs. They informed me that Captain
Hand, of the 63rd Regiment, with his wife and
child, had perished. . . . No one able to keep on
deck save two men lashed to the wheel.

"February 12. — Engines broke down, leaving
ship at the mercy of the waves. Blowing a
hurricane from N.W. ; ship driving to southward
in the trough of the sea." On the 13th there
were six feet of water in the hold, and it was
decided to throw overboard as much as possible
of the cargo. The next day the ship was evidently
in a sinking condition. Unless help came quickly,
the ship and all on board w^ere doomed. On the
17th there was hope of rescue, for a vessel was
sighted. The William Foilieringham, in response
to signals of distress, bore down upon the Spartan.
The passengers and the crew were transferred from
the wreck under very hazardous circumstances — a
heavy swell, high wind, and semi-darkness. The
rescue-ship kept near the Spartan for two hours,
and then Captain Wiggins saw her lights go out,
and the ship go down.

On her way eastward, the William Fotheringham
had a hard light with a succession of heavy gales,

10 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

but at last reached Havre in safety. The surviving
passengers, Lieutenant W. G. Graves and Surgeon
R. D. Francis, presented Captain Wiggins with
a testimonial, thanking him for his attention and
care while they were on board his ship, and ex-
pressing their "great admiration of the skill and
courage which he displayed," adding, " Your con-
stant endeavours to cheer your crew and inspire
them with confidence, and your unwearied exertions
to save the ship, are beyond all praise."

In after years Captain Wiggins took several
steamers to the Mediterranean, to China, America,
and the West Indies, and then became a ship-
owner, commanding his own cargo vessels to
various parts of the world. Thus he rose, step
by step, in the comparatively short period of
twenty- two years, to the top of the seafaring
ladder, through his skill, energy, determination,
steadiness, and upright character.

In 1866 he made the pioneer voyage in con-
nection with a new branch of commerce — the im-
portation of sheep from Iceland into England.
Mr John Swan, of Newcastle — father of Sir
Joseph Wilson Swan — in conjunction with other
merchants, chartered a steamer, and Wiggins was
invited to accompany her as supercargo. Plenty
of sheep were obtained at a low price, but the
vessel on her return journey encountered a violent
storm, and such a large number of the sheep were
lost that the venture proved a financial failure.
The trade was afterwards carried on successfully by

i] CARL ROSA 11

others, until the late Government passed an Act
prohibiting the importation of sheep, unless for
immediate slaughter on arrival.

In 18G8 Wiggins decided to settle on shore, and
with this end in view, qualified himself as Examiner
in Navigation and Seamanship for the Port of
Sunderland, under the authority of the Board of
Trade. His duties began on January 1, 1869,
and he held the post for five years, resigning it
in 1874 to undertake his first Siberian venture.
In 1871 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society.

Those five years were the quietest and the
happiest of his strenuous life. He had married,
in 1861, his cousin. Miss Annie Potts, daughter
of Mr Joseph Potts, of Sunderland, in whose
service his seafaring life began. Of beautiful char-
acter, with a well-balanced mind and intellectual
attainments, Mrs Wiggins endeared herself to all
who knew her. All sorts and conditions of people
formed the circle of her acquaintances and friends,
who much appreciated her sage advice and her
warm and ready sympathy.

Amongst the friends of Captain and Mrs
Wiggins, was the famous mpressario and " Father
of English Opera," Carl Hose, who changed his
name in 1871 to Rosa. The acquaintance began
when Wiggins was a young captain and Carl
a lad of about eleven. The former took over
to Hamburg a consignment of coals for Carl's
father, and was welcomed into the family home

12 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap.

at 21 Poolstrasse. From that time forward, the
Captain, whenever he went to Hamburg — an
event of frequent occurrence for several years —
spent his evenings in this hospitable abode. Carl's
first visit to England — during his student days at
Leipzig Conservatorium — was on the occasion of
the Captain's marriage, and this visit was followed
by others in after years.

The Captain and his wife, as well as his uncle
and father-in-law, Mr Potts, were greatly interested
in the promising young musician, and gladly helped
him in various ways until he obtained a footing in
this country. Rose was deeply impressed with
their kindness, and his letters breathe not only a
grateful sense of benefits received, but also warm
affection for Mr and Mrs Wiggins. In JNIarch
1866, he made his first appearance before a large
audience in England, as violin solo-player, at the
Crystal Palace. Two months later, when hard
at work practising, in view of a tour with Mr
Bateman in the United States, he was summoned
to Hamburg through his father's illness, which
proved incurable. He had to exchange violin-
practice for " taking in coals on the Elbe," and
counting-house duties. "When I was so very
happy near you," he writes to Mrs Wiggins, "just
a few weeks ago, I did not know what a terrible
blow was in store for me." " How I shall have
strength to practise for my new tour, I do not
know. I try all in my power to look a little after
the business, so that it may not suffer too much.

I.] CARL ROSA'S EARLY STRUGGLES 13

AVhat a change from the happy time I spent with

you ! "

Mrs Wiggins tried to console and cheer him,
and to persuade him to beUeve that his father's
sufferings, permitted by a beneficent Being, had
a beneficent end in view. But Rose, almost angry,
refused to accept this solution ; nevertheless, he
applied himself courageously to his uncongenial
duties. Fame beckoned to him from England and
America, but he stuck to the coal-wharf and the
dnidgery of the counting-house as long as needful.
" I have taken the business completely in hand,
and try to make the best of it, and I have found
the greater the difficulties seem to get, the calmer
one becomes, and the more strength and desire
I feel to overcome them." The prospect of the
American tour seemed to be fading away. " The
doctors do not know in the least how long he has
to suffer. With the business and my violin, I
have more to do than I want, as my greatest desire
now is to be at the side of my dear father. You
cannot imagine how painful it is to see spring in
its beauty — everything beautiful, everbody happy,
and our house in such misery ; but we try to be as
cheerful and hopeful with him as possible, and our
whole existence in his presence is nothing but a lie.
Father and mother send their best love to you all."

Release came at last, and Rose, after this hard
discipline, was able to fulfil his musical engage-
ments. His brilliant, but too short, career ended
in 1889. Captain Wiggins visited Hamburg for

14 FROM APPRENTICE TO SHIPOWNER [chap. i.

the last time in April 1905, when, writing home,
he recalled old associations. " How one's feelings
and memories go back to the long past, when I
used to be every night with the dear boy Carl, and
his father and mother, at their quaint old house !
The charm of Hamburg is gone, for those dear and
only friends in this city and country are all passed
away, never to return."

During the five years of his life at Sunderland,
Captain Wiggins showed much practical interest
in religious and philanthropic work. He took a
prominent part in estabhshing the Young Men's
Christian Association of the town, and was most
popular with the young men. He started a boating
club in connection with the Association, and pre-
sented it with the first boat. In many other ways,
also, he directed energetic effort towards advancing
the welfare and progress of the town of his adoption.
He won the highest praise from the local Marine
Board for the manner in which he conducted his
official duties, and all who had any business trans-
actions with him were able to bear testimony to
his strict integrity and straightforward dealing.

Though trained in a rough-and-ready school,
he possessed and set forth the instincts of the true
gentleman, a characteristic conspicuous in all his
relationships, attested by his correspondence from
this period to the end of his life, sometimes remark-
ably, in circumstances of stress and strain, irritation
and disappointment.

CHAPTER II

THE SIBERIAN PROBLEM

The Captain worried by his "sea-legs" — Studying maps —
Ice reported to block the ocean-way to Siberia — Cost
of overland transit of merchandise — Vast extent and
resources of Siberia — The population — Aborigines —
Exiles as colonists — A " Land of Goshen " running to
Avaste — Russian traders of the sixteenth century —
Adventurers into the Kara Sea — The three channels to
the Sea — The Captain forms a theory — Wants experience
in the " habits " of ice — Decides to go to the north-east.

Captain Wiggins was not quite at his ease in
the somewhat monotonous routine of examining
candidates for certificates of masters and mates.
His " sea-legs " worried him. Though perfectly
happy in the home-circle, yet he felt that a land-
lubber's vocation was not congenial. How could
it be, to a man who was " every inch a sailor " ?

Sitting in his office, the walls lined with
maps, his spare moments were often occupied
with the study of one particular map — that of
the Arctic Regions. It was the eastward portion
that specially attracted his attention, and years
before this period of his life, he had examined,
with ever-increasing curiosity, the same bit of

the globe's surface.

16 THE SIBERIAN PROBLEM [chap.

He saw, stretching eastward, from a few miles
of the North Cape to Behring's Strait, a long,
uneven, jagged shore, appropriating about 150°
of longitude, which outlined the northern limits
of the Russian Empire. He saw several great
rivers, about 3,000 miles in length, crossing
Siberia, and falling into the Arctic Ocean. He
knew that the mouths of these rivers were
commonly reported to be closed to navigation
by the presence of ice, or, if navigable for a few
weeks in the summer, the adventurous mariner
would run serious risk among the huge ice-floes,
and probably never pick his way up the rivers
in safety. Some maps which he consulted showed
perpetual ice along the shore, and away to the
north, from long. 45° E. to Behring's Strait. The
leg-shaped islands of Nova Zembla were nearly
encased with ice, and the Kara Sea was a blank
with regard to open water.

Then the Captain sought for information about
the country watered by these rivers. He found
that merchandise from Europe for the people of
Siberia had to be carried overland at great expense,
and the riches of Siberia itself were scarcely
developed at all, not so much from lack of labour
as from the difficulties, expense, and slowness of
conveying produce by caravan and sledge. The
cost of transit of a ton of merchandise from the
Siberian frontier to St Petersburg was about £4
or £5.

The resources of Siberia — precious metals,

„.] FACTS ABOUT SIBERIA 17

wheat, timber, and furs — were almost inex-
haustible. They were spread over an area of
more than 5,000,000 English square miles,
exceeding the area even of Canada by about
1,000,000 miles. Gold, silver, copper, graphite,
and other metals, were to be found in abundance
over vast districts. The search for gold, so far, had
been almost entirely confined to alluvial washings.
Most of this metal lay untouched and imprisoned
in the quartz, because of the impracticability of
transporting the heavy, crushing machinery from
Europe. The wheat was the finest in the world.
Rich land was left untilled because the wheat
could not be brought to market. One harvest
in three years, from the comparatively small area
cultivated, sufficed for the wants of the population.
The forests extended thousands of miles, and con-
tained the largest kinds of trees, such as the pine,
the larch, birch, and cedar, and also abounded with
gam( and wild fruit. The fur territories included
the whole of the forest zone, together with the
tundras, or deserts, on the verge of the Arctic
seas.

The Captain then made ethnological researches.
The population of Siberia — about 5,000,000 ^ — was
said to consist of a variety of races — Russians,
Poles, Finns, Tartars, Ostjaks, Samoyedes, and
other aborigines. The native races led a nomadic
life for the most part. They possessed large herds
of reindeer, and gained their sustenance by hunting,

^ In lyOO the population exceeded 7,894,000.

18 THE SIBERIAN PROBLEM [chap.

trapping, and fishing. They also traded with
Russian merchants, bartering furs for articles of
European manufacture. The Russian population
was made up chiefly of immigrants, exiles, and the
descendants of exiles. A considerable majority of
exiles, when their term of banishment came to an
end, preferred to remain in Siberia rather than
to return to their fatherland. They settled down
to agricultural pursuits, or engaged in other occu-
pations. Newly -arrived exiles were allowed to
choose their place of abode within clearly-defined
limits, and were expected to maintain themselves.
It often happened, when the head of a family was
condemned to exile, that his wife and children and
other relatives accompanied him. A new home
was formed, in probably happier circumstances
than the home in the land of their birth. In
this way communities, villages, and towns sprang
up here and there, but chiefly near the banks of
the rivers, which swarmed with all kinds of fish.
The Russian Government encouraged, rather
than discouraged, the practice of whole families
emigrating with the culprit, condemned for some
political, or comparatively slight, offence, for this
was one way of colonising Siberia — an object much
to be desired.

The exiles comprised all social grades — counts,
barons, professional men, merchants, tradesmen,
and artisans. Another division of the population
consisted of the inmates of the prisons, wlio had
been convicted of serious crimes.

ir.] A LAND OF GOSHEN 19

Such, in outline, was the result of the Captain's
investigations, and the fact which, beyond all others,
impressed him the most deeply was this — Siberia,
the " Land of Exile," the " Land of Darkness," was
in reality a Land of Goshen, running to waste for
lack of an ocean- highway.

Amongst the books which he consulted was
Wrangel's " Polar Sea," and in it he found that
Russian traders of Archangel, in the sixteenth
century, were accustomed to visit the mouth of
the Obi in frail boats, and barter with the natives
of the Yalmal Peninsula. To accomplish this feat
they had to pass into the Kara Sea. He also found
out that a few English, Norwegian, Swedish, and
Dutch adventurers had pushed their way into the
Kara Sea between the sixteenth and the nineteenth
centuries, thus proving that at certain times the
ice was no insuperable difficulty to navigation.
No modern expedition, however, had ever reached
the Obi and the Yenesei Rivers by the Kara Sea
route.

Admiral liUtke, about the year 1840, under-
took, at the instance of the Russian Government,
to survey the Siberian coast, and he asserted, as
the result of his experience, that a passage from
the rivers through the Kara Sea to Europe was
altogether impracticable. The Russian Govern-
ment accepted his statement, and made no further
effort to open up the northern seas.

The three channels leading from the west into
the Kara Sea were the Matochkin Strait, dividing

20 THE SIBERIAN PROBLEM [chap.

Nova Zembia in lat. 73° 20' N. ; the Waigats
Straits (otherwise called the Kara Gates, or the
Iron Gates, from their supposed closure by ice),
on the north of Waigats Island ; and the Yugor,
or Pet Strait, a narrow channel between the south
coast of Waigats Island and the mainland.

Having obtained all available information on
the subject, which had now taken a firm grip of
his thoughts, he proceeded to form a theory which,
in his view, rendered the ocean-way to Siberia not
only practicable, but easy.

It was known that part of the warm waters of
the Gulf Stream and equatorial currents passed
round the North Cape, on towards Nova Zembia.
In the Captain's opinion these waters found their
way into the Kara Sea through the Waigats and
Pet Straits, and, working with the waters from
the rivers, opened a wide track for vessels to the
coast of Siberia and the river mouths.

That was the simple theory which he formed
in 18G9, the correctness of which he was eager to
demonstrate. But there was a difficulty in the
way — his lack of experience in Arctic regions.
He would like to join some Polar expedition in
a subordinate capacity, in order to gain practical
acquaintance with the " habits " and freaks of the
ice, and become initiated in the modes of battling
with it. AYith this end in view, he corresponded
with all the leading Arctic explorers and authorities
of the day. Amongst them were JNlr J. Lamont,
who had made several voyages in the vicinity of

II. ] A NEW VENTURE 21

Nova Zembla ; Commander CoUinson, Captain
M'Clintock, Mr B. Leigh -Smith, Captain Allen
Young, Captain J. E. Davis, Commander Sherard
Osborne, Mr Clements R. Markham, Dr Rae ;
Lieutenant Weyprecht, who had made one expedi-
tion to the North, and was preparing for another ;
and Lady Franklin.

He obtained much useful information in the
course of this correspondence, but no opportunity
presented itself for accompanying either a scientific
or a sporting expedition. One of his applications
was made, in 1872, to Professor Nordenskiold, who
was arranging an expedition to the north-west, and
who, two years later, followed in the track of
Wiggins to the north-east. He offered to join the
Professor as a free- service volunteer, but the offer
was declined. His final effort to gain experience
was made when the rumour of an Arctic expedi-
tion, assisted by the British Government, got
abroad. He was informed that only naval men
would be allowed the privilege of taking part in it.

But, experience or no experience, he determined
to go to the north-east, at whatever risk, even
if it cost all his savings, and, resigning his official
position in Sunderland, he made preparations for
his venture.

CHAPTER III

VOYAGE OF THE DIAA^A

Chartering the Diana — Advice from Dr Petermann — Objects
of the voyage — Stanley eager to go with the Captain —
Journal of the voyage — Early difficulties — Qualities of
the Diana — Lady Chang — Norwegian scenery — Christen-
ing party at Tromsoe — Prophets of evil at Hammerfest
— Amongst the ice — Charming colouring of ice-bloclcs —
Moored to a floe — Diana''s prowess — In the Kara Sea —
Trapped — Tragic relics on the Samoyede coast -
Dodging, twisting, turning, and wriggling — " Oh, for
a balloon ! " — Effects of mirage — A climate for con-
sumptives— In the Muddy Gulf — Interviewing natives —
Norwegian fishing-boats — Rounding White Island — At
the mouth of the Obi — Tantalising situation — Home-
ward bound — Searching for the Austrian expedition —
Results of the voyage — The Captain's modesty — His
place among Arctic explorers — His voyage provokes
emulation.

After making search for a suitable vessel, the

Captain chartered INIr Lament's steamship, the

Diana, 103 tons register, and thoroughly equipped

CHAP. Ill] THE CAPl^AIN'S PURPOSE 23

her, entirely at his own expense. The Diana had
already done good service in Arctic seas when
carrying her owner on sporting expeditions, and
Captain Wiggins had full confidence in her
suitability for the work before her.

Whilst making his preparations, he consulted
Dr Augustus Petermann, of Gotha, the greatest
authority of the day on Arctic science, who sup-
plied him with a number of charts and useful
information. " For ten years and more," wrote
Dr Petermann, " I have urged the importance of
opening the Siberian trade by the route you have
in view — the Obi and the Yenesei ; also in Russia
there is one who is quite alive to the importance
of it, for the merchant SidorofF, in 1862, offered
a prize of £2,000 to the fii'st vessel that reached
and entered the River Obi. The Norwegians, since
1869, have every year reached the Obi with their
frail saihng vessels of 30 tons, but never entered it,
as their object was merely fishing. ... I think if
you reached Obdorsk, on the Obi, and BrekhofFsky
Island, in the Yenesei, and thus opened out a
chance of new commercial routes, you would
achieve a good thing, and be hailed by Russia,
and perhaps more by her than any other land, as
a great benefactor."

The Captain's main object in this voyage was
to demonstrate the feasibility of reaching the Obi
and the Yenesei through the Kara Sea. The
second object was to make a search, if circum-
stances permitted, on the south coast of Nova

24 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

Zembla for the missing Austro- German expedition,
under the command of Lieutenant Weyprecht,
which had been out some two years. A quantity
of provisions was put on board the Diana, at the
cost of Mr B. Leigh-Smith, for the reUef of the
missing explorers.

A few days before the departure of the Diana,
Mr H. M. Stanley, who had made the acquaint-
ance of Captain Wiggins, expressed a strong wish
to accompany him. The incident was related by
the Captain himself, in 1889, at a meeting in
Newcastle, over which Earl Percy presided. " I
was writing to Sir William Mackinnon the other
evening," said the Captain, " and mentioned that
the marvellous man Stanley was again to the fore.
I told him that he was probably not aware that
Stanley fell in love with my idea in 1874, and
desired to go out, and be, with me, the first
Englishman on these rivers. I said to him :
' Stanley, if you ascend these rivers and go over
Asia home, you will be the first man to do it,
after the fashion of what you did in Africa.'
Stanley said : ' You have the right track ; if
Bennett will let me go, I mil go with you.' I
said : ' I am nearly ready to sail. I will give
you a week.' He replied : ' Three days will do.
I'll telegraph.' He cabled to Bennett, and
Bennett replied with the monosyllable : ' No.'
Stanley sent me that telegram in a letter,
with his deep regret that he could not
accompany me.'"

iir.] LETTER FROM H. M. STANLEY 25

The following is Stanley's letter :

"Langham Hotel,
"London, May 25, 1874.

"Joseph Wiggins, Esq.,

"4 The Elms, Sunderland.

*'Dear Sir, — After telegraphing to New York
for instructions, I have been unable to obtain an
affirmative answer.

" I regret it extremely, as I should have been
delighted to accompany you. But I wish you
heartily success, and if I am in Europe when you
return successfully, no one will be prouder of your
feat than, — yours gratefully,

"Henry M. Stanley."

The Uiana left Dundee on June 3. The
Captain kept a very full journal of the voyage,
noting, not only meteorological changes, sun
temperatures, the difficulties of progress, and
the perils of ice and gales, but also incidents
occurring on board, to which are added his racy
comments on men and things. It is too long to
reproduce in its entirety ; but a few extracts will
suffice to convey to the reader a general idea of
the IHana's voyage, and to illustrate some of the
Captain's characteristics.

" June C. — Begins with fine weather — the
little Diana slipping along at about five and a half
knots an hour. 2 a.m. — Wind veering to the south.
Set sails. The propeller commenced to kick up a

26 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

great row, forcing me to the conclusion that it must
be 'on strike.' Ran on deck, and found engineer
in difficulties, for the steam-gauge had become
choked. There being a fine breeze, I deemed it
best to take off propeller and let him have a little
rest. Set all sails, and ordered engineer to bank
fires. 8 A.M. — Diana dancing along at the rate of
seven and a half knots, ' like an ocean-bird set free '
after her long winter's confinement in dock. A
tremendous Atlantic swell rolling in from westward,
which would have caused any merchant steamer
and many a yacht to roll gloriously, or, rather, in-
gloriously. The Diana, being above that sort of
thing, bounds steadily on, like a bird on the wing,
occasionally dipping her lee gunwale under view,
after the manner of the graceful sea-gull, skimming
the surface and dipping his slender wing delicately
and daintily. Took an observation for latitude —
the first time for some seven years — with the same
old quadrant and the same old method. It seems
but as yesterday since we were at the same game,
the only difference being that everything feels more
enjoyable now than then.

" June 7. — Strong breeze from southward.
Diana bounding along over the rolling deep, and
we are now having our fill of rope-hauling and
sailorising. Towards evening wind veered to west-
ward, with squalls. Topsails reefed close down.
Diana is now dancing along at eight and a half knots,
like a joyous maiden out for a holiday trip. 7 p.m. —
Every reason to think that tlie wind will fly into the

iir] THE TALE OF THE LOG 27

north-west — things not being quite so comfortable
as they are on shore generally. Poor Lady Chang
moves about in an unsteady manner from one part
of the ship to another, ever and anon looking up
wistfully and enquiringly to her master, and
occasionally taking a long and longing gaze down
the cabin stairs, seeming to say : ' That's the place
for poor me.' But she knows it is forbidden
ground, and consequently forbears. 8 v.m. — Wind
veered into the north ; Diana's dance and gallop
evidently nearly at an end. Midnight. — She is
going limping along, heading for the Norway land.
At midnight broad daylight ; we shall now know
no darkness until autumn.

"June 8. Noon. — Proceeding under steam
against a strong head sea. The little craft is
' doing her best, or, rather, the little propeller is ;
for it is kicking up a fine frantic row under the
cabin, racing round at the rate of 100 revolutions
per minute, fairly playing a game of much ado
about nothing. Still, it manages to force Diana
to skip along — ^jumping a la polka, as it were — at
times bows under. 10 p.m. — Fine, calm weather.
The glorious sun has just set to the north-west in a
bank of golden-fringed, jet-black clouds, enshroud-
ing the magnificent snow - capped mountains of
Norway with a mantle of intense purple and gold,
worthy the art and skill of even a greater than a
Turner. 2 a.m. — He again makes his appearance
in the north-east, lighting up once more the sombre
and weird - looking land of the Vikings with a

28 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

glorious golden hue — the snowy heights fairly
glittering with the intense golden tinge. 8 a.m. —
All these beauties are at once hidden from our
view. The wind is in the south, and blowing j
fresh, with thick rain — the little craft now running
along under all canvas, and the noisy little
propeller at rest."

Rough weather prevailed for several days, and
the Diana was unable to reach Tromsoe until
June 14. The Captain called at this port for
despatches, and to take a pilot on board for
Waigats Straits. At the German Consul's he
found a christening party assembled, and felt out
of place, in his pilot cloth and sou '-wester, amongst
ladies and gentlemen, *' dressed in silks and satins,
white waistcoats, and the everlasting white kids."
" Being ungracious enough to decline drinking
' Schnaps,' added to the fact that I was very tired
and weary with a hard night's work, made me, 1
fear, but a useless intruder in that happy gather-
ing. So, after partaking of some sweetened liquid,
made for the ladies — they being the Good
Templars here, it seems — and tasting some cake,
and a kind of whipped eggs and sugar, I excused
myself, and beat a hasty retreat."

Leaving Tromsoe on June 19, he called at
Hammerfest the following day to engage a
Norwegian seaman who could speak English, as
interpreter to "our worthy old pilot, who cannot
speak above two words of my tongue, which
renders his advice and services almost useless.

in.] ROUND THE NORTH CAPE 29

I find that he beHeves the mouth of the Obi to
be very shallow, and encumbered with shifting
sandbanks, which we shall not be astonished to
find. There must be a large accumulation of
sediment discharged from a mighty river like the
Obi, running, as it does, some 2,400 miles inland,
with many tributaries. Should this be so, we shall
not succeed in getting Diana up the Gulf. In
that case, we will examine White Island and the
neighbouring shores, to ascertain if a convenient
harbour exists, in which large steamers could load
and discharge. In the event of the Kara Sea
being navigable for such steamers, the goods could
be brought up and down the river by light craft
constructed for the purpose."

Before leaving Hammerfest, the Captain was
assured by several Norwegians that he would
find it utterly impossible to enter the Kara Sea,
but he was not the kind of man to be deterred
from his enterprise by such discouragement.

On June 22 the Diana sailed from Hammer-
fest with a favourable wind. At noon she rounded
the " weird-looking " North Cape. Fine weather,
with bright sunshine, continued for three or four
days. On June 26 there were signs that the
ship was approaching the " battle-groimd " of snow
and ice. The " ominous " crow's nest was sent
aloft, and poor Chang was thus deprived of her
snug quarters. Henceforth she had to be content
with a bread-barrel, of much smaller dimensions
than her former home.

30 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

" June 27. — Sighted a small craft on our
starboard beam. Hauled up to speak to her.
Found her to be a small sealing sloop from
Tromsoe, intending to fish. Asked captain if he
had seen the land on Nova Zembla. Yes — it was
about twenty miles off to the northward. This
must be wrong, as our reckoning shows us about
thirty to forty miles. Asked to be reported on
his return. These poor little weakly-built craft
seem sadly inefficient to battle with ice, and it
is wonderful to think that they can, as they have
often done, venture into the Kara Sea, and even
circumnavigate Nova Zembla.

" June 28. — Sighted ice. I saw the white
line along our port beam, and my unpractised
eyes took it to mean breakers. But the mate
soon pronounced it to be ice. Hauled up for
it, and steered along the edge. Found it trend-
ing to N.E. Sighted a small island on our
lee, bearing about east. This is one of the
many small rock islands off Waigats Island,
which should be in sight, but weather too hazy.
8 P.M. — Our ' lead ' has come suddenly to an
end ; we had been hoping it might take us right
through into the Kara Sea, but find we have been
running down into a deep bight, and must now
beat out. So we are thrashing away at it, under
single reefed sails. Weather thick and looking
dirty. The ice is somewhat heavy, but seems
to be driven from the land ; so we hope to find
a lane along the shore. Midnight. — Very exciting

III.] PERFECTION OF COLOURING 31

and interesting work— tacking, bearing, and haul-
ing up, for the different floes of ice that float
about in our track. Diana nearly succeeded in
kissing a big one, but just managed to weather
him by about three inches. Although the weather
is thick and murky, with no sun, these majestic
blocks of ice, piled one upon the other in the
most fantastic manner, are tinged, when the eye
obtains a clear view into the deep caverns and
under the massive slabs, with the most beautiful
azure blue that we have ever seen. At the
surface, and just underneath the water, the tint is
a charming, bright emerald-green. This contrast,
combined with the delicate tints that they are
fringed with, and the pure whiteness of the blocks,
makes a picture of colournig that no artist could
ever hope to imitate perfectly. The angles of each
block are exquisitely acute. We feel entranced as
we pass close to these lovely objects, and are
prompted to exclaim —

" ' Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty !

All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky,
and sea ! '

'"O ye ice and snow, bless ye the Lord; praise Him and
magnify Him for ever ! "

" We must now be inside the Straits, althouofli
we have seen nothing. Should we be right, we
must be standing towards Waigats Island — at the
back of it. 12.30 a.m.— Just sighted the Island,
so we are really in the Kara Sea. Still, we must

32 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

not be too sanguine, for there is ice all around ;
but, as the wind is now off the Island and main-
land, we may get a lead along. We can truly
say we have been brought in, for we could not
see to choose our own way through the intricacies
of the ice, because of the hazy weather.

" June 29. — Begins dull, with showers. 2 p.m.
— Closing in with land fast. Fear our lead will
not take us much further, but must hope for
the best. Got soundings — fifteen fathoms, sand
bottom. Land quite clear of snow. Midnight.
— Thick haze. Still standing along the land.
Passed some Samoyede huts about 4 p.m. This
is the channel that Captain Johansen and others
have been up. Before entering the Straits I asked
the pilot which would be the best way to go, but
he knew nothing. Now that we have got here,
he says it's the usual way. So, I can have no
faith in his advice. We are now, for the first
time since leaving Hammerfest, under steam.

"June 30. — We are moored to a large floe
that is fast to some islands near the main-
land. ' Landed,' for the first time in our life, on
Arctic ice. The sensation was novel — a certain
feeling of insecurity and oppressiveness, the latter
caused, we believe, by the intense glare and heat
of the sun on the snow. In fact, we never felt
the sun more in our way than just then. 10 p.m. —
The boat which left the ship has returned, with
a small cargo of eider-ducks' eggs, some down, and
three birds. The men report that they walked to

III.] AMONG THE PACK-ICE 33

the island over much mud — about half a mile of
it — and they found the island covered with eider-
ducks.

"Noon. — We have just had a severe battle
among the pack-ice. We saw a good long lane
opened out along the shore, and, the wind having
changed to the south-east, we concluded the ice
would open out from the land, and so ran down under
easy sail to see how far the lane led. On getting
towards the end, the wind increased to a gale,
with heavy rain, and the pack was closing rapidly
on to a heavy floe of shore-ice. Before we could
order steam up, and haul ship out into the loosest
part of the pack, we were driven down into the
bight, and enclosed at once in the firm grip of
the land-ice and the pack, driving with the latter
rapidly, and grinding and squeezing and crushing
against the hard side of the land floe.

" All speed was made to get up steam, and all
sail set, to force her through the pack, and into
the open space which was provokingly close by on
our port side. But poor little Diana lay helpless,
bearing the brunt of events in a quiet manner.
Steam was soon up, and now came the question.
Can she force her way out ? The opinion of most
of the men was that she was not heavy enough.
* If she had only been a sailing barque of some
800 tons' — and so on. Then the old pilot came
on deck to see what was the matter. He pulled
a long face, and looked utterly bewildered, but
had no advice to give.

34 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

" Steam is now ready, so at it we go full speed
ahead. And now, with steam and all sails pulling
her, the poor little Diana is soon down on her
beam ends, and it is blowing a gale on the port
quarter. Word comes that a nasty floe has blocked
the stem, and she cannot break or move it. Can
she be got astern just a wee bit ! No. There she
is, packed close up to the very rudder. But the
floe ahead moves with the pressure, and presently
there is a space of some two feet aft. So now
' Astern ! ' is the order. Bang she comes into the
floe astern.

" ' Go ahead, sir — there, she slews ! ' is the
cheerful news from the forecastle.

" And now she starts ahead, to hit the opposing
floe more on the cant or corner. There is a grand
struggle, which must end in a few moments either
in final defeat or in victory for httle Z)iana,

" ' There she slews it ! ' is the welcome news.

" ' There it goes ! ' says another.

" A httle more, and she will master her opponent ;]
but, only once stop, and we shall be fast, for the
sand floe has a strong grip of our tormentor, and
is holding him fast under our bows and ahead still. I
If we have but power sufficient to cant it, there]
is still plenty of room to steer ship into more
open water to windward.

" * Does she move it ? ' is the anxious enquiry^
from us aft.

" ' Yes, it still goes slowly. Can you see it ? '

" Yes ; in a few minutes we reaUy can see thd

III.] CLEAR WATER AGAIN 35

sluggish monster moving forward, almost imper-
ceptibly, on our lee. Now it seems to stop — now
it moves ahead. At last, with a sudden jerk, it
gives way, and then surrenders the glory of
conquest to our little craft, which at once forges
ahead, and in a short time is again free, and in
the more open water.

" But still the prospect is only poor. The pack
from windward follows us up at a rapid rate,
coming down before the gale and current. We
now head out under full steam, stowing all sails,
and once more breathe freely. Then, from our
ice-master in the crow's-nest comes the ominous
news that the pack is coming down, and closing
in fast upon us, from as far and further than the
eye can reach to windward. Well, all that can
now be done is to steam at it, head to wind, as fast
as possible, and live in the hopes that we may
get out free before it closes in tightly. For four
or five hours more we steam on and on, at times
hardly able to see a hundred yards ahead, because
of blinding rain, and hardly able to run through
the ponderous masses of fioe-ice. It is truly a
grand sight, although under the most anxious
circinnstances.

"July 1. Noon. — Out into clear water. Wind
flew round into the north - west, blowing hard.
Set sails double reefd, and banked fires. 6 p.m. —
Beat through a lane in the pack on the south coast,
and arrived on the coast at 8 p.m., in the same
position as we were on Sunday last. Sighted a

36 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

schooner to westward. The captain came on board.
She proved to be a Hammerfest seahng craft. She
has obtained only about 200 seals and 25 walrus
since April last, and is now trying to get on to
the east coast of this sea — halfway up to the north-
ward. As we have nothing else to do, we will
accompany her, for company's sake.

" July 3. — Passed through the south pack
again, and shaped our course for Lutke Island
once more. Schooner in company. 6 a.m. — Close
down to our late battle-ground. Found all things
much about the same.

" July 5. — Still dodging amongst the loose
pack-ice. The schooner managed to pick up a
fine walrus yesterday. The captain amused us
by holding the skull on the top of his own fair
head. The enormous tusks, protruding on each
side of his thin face, made him appear a most
remarkable object. We fear this quiet weather is
not favourable for breaking up and taking away
the ice ; but still we hope for the best, and mean-
while try to have perfect patience. Lat. 69*^ 25'
N. ; long. 66° 35' E. ; temperature of air in
shade, 45*^ ; ditto in the sun, 65*^ ; water surface,
38° ; density, 4°.

"July 6. — Fine calm weather and clear sky.
Moored to an ice-floe. Held a prayer-meeting in
the cabin. About half the crew attended. We
invited only those who wished to come. There
was no compulsion. Read the twenty-fourth and
twenty- fifth Psalms, and the tenth chapter of

m.] AGAIN IN THE ICE 37

Proverbs. After discoursing upon them, had a
prayer and a hymn, and several from Sankey's
book. Presented those with Bibles who had none,
and dispersed in about an hour and a half. . . .
" Fine, clear weather. . . . We are now in a
sad fix — no less than being caught in the ice.
Yes, here we are, caught fast in a trap — the pack
all closed in around us. We have been caught
napping, which makes it all the more vexatious.
All hands of the watch on deck were busy shifting
the boats. Carpenter and self on the ice, caulking
the gig to make her tight, being leaky, when the
ice-master, happening to look up from his work,
discovered us beset with ice, and our channel out
nearly closed. Steam was got up quickly, the
boat hoisted up, and ship's head put towards the
once open, but now closed, channel. At it we
go full speed, hoping thereby to break through
the loose ice in the nip. Soon she arrives at it.
' Hold fast, every one ! ' Bounding up, she runs
nearly half lier length, and slides back gently,
when we discover we have made only a small
impression. This is repeated again and again, by
backing astern for about a quarter of a mile, and
going at it full speed again. But all is of no avail.
The gates are closed, and all is closing in behind us
so fast that we are at last glad to get into a broken
part of the main floe, and lie there, as it were, in a
dock, free from nips, for the ice is now nipping
hard. In fact, twice was Diana held in its grip for
about a quarter of an hour, until we managed to

38 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

cut her out with ice spades, etc. She is not heavy
enough to break the ice after she runs up on to
it. So now we are chafing sadly under our silly
mishap. Ice-master hopes the ice may open with
change of tide, for we don't relish being carried off
with it to the north-west for a month or two, or
even more, as the old pilot informs us sometimes
happens. But, then, I have no faith in the old
fellow.

"July 7. — Weary with anxiety and watching,
we lie down for a rest. In a short time we hear
the order given from the masthead by the ice-
master, ' Go ahead full speed.' We rush on deck,
to find the nip opening, and soon, with a few
backings and going aheads, we succeed in point-
ing Diana's head for the opening. In a trice
she is steaming through, and in five minutes the
danger is left behind."

On the following day two other Norwegian
vessels were sighted. They seemed to be moored
to an ice-floe off Lutke Island. " They will have
cleared it of all the eider-ducks' eggs and down,"
writes Diana's captain ; " well, we cannot but wish
them success, for not being able to get them
ourselves, we must not be tempted to act the
dog in the manger."

On July 10 the Captain managed to land on the
Valmal Peninsula. He found a large lake, "from
which a shoal stream meandered to the sea, but no
boat could get to it without much trouble." He
also came across a number of relics, which seemed

III.] RELICS OF FAILURE 39

to tell a tragic story. They consisted of two old
Russian boats, turned up, and a sledge, which
must have been deserted many years previously.
" Oars, anchors, etc., were still within them, and,
near by, the remains of an encampment. Deer-
horns, bones, and other things — all rotting — were
scattered about in all directions. Soon we came
across a rough memorial over a grave. It consisted
of a perpendicular board, with a rude imitation of
a man's head carved on the top. Two arms, at
opposite angles, crossed the board, and some letters,
apparently Russian, were scratched upon them.
We asked ourselves, how many corpses were covered
by that earth ? Who were these men ? How long
were they here ? W hat sufferings did they endure ?
Who was the last man, and what became of him ? "

The Captain gathered a few mosses and wild-
flowers, among which were the sweet anemone and
one forget-me-not. *' A poor little lark, which had
got away from its warm nest, hobbled across our
path. So we secured it, and he is now sitting on
the table, close to this rough Journal, as we write —
quite at home, having made a fine meal off hard-
boiled egg and cold water, judiciously put before
him. Some small ermines and a few eggs fell to
the lot of the men. The boy, Harry, is now in
his glory, blowing the eggs, but is puzzled to
know what kind they are — hopes Mr Potts may
know."

The next day " we killed our first ' seal.' But
when brought on board it turned out to be only

40 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

a poor little ' floe rat,' just large enough to cover
a lady's footstool."

For more than three weeks longer the Diana
had to battle with the ice on the west coast of
the Samoyede Peninsula — " dodging about " under
canvas or steam — " steaming pell-mell into the loose
pack-ice" — "turning and twisting" — "going ahead
and going astern in the most outrageous fashion " —
locked in the ice, with blocks twenty feet high —
moored to floes — advancing northwards a few miles,
and then compelled to retreat — "jammed up in a
bight, with ice-floes all around " — enveloped in dense
fog — " wrigghng through the floes," and sometimes
almost unmanageable, owing to the swirl of the
current or the tide. " This is the work and the
kind of place to make us more clearly see and
understand what poor weakly creatures we are,
and how helpless, when striving against the
forces of nature, or, rather, the works of God.

" Meanwhile, one is much tempted to ask,
what is to be the end of it all? Are we to win
our passage, or be swept away to the northward
and westward for a month or two, or perhaps for
altogether, in the merciless grip of the dread
pack ? But we check ourselves, and are forced to
say, in the most humble manner, and with the
most perfect faith, ' My times are in Thy hand.'

" I am afraid we started a month too soon, and
have made a mistake by following the lane from
the Waigats Straits, and thus becoming trapped
in the ice here. It would have been better had

m] A MIRAGE 41

we remained in the Straits until the pack passed
away, and then have proceeded right across the
Kara Sea to White Island, near the mouth of the
Obi.

" Oh, for a balloon ! What wonders it would
probably reveal ! We could ascend two or three
thousand feet, and ' view the landscape o'er,' or,
rather, the ice-scape. This would give us a range
of some sixty, or perhaps eighty, miles ; whereas
from the masthead we can't trace ice more than
three miles with certainty — indeed, scarcely as
much as that.

" We fancy we can see the Norwegian craft ; but
the mirage is so powerful that we can make out
little or nothing for certain on the horizon. A
black or dirty piece of ice is soon made to appear
a tall, massive ship, with all sails set, and the whole
horizon seems elevated at least seven or ten feet,
if not more. The mirage, however, suggests one
pleasing thought — it is caused by the pureness of
the air, from which we dissatisfied beings are
deriving benefit. Yes — there is no mistake — this
is the climate for consumptive and ' bronchial '
people. Why, the wliole crew to a man, skipper
included, are beginning to get quite Tichbornes
in appearance, but more healthy than that poor
wretch could ever be. As for Lady Chang, one
can but compare her with a noble ' ground seal '
or a walrus, as she lies stretched on the deck.
And the boy Harry — well, his mother would
repudiate liim ! "

4a VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

Once the Diana went aground, owing to her
drawing about two feet more than marked. " This
mistake in marking might have caused the loss of
the ship." Every effort was made to move her,
without success ; but with the flowing tide she
floated off. Whilst cruising about in this gulf —
Baidarata, or Muddy Gulf — Captain Wiggins
came across a sandy island, about six miles long,
which was not laid down on any chart.

The monotony of an almost unending battle
with the ice was once relieved by a visit of three
Samoyedes, who came alongside in a light boat.
They were dressed in skins, and " looked like
Eskimos, only with much better physiognomy,
and of finer stature. They came on deck and
began at once to survey. Spying the marine
glasses, the oldest of the three quickly divined
their use. He put them to his eyes, and then
expressed unbounded astonishment at the manner
in which objects presented themselves. They soon
showed a desire to barter, and gladly exchanged
some skins for a bucket or two of salt. We
gave them some biscuits, tea, and beads, as well
as a knife and a brooch each, and right pleased
they were. We took them to the engine-room,
and showed them all its wonders. They appeared
to be father and two sons — fine, clear, ruddy
countenances, jet-black hair, cut straight round
the forehead. They inspected almost every-
thing, were much amused at Dianas figurehead,
and concluded their visit by measuring the

{

„r.] WITH THE NORWEGIANS 4S

length of the ship, spanning their arms along
the rails."

On July 25 there were no less than five
Norwegian vessels moored in the vicinity of the
Diana. " We now muster a goodly fleet and a
large number of souls — not less than eighty. It
was cheering to see so many jolly, happy-look-
ing fishermen. Many of them turned out on to
the ice to see us, and several came on board.
We were astonished to see so many fisher-boys
amongst them — not over eight or nine years of
age. They were fat, hardy little fellows, well
fitted with sea-boots, sheath-knives in their belts,
and so on."

At last the Diana found a comparatively clear
passage northward, although having to dodge
incessantly the floating ice. On August 5 she
rounded White Island, and then steamed towards
the mouth of the Obi. The Captain found that
White Island had been placed wrongly on the
chart — some thirty or forty miles westward of its
actual position. From further observation he was
led to the conclusion that much of the land in
the neighbourhood was laid down on the charts
wrongly. He also found, in lat. 73° 16' N. and
long. 74° 40' E., a long, low, sandy island, which
had no place in the charts.

With the Diana moored to a floe at the mouth
of the mighty Obi, and only a few miles from the
mouth of the Yenesei, the position of the Captain
was a trying and tantalising one. If he could only

44 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

survey these rivers — even but for a short distance
— one of his most fervent desires would be partly
gratified, and he would accomplish a notable
exploit. But many serious considerations blocked
the way to the achievement of his desires. The
Diana was not a suitable vessel for the purpose.
She drew too much water, and, " with her sharply-
pointed keel, would take the ground, with strong
current and ice forcing her on, and
literally roll right over and capsize
at once. Her bottom was like this
section. What is required to sur-
vey and proceed up these gulfs
and rivers is a flat-bottomed, small vessel, of
about thirty tons, drawing four feet instead of
twelve."

Expense was also a consideration, for every
month, after the first four months, involved an
expenditure of something like £300. There was
another important fact to bear in mind. A passion
for exploration did not pervade the majority of
the crew. They wanted sport — walrus and seal-
hunting — so that " oil-money " might line their
purses before returning home. This lack of
enthusiasm prevailed in spite of the Captain's
promise that they should share in the £2,000
reward, which had been offered to any ship enter-
ing the Obi. A few of the crew, it is true, were
eager to go forward, and risk the possibility of
being rolled over on a mud-bank, or being starved
to death. Not the least of the considerations

III.] REGRETS AND ANXIETIES 45

which faced the Captain was the question of
food ; for the ship was not provisioned for another
three or four months' knocking about in seas,
and gulfs, and rivers.

Regret mingled with the brave Captain's cogita-
tions at this moment. Why did he not remain
in the Muddy Gulf, he asked himself, get ashore
somehow, inspect the land and the rivers, and see
whether a canal across the isthmus to the Obi was
not practicable, and thus save a journey round
the peninsula of some 800 or 900 miles ? With
his sanguine vision, he could almost see the canal
cut, and British argosies passing through to the
great river, laden with rich cargoes for the milhons
of Siberia.

Regrets were useless. To return to the Muddy
Gulf now was out of the question. Looking at all
the circumstances, undoubtedly the most sensible
plan to adopt was to turn Dianas head home-
wards, learn to profit by the experiences of her
voyage, find a more suitable craft for a second
venture, starting a month later in the year, when
the ice would prove less formidable and obstructive.
So, at the first opportunity, the Captain bade fare-
well to his ice-floe, and set his face homewards.

The Diana often had to dodge the ice, and
" twist and turn " before she once more passed
through the " Iron Gates " of the Kara Sea.
Three days before entering the Straits the Captain
threw overboard a tin case, hermetically sealed,
containing written instructions for any person

46 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

finding it to forward it to one of the geographical
societies. " This will prove the set of the currents.
This is the first one. Sorry we forgot to do so
at the Obi."

When out of the Straits the Captain decided
to steer to the west side of Nova Zembla, hoping
to meet with the Austrian expedition under
Lieutenant Weyprecht. He went as far as Kostin
Bay, but found no traces of the gallant party.
Bad weather prevented him from pursuing his
search along the coast. He then bore away for
Vardoe, but his intentions were again baffled.
He was caught in a severe westerly gale, driven
northwards, and was then compelled to make
straight for Hammerfest.

" September 7. — Steamed into Hammerfest.
On entering the harbour, our agent came on
board, and informed us of the safety of the
Austrians, and that they were expected by
steamer from Vardoe in about an hour. If we
had only managed to get to Vardoe, we should
have had the pleasure of bringing them here.
Noon. — Steamer passed under our stern, and we
gave the Austrians three hearty cheers as they
gazed at us."

After being buffeted with gales and squalls, the
Diana at length reached Dundee on September 25,
having spent three months and three weeks on
her adventurous cruise.

Thus the first expedition of modern times
reached the mouth of the Obi by the Kara Sea

CAPTAIN WIGGINS AM) " I>Ar>V (HANG.

[To face 2^. 46.

„i.] THE OBI REACHED 47

route. An open channel had been rediscovered.
Captain Wiggins' observations led him to the
conclusion that the Gulf Stream found its way,
by the Waigats and Pet Straits, to the Kara Sea,
causing at least the southern part of these waters
to be open for about two months in the year. From
the point which he reached at the mouth of the
Obi the sea was quite open to the eastward, and
partly open to the north-westward. He saw
clearly that, with a suitable craft, it would be
an easy matter to reach the mouths of the Obi
and the Yenesei, and to ascend both rivers.

The belief that the Kara Sea was blocked to
navigation all the year round by impenetrable
ice was thus disproved. It is true, as already
mentioned, that Norwegian fishing-smacks were
accustomed to sail into the Kara Sea ; but this
fact was not generally known, and it was reserved
for Captain Wiggins to prove to the world that
navigation was not only practicable, but easy,
and that certain maps, issued as late as 1872,
showing " everlasting ice " between Nova Zembla
and lat. 105*^ E., were wrong.

The great importance of these observations
and discoveries was quickly recognised in England
and other countries. Siberian merchants looked
upon the Captain's voyage as the first step towards
opening a new and profitable trade with Europe.
English and Russian merchants and naval men
were not so sanguine ; they saw the importance
of the voyage, but waited for further proofs of

48 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

the practical nature of the Captain's scheme before
giving it their support.

The discovery of the sand island at the mouth
of the Obi, and of the misplacement of White
Island on the maps, contributed to the usefulness
of the voyage. The Captain's observations in the
Muddy Gulf may be reported in his own words.
" I examined well up towards the head of the
Gulf, and found it easy of access for the largest
vessels nearly to the end, there being a depth of
from eight to three fathoms, shoaling gradually.
The bottom was hard sand, whereas I had been
informed by the Norwegians that this Gulf could
not be navigated far up because it was full of
mud. The shore was bold and high on both
sides, the current running out and the water very
dirty, which told me there must be a large
river at the head of the Gulf. The distance from
side to side was about twelve or fifteen miles. We
were then not more than sixty miles from the Obi
river. I should have completed my examination
of the Gulf had I been in possession of a shallow-
draft screw-launch."

He goes on to refer, in this contribution to the
Press, to the operations of enterprising traders in
this corner of the Russian Empire hundreds of
years ago. " On referring to Wrangel's ' Polar
Sea,' I find that some three centuries ago the
Russians from Archangel carried on trade with
the Obi via this very Gulf. This was done in
wretched boats called ' kotchies,' built of bark,

i„.] TRADE ON THE OBI 4d

and sewn together with willow twigs. They
coasted the south Samoyede land, proceeding up
the river at the head of the Gulf, when, coming to
a lake, they discarded their boats, and hauled them
across a narrow neck of land, only 200 fathoms
wide, and launched them into another river which
ran direct into the Obi. Thence they proceeded
on to Obdorsk or Beregov, trading towns on the
Obi.

" If this could be accomplished by such in-
efficient means," the Captain continues, "what is
there to prevent the same thing being done now by
the superior class of steam shipping of the present
day ? To me it seems a crying shame — particularly
with respect to England, with all her means — that
such a vast commerce should be dormant for the
want of ordinary enterprise. To the north-west-
ward, the Hudson's Bay Company people trade
successfully for some two or three months every
summer in quite as unfavourable districts as these,
and it pays them well to keep up, at an enormous
expense, in those territories, forts, stores, staffs of
superintendents, servants, etc., and a fleet of most
expensive Arctic, or ice, steamers, to do battle with
the dread ice of these regions, and this only for one
kind of commerce — furs — whilst the Kara Sea
route combines with this all other kinds of trading,
together with a grand market outwards for our
own manufactured goods."

These were some of the forcible arguments
which the Captain urged persistently, both at this

50 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

time and in after years, in his lectures, in private
correspondence, and in communications to the
Press, for the purpose of arousing interest and
enthusiasm in the opening up of Siberia by means
of its great rivers. Whilst doing all in his power
in this direction, he never indulged in a bid for
popular applause. He sought to efface himself— a
hopeless task — in the scheme which he so vigorously
advocated. In fact, he was too modest, and his
scrupulous watchfulness in this respect was enough
to raise a smile, as the following little incident will
show.

A statement appeared in a London journal that
he had penetrated into the Muddy Gulf further than
any previous navigator. The Captain promptly
sent a letter to the Editor, repudiating the honour
thrust upon him, and assigning the pioneering
glory to the " wretched kotchies " of the sixteenth
century. His chivalrous spirit led him to ascribe
"honour to whom honour was due" — not except-
ing those bark-and-willow boats of a barbaric age.
He added: "It is also my desire that the public
should clearly understand that I put in no claims
as a 'discoverer.' I have simply verified that
which has been known and made use of in days
past. My only wish is to endeavour to show to
the world at large that we are probably in a posi-
tion in the present day to make use of the same
route, and, by this means, to unfold the untold
mineral and other wealth that now lies hidden in
the vast tracts of Central Siberia, and also to divert

III.] PRAISE AND CONGRATULATION 51

the present expensive overland route from Central
Asia and China to Europe."

But whilst the Captain shrank from appropriat-
ing any honour in connection with his venture, the
real importance and value of the voyage were not
lost sight of by some of the more sagacious and
reputable journals of the day. The Athenceum —
always cautious in its bestowal of praise — gave the
voyage precisely the high rank which it deserved.
" The return of another expedition from the North
Polar regions has been chronicled in the past
week ; and although it had more of a commercial
object than its predecessors, it was, nevertheless, as
much a Polar Expedition as those that sailed under
Buchan, Parry, and others, and endeavoured to
discover a north-west passage as a short road to
Cathay and the East."

The Captain's right place amongst Arctic
adventurers, at this early stage of his exploring
career, was thus justly and accurately defined.

Wiggins received congratulations from many
quarters. One letter, which he greatly appreciated,
came from Dr Petermann, dated from Gotha,
September 29. " To-day I learn with great pleasure
from the newspapers that you had a successful
voyage, and returned to Dundee on the 25th inst.
As you mentioned in yours of June 18, fi*om
Tromsoe, that you would advise me of your return
by telegraph, I must mention to you that I have
received neither telegram nor letter up to this date.

" I beg to congratulate you sincerely on your

52 VOYAGE OF THE DIANA [chap.

success, and am particularly glad that you, as an
Englishman, have shown that the Kara Sea can be
entered and navigated, and the mouths of the Obi
and Yenesei reached. I should think this would
prove of weighty importance, and occasion, in the
first instance, the despatch of a proper exploratory
expedition under your direction. The Austrian
Expedition, just returned, having found an unusu-
ally close season, and much ice on the north of
Nova Zembla, might have a mischievous influence,
if you had not found the contrary further to the
south. The notice I read in the papers was very
meagre and confused, so I long all the more for a
full and authentic account from yourself."

Although Wiggins' own country-men held back
from utihsing his discovery, the Germans, with their
usual enterprising spirit, were eager to embrace the
opportunity of opening new markets with Central
Siberia by the sea route. They were already doing
a profitable trade at the mouth of the Petchora —
some 400 miles west of the icy regions of the Kara
Sea— and they quickly realised the advantages of
being able to extend operations eastward, and " tap "
the " Land of Goshen."

Dr Petermann, writing to Wiggins on
October 3, draws attention to the movement in
Germany. " In the right quarters here your voyage
has excited much interest, and I hear that people 1
in Hamburg seriously entertain the idea of making
use of the results of your voyage to open a com-
mercial route to the Obi and the Yenesei, and thus

in.] NORDENSKIOLD'S CLAIM 53

give a new impulse to bringing forward the immense
products of the half of Asia. I know one of my
own friends would at once despatch a vessel, if the
case is made clear to him. I am therefore very
anxious to hear from you, and to learn your own
view of the case."

The voyage of the Dicuia naturally excited a
spirit of emulation amongst Arctic adventurers,
and Professor Nordenskiold, the Swedish explorer,
left Tromsoe on June 8, 1875, on board the Proven.
He passed through the Yugor or Pet Straits into
the Kara Sea, found the water open, and anchored
at the mouth of the Yenesei. The Proven was sent
back to Norway, and the Professor, with some of
his companions, ascended the river in a paddle
steamer, belonging to a merchant on the river,
as far as the town of Yeneseisk, and then went
to St Petersburg overland. Thus the Professor's
expedition was amongst the first-fruits of Captain
Wiggins' brave and successful venture. It is sur-
prising that Nordenskiold, in his book on his north-
east voyages, lays claim to the honour of being the
first modern explorer to penetrate into the Kara
Sea, to the mouths of the rivers — an honour which,
most distinctly, belongs to the English mariner.

CHAPTER IV

ADVENTURES OF A YARMOUTH CUTTER

Presentation to the Captain by Lieutenant Weyprecht —
Another expedition projected — Only a "Avhim" of the
Captain's—" An awfu' darin' man " — The Whim starts
for the Kara Sea — Frustration of intentions — The
" unexpected " happens at Vardoe — Meeting with
Admiral GlassenofF and Professor Mohn — A visit to
Archangel, and what came of it — The Captain rejoins
the Whim at Seven Islands — Near Koloffueve Island —
Long and tedious voyage home — Norwegian fishermen's
dread of Russian taxation — " Snapshots " of lovely
scenery — Lady Chang in trouble — "Grace Holman " —
The herring fleet — "Poor little Whim" on her beam
ends — Safe at Sunderland — The gains of the voyage —
Correspondence with M. SidorofF — The Royal Geo-
graphical Society, and the Meteorological Office — Letter
to Nordenskiold — The Professor and the "humble
mariner " meet at St Petersburg — Dinner to the
explorers— Story of the first St Petersburg interlude —
High hopes collapse — Toiling and moiling at Havre —
A fit of depression.

It is pleasant to note the very friendly relationship

existing between Captain Wiggins and Lieutenant

Weyprecht, the leader of the Austro - German

Arctic Expedition, which the Captain attempted

to reheve. The two men had a high opinion of
54

CHAP. IV.] LIEUTENANT WEYPRECHT 55

each other's quahties, and this mutual admiration
comes to Hght in several letters. The Captain
asserted that Weyprecht was one of the few
explorers whom he would most gladly serve under,
in almost any capacity. Amongst the services
which the Captain rendered his gallant friend, was
the editing of a pamphlet, printed in English,
giving a brief account of the expedition. In the
spring of 1875, the Lieutenant presented the
Captain with a powerful binocular glass, as a small
acknowledgment of the effort made to find the
missing party, and supply them with provisions.
The glass bore the following inscription : —

"To JOSEPH WIGGINS, Esq.

Every time you look tliroiigh these glasses,
remember a true friend, whom by your philan-
thropic and generous behaviour you have obliged

for life.

Weyprecht,
Commander, Austrian Arctic Expedition, 1874."

Captain Wiggins fully determined, even before
the Diana reached home, to make another voyage
to the Kara Sea in the following summer, timing
his departure from England at the beginning of
July, instead of the beginning of June, and thus
set out with a well-grounded hope of finding his
track quite clear of ice. But the voyage of the
Diana, undertaken entirely at his own expense,
somewhat crippled his private resources, and he felt
unable to execute his project without the help of
friends and sympathisers. In the course of lectures

56 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

at various places, he advocated the formation of
a small company for the furtherance of his com-
mercial project, but failed to meet with a response.
Had he contrived to make a little more noise in the
world, a few capitalists might have come to his aid.
He was incapable of blowing his own trumpet, and
he scorned to pay other people to blow it for him.

The members of the Young Men's Christian
Association of Sunderland, amongst whom the
Captain was exceedingly popular, warmly urged
him to go forward. At length, a small amount
of help was afforded by Mr Edward Backhouse,
and Mr M. Weiner, German Consul at Sunder-
land. Each of these gentlemen contributed £100
towards the purchase and equipment of a vessel.

The cost of an expedition such as the Captain
had contemplated, carried out with a small steamer,
would amount to about £1,000, or with a shallow
steam-launch and a sailing-vessel about £600 to
£700. He hoped to obtain a crew of " free-service
volunteers," and thus considerably reduce his
estimate of the entire cost.

Summer was now coming on apace, and no
further contributions had been offered. The
Captain, though a little disheartened, was not
discouraged. He was fully resolved not to let
the season pass away without buying a vessel,
and setting off to the North. But he had to con-
sider that he must accommodate his ideas to his
slender finances.

He went to Yarmouth in the middle of June,

IV.] THE WHIM 57

bought a tiny craft — a mere fishing sloop of only
twenty-seven tons, manned usually by a man and a
boy, and took her to Sunderland to be fitted. Some
sea-farinff wiseacres looked with astonishment at this
"bit of a boat," and then looked askance at the
owner, who was standing near. " It's only a whim
of Captain Wiggins," said one to another. The
Captain overheard the remark, and at once chimed
in with the rejoinder, " A¥ell, then, let's call her
the Whim.'" And the Whim she was forthwith
christened.

" Nearly everybody thought me almost a lunatic,
if not quite," said the Captain on one occasion in
his later hfe, "when I bought this craft for an
Arctic expedition."

It was not the first time by any means that he
had ventured on a long voyage in a small vessel,
and the seamen of Sunderland had got into the
way of saying, " Eh, eh — but the Capt'n's an awfu'
daring man ! "

Without losing an hour, Wiggins set about
fitting and equipping the boat, which was ready for
her voyage in about a fortnight. His ingenuity was
taxed to the utmost in providing accommodation
for himself and his crew. Everything had to be in
miniature. The saloon, measuring six feet long by
five wide, and five deep, contained a small table, seats
along the sides, and, above them, the berths for the
Captain and his mate. The cooking apparatus was
a model of smallness, compactness, and complete-
ness combined. Every nook and corner was utilised

58 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

for a cupboard or a locker. The forecastle was
fitted to accommodate five seamien. A jolly-boat,
and a flat-bottomed canoe, or shallop, were carried
on deck. The Whim was described as a vessel
"trim and snug, with a spencer and square sail
on the mast-proper, a small spencer sail at the
stern, and the usual jibs."

The Wliim sailed from Sunderland, on June 28,
1875, bound for the Kara Sea. It was the Captain's
intention to survey the Baidarata, or Muddy
Gulf, proceed to the head of the river Baidarata,
and, by following the old route of the sixteenth-
century Russian traders, cross over to Obdorsk, and
find out whether goods could be carried across the
narrow isthmus, or a canal be cut, for vessels to
convey goods to the Obi. But his intentions were
destined to be entirely frustrated. Unexpected
events defeated his plans for the voyage, and
yet had the effect of giving expansion and fresh
impulse to his scheme of trade with Siberia.

The IVhim met with strong gales and dense fogs
on her journey to North Norway. She arrived at
Hammerfest on July 12, and was detained here
for a week by bad weather and waiting for the
mails. Leaving this port on July 19, she soon en-
countered northerly gales, and had to take shelter,
first in Loxefiord, and then in Kollefiord harbour.
She put into Vardoe harbour on July 27, in
company with a large Russian steamer.

At Vardoe the unexpected happened. Captain
Wiggins went ashore to visit the English Consul,

XV.] RUSSIAN OBSTACLES 59

who showed him some old maps of the Kara
Sea and the river Obi. He told the Captain
that a Russian Admiral (GlassenofF), Inspector of
Customs at Archangel, then on board the Russian
steamer, was very much interested in his voyage,
and would be exceedingly glad to see him.

"Just then," to quote from the Captain's
Journal, " who should come in but Professor Mohn,
of Christiana. He was visiting all the ports in a
small steamer, testing variations of temperature,
etc. He also became intensely interested in my
voyage.

" We all three went on board the Russian mail-
steamer. I was introduced to the Admiral, who
at once said to me : ' I am exceedingly interested
in your voyage. Is there anything I can do for
you ? If so, only name it, and, if possible, I will
do it. Come and have tea with me, and we can
have a talk.'

" He then introduced me to General Stellingar,
the manager of the Steam Company. In a few
minutes the Admiral requested me to tell him
exactly what I intended to do. When he heard
that I desired to survey the isthmus at the head
of the Muddy Gulf, he said at once, ' SidorofF, the
merchant, has a concession of the Obi, as you are
aware, and doubtless he knows all about those
parts, having been to Obdorsk, and to the mouth
of the Obi. It seems a pity for you to waste
time in going there. Would it not be better to
go and see him ? '

60 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

" I informed him that this was one of the
things which I much desired, having telegraphed
to St. Petersburg but an hour or two since, to
ask if he was at the Petchora. If the answer was
in the affirmative, I intended going to see him at
the Petchora River, and then on to the Muddy
Gulf, hoping the merchant would accompany me
thither.

" ' I can save you the suspense of waiting for
an answer to your telegram,' said the Admiral ;
'for Sidoroff is at the Petchora. A friend of
mine saw him on the road a fortnight ago.'

" ' That being the case,' I rejoined, ' I shall
start at once for the Petchora.'

" ' Even then I fear you would only waste
time,' said the Admiral ; ' for depend upon it,
SidorofF would never go to the isthmus just now.
He must prepare at St. Petersburg for such a
journey. It would be much better for you to
see him there in the winter.'

" ' Even if I took your advice,' I replied, ' I
should still feel it my duty to proceed to the
isthmus now, and '

" ' Ah, but you ought to know,' said the
Admiral eagerly, ' that the Russian Government,
being so anxious about the Obi, have already
surveyed two or more passes in the Urals, with
the view of constructing a railway to the Petchora
from the Urals. Now, the best thing you can do
is to make up your mind at once to go with me
to Archangel, where I have got maps which will

n] PERSUASION TO DELAY 61

show you everything you require. You have
advanced new ideas, and it now only remains to
be decided which route is the best.'

" ' I am greatly obliged to you,' I answered,
' but I can hardly break my voyage so suddenly
without well considering the matter. I am con-
ducting an expedition, as it were, although so
small.'

" ' Yes, certainly you are,' rejoined the Admiral;
* but your vessel is indeed a small one. You ought
to have a steamer.'

" I replied that I could not afford one.

" ' Then you had much better put off the
expedition till next year, and, with SidorofF's and
other help, come out in a suitable steamer.'

" ' But I shall lose a season,' I urged.

" ' You must not think this work is to be done
in a year or two ; it will take many years. Now,
Captain Wiggins, I am much interested in the
Obi, and I see you are determined to go this
season. If you will go with me to Archangel,
see and copy my maps, there will then be time
for you to carry out your wish. You could
instruct your officers to bring your ship to the
Seven Islands. You could go to Archangel, and
then steam back to the Seven Islands in about
the same length of time as it would take your
ship to get there. To show you that my desire
to see the mighty Obi opened is thoroughly
genuine, if you will come with me to Arcliangel,
I will wire to the Government at St Petersburg,

62 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

and ask leave to accompany you on your
expedition.'"

That was the "last straw" of the Admiral's
urgent persuasions that broke the back of the
Captain's resolutions, and in the end " broke "his
voyage.

" I saw at once the great value of Government
interest ; it seemed opened to me in a providential
manner. The Russian steamer was weighing
anchor, and all must be decided in a minute or
two. I turned to Professor Mohn, and asked his
advice. 'I think you had better go,' he replied.

" I then said to the Admiral, ' If you will take
the responsibility of advising, and if you really
mean that you will accompany me to the Obi,
providing you obtain the permission of the Govern-
ment, then I will go with you to Archangel,
although I must tell you again that I fear I shall
be breaking the voyage.'

"'You do right, I am quite sure,' said the
Admiral. ' I Avill get all the interest for you that
1 possibly can at St. Petersburg, and, even if your
voyage should be broken, you must not mind losing
a season.'

"I rushed on board the JVhim, got my port-
manteau, and was soon steaming away to Arch-
angel."

The journey to Archangel afforded considerable
diversion and enjoyment. The steamer had to call
at two or three ports, and Wiggins seemed almost
entranced with the beauties of the fiords, and with

IV.] THE JOURNEY TO ARCHANGEL 63

sunlight effects. He notes briefly some of the
sights which impressed him — the " glowing colours
on the mountain-sides " — the '* perfect calm and
stillness of the water " — the " mirage by setting of
the sun" — the "grand entrance" to Kola Bay and
Fiord — the "lovely green spots" on the shore —
native villages, with their curious round huts made
of mud or turf, and tents of reindeer-skins — the
midnight-sun effects — the " wildness and grandeur
of rocks and mountains " — the boat-women, left
by the men to manage the boats — " the variety of
colour in their dress," and the Asiatic appearance
of their costumes — "merry and happy women
coming to inspect the ship," and then going to the
shore, and " cutting large boughs to use as sails,
and making for ' Home, sweet home.' "

" The duty of our Government to erect a monu-
ment here (Kola), not to the memory of that
gallant British officer, who, during the Crimean
War, destroyed this defenceless town, but to the
memory of brave Sir Hugh ^Villoughby and his
crew, who perished here after attempting to dis-
cover a north-east passage."

Captain Wiggins stayed two days in Arch-
angel, and left on August 6, " in a broken-down
steamer," for Seven Islands. He was not accom-
panied by Admiral Glassenoff, but he carried with
him valuable introductions from the Admiral to
influential people in St Petersburg, which lie found
useful in the course of a few months.

After waiting three days for favourable weather.

64 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

he set off in the Whim towards the Petchora.
He soon encountered severe easterly and north-
easterly gales, but succeeded in running nearly to
Kologueve Island. The following laconic entries
in his Journal show the decision which he now
arrived at, and the reasons for change of plans.

" Season evidently broken. No sense in forcing
our way, so late on in the season, to Petchora,
merely to see Sidoroff, when I could see him at
Petersburg during the winter. Could easily con-
tinue on now, and land at Petchora myself, pro-
ceeding with Sidoroff overland to St. Petersburg in
comfort and ease, leaving my crew to battle their
way home with the poor little Whim. Rather than
this, I prefer to give it up at once, and share the
risk of the long passage home in this small and
unfitted vessel. Had she been but a moderately
good steamer, I could yet have done the whole
voyage that I so much covet — that is, run into
Petchora, see Sidoroflfj thence proceed to Muddy
Gulf and Isthmus, etc. But discretion and pru-
dence being the better parts of valour, we give up
for this season, and turn back for home."

It took the JVhim nearly eleven weeks to get
home, whereas the Diana ran practically the same
distance in less than a month.

The passage was one of almost incessant gales,
and again and again the little craft had to take
shelter in a harbour or a fiord. The Captain
accepted the situation with philosophical fortitude.
He made the very best of it. There is not a word

IV.] NORWEGIAN SECRECY 65

of grumbling or of discontent throughout his
Journal of this trying journey. Now and then
trifling diversions from the enforced tedium
occurred, which he duly sets down, and some of
the notes are worth transferring to these pages.
English tourists who have explored the Nor-
wegian fiords will recognise some of the Captain's
*' snapshot " allusions to beautiful scenery and
sun-efFects.

At Vardoe he discovered why the masters of Nor-
wegian vessels fishing in the Kara Sea had always
endeavoured to keep their expeditions secret, and
when questioned upon the subject, had tried to
make out that the difficulties and dangers arising
from ice were most formidable and serious. Some
Tlussian fishermen, just arrived from Nova Zembla,
were at Vardoe. " We interrogate them as to the
state of the ice. They report, 'No ice.' So I
believe that the first report we received during the
voyage of the Diana from the Norwegian sealing
vessels was much exaggerated. We all know they
have good reasons for concealing the fact that their
ships go walrussing and sealing in the Kara Sea.
They fear the Russian Government may prevent
them, or place a heavy tax upon them, or that the
Russians, if they know there is really good fishing
in the Kara Sea, will go there themselves. But
we think that the last of these considerations is
groundless, for the Russian Nova Zembla vessels
are but wretched craft — all soft wood, badly put
together, and fastened with mere spikes or large-

66 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

headed nails. They are not even doubled with
extra planks outside, showing what a trifling amount
of ice they have to encounter.

"August 31. — Sail from Tromsoe. Pass
through the Malanga Fiord. Splendid scenery.
Snow-capped mountains. Old snow mingled with
fresh, and with mist, delicately hanging half-way
up, like a dainty gauze curtain. After-glow of
sunset. Many-tinted colours of autumnal foliage —
on small birch-trees and bushes, purple heather and
dark-green juniper bushes. The quiet, but dark,
fast-flowing stream we are in whirls round in strong
eddies, with wild-fowl, eider-ducks, seagulls, etc.,
busy on the turbulent whirlpools, catching and
digesting the unfortunate little ' finners,' that swarm
in the eddies.

" The dark, deep shadows of mountains ; snug
little nooks of bays. Valleys and green spots
occupied by 'fishermen-farmers,' with their little
red-tiled, white houses. Here and there a kirk,
with its 'preaster hows.'

"Beat through Solberg Fiord. Anchor in a
snug little harbour. Go on shore to pick 'blue-
berries.' Lady Chang distinguishes herself by
slaying her first kid. Chastisement. Scene with
the owner, an old man. Mode of pacifying him,
namely, paying all he asks. Daughter thereupon
wishes to improve upon the price — urges more,
in spite of the fact that our 'looch-man' (pilot)
declares, with strong emphasis, that they had got
more than double what the animal was worth.

IV.] GRACE HOLMAN 67

Chang, disgusted, goes away on her own hook
for a few hours. Kid tasted well next day.

" Harvest-time for rye. They pile it up on
poles, like hop-poles. Wretched-looking stuff.

" Anchor in small harbour, named Grace
Holman. Pilot informs me, ' he be very rich
merchant here.' (I imagine the 'he' to be Mr
Holman, and that Grace was the name of his
wife or daughter.) 1 see signs of it — fine house,
clean muslin curtains, well-painted and well-filled
store. So, discovering a gent on shore, I ask for
Mr Holman. Told 'no such person lives here.'
'Then where is Mrs, or Miss, Grace Holman?'
Chagrin, when told with a pitying smile that
' Holman ' means ' harbour,' or ' anchorage,' and
that ' Grace ' is its name. Then find that there
are ' Hols-Holman,' and many other ' Holmans.'

" Fishing - vessels running northward for the
herring fishery. Each sloop, of some twenty tons,
is accompanied by three or four small boats.
Hundreds and hundreds of these pretty, fresh-
painted, and well-kept vessels have passed us.
Charming they look — the sun shining on their
white — some red-tanned — sails, each sloop with
her small boats looking, for all the world, like an
old hen with her brood of chicks, or perhaps
better, like an old duck and her ducklings, seeing
they are on the water. They anchor every night,
the men in the little boats retiring to the sloop
to eat, drink, and sleep. A hard life for these
Norsemen, but a very sociable one.

68 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

" September 3. — Anchored in a bay the night
before. BloMdng hard from south-west. Whilst
getting under weigh, pilot requests us to turn her
head round towards the shore, evidently to save
time and ground. Result — poor little Whim is run
quietly on shore, and, as the tide is ebbing, there
she lies — falling over on her beam-ends, decks in
the water. Take advantage of it by scrubbing the
copper. Whim's first mishap — and on my birthday !
Bad, very bad weather."

The Whim was still troubled with foul weather
across the North Sea, but she arrived safely at
Sunderland on October 5, and the Captain never
attempted another Arctic voyage in a twenty-seven-
ton Yarmouth cutter.

Had it not been for the severe gales — unusual
in the months of June and July — by which the
ship was caught, and the delay occasioned by the
Captain's visit to Archangel, there is every proba-
bility that the voyage to the Muddy Gulf and a
survey of the isthmus would have been accomplished.
Professor Nordenskiold, who was a few weeks in
advance of Captain Wiggins, fortunately escaped
the gales, and passed into the Kara Sea about the
time that the JVImn put in to Vardoe.

Nevertheless, the voyage was not without dis-
tinct gain. The Captain's introduction to Admiral
GlassenofF led to his becoming associated with
prominent merchants in St. Petersburg, and his
obtaining the support of the Russian Government,
and ultimately of the Czar himself.

IV.] MICHAEL SIDOROFF 69

It was now the intention of the Captain to
prepare for another voyage, with the support of
either Enghsh or Russian merchants. The interest
shown in his projects by Admiral GlassenofF led
him to apply without delay in the latter direction.
As soon as he arrived in England he began a
correspondence with M. Michael SidorofF, one of
the few Russian merchants who, at that time, were
really in earnest on the question of developing the
resources of Siberia by means of the ocean route.
The following extracts from the Captain's letters
exhibit, not only his enthusiasm on the subject,
but also his various plans, carefully considered and
worked out in his mind, for transforming Arctic
waters into a new liighway of commerce.

In a letter to M. SidorofF, dated October 19,
1875, he expresses his thanks for a gift of maps of
the northern seas and rivers, and goes on to say :
" It is a very great pity I did not find you out
earlier. Had I known there was such a person as
you in St Petersburg, I should not have started for
the Obi last year (in the Diana) without making
arrangements with you; and had I then yoursplendid
map, no earthly power would \\B\e persuaded me
to return without first making a run up the Yenesei.
If I had been aware that steamers ran do^vn the
Obi as far as Obdorsk, I should certainly have crossed
the isthmus at the head of the Karskoi Bay, or
Muddy Gulf, as it is called by the Norwegians. . . .
" I should certainly have proceeded to the
Gulf this voyage (in the Whim), had I not been

70 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

intercepted by Admiral Glassenoff. I note that
you do not hold out much hope that the naviga-
tion of the Gulf is as easy as I anticipate ; but
you do not say why."

He goes on to suggest that the survey of the
Gulf and the Isthmus should be carried out at
once, and then makes a definite offer of service.
" If you will undertake to have a small cargo of
graphite ready, or other valuable merchandise, say
grain or furs, I feel sure I could persuade gentlemen
here to send out a steamer, to take it from the head
of the Gulf, or perhaps from Obdorsk itself, provid-
ing you could see your way to renew your offer of
1862, or to continue the offer of a reward of £2,000.
" You will wonder why I am so much in favour
of this route after what you have told me of the
project of joining the Petchora and the Obi by a
railway. My reason is this — it will be exceedingly
difficult to persuade speculators to try by the
Petchora, seeing that the entrance is so shallow and
dangerous to navigate, and the insurance difficult
to get done in England, owing to the loss of so
many vessels. On the other hand, the entrance to
the Waigats Straits is deep, and some twenty- five
miles wide, and the ice is cleared from the south
shore of Samoyede Land right up to the Mudd/
Gulf by July."

He then points out some of the essential condi-
tions for forming a Company in England to send
out an expedition. " I note that you do not think
it would be of any use if I read a paper before the

IV.] OBJECTS OF A NEW EXPEDITION 71

Imperial Geographical Society. But you must bear
in mind that we do not want money ; my object
would be to create interest in the Government
in order to obtain concessions for an English
Company, or for myself, to trade to the Obi and
the Yenesei via the Waigats and Pet Straits and
Muddy Gulf, and to be permitted to have Waigats
Island as a depot, if we should find it necessary ;
also to be allowed to raise landing-stages and depots
at the head of Muddy Gulf, or to construct harbours.
With a concession something like this, a powerful
Company could easily be got together, but without
it I fear nothing could be done.

" Our merchants and others could be persuaded
to trade via the Petchora only by proving to them
that the isthmus at the head of the Muddy Gulf
was not practicable. If you have not sufficient
information on the subject, I shall have great
pleasure in accompanying you overland, from St.
Petersburg or Archangel, to the Isthmus, or even
to bring out a small shallow steamer, via the
Waigats Straits, if you could see your way to
accompany me, and to share the expense. Should
you be unable to fall in with either of these pro-
posals, perhaps you can offer a small cargo of
graphite at Obdorsk, as I have already suggested.

" I enclose Admiral GlassenofF's letter of intro-
duction, as I hardly expect to have the pleasure
of seeing you for some time to come. I know
not what it contains, being unable either to read
or to speak your language, but I intend to learn

72 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

it as soon as possible. It was the Admiral who
advised me to read a paper (or, rather, to have one
read for me) before your Geographical Society, and
he offers me an introduction to his brother, who,
it seems, is Marine Minister to the Emperor.

"You allude to the good Sir Roderick
Murchison. Had he been living now, I should
be able to create some interest in our Geographical
Society. They do not value this great question,
as I have letters to prove. The enclosed Report
(of the voyage of the Diana) is a copy of what
I sent to them and to the Admiralty, when I
asked for the loan of instruments for surveying
purposes, etc. They replied that they did not
consider the matter of such importance as to
warrant them to lend any. One might well ask.
What has our Geographical Society come to ? ^

" I fear I can hardly manage to come to St.
Petersburg just now, in response to your kind
invitation, for I am engaged to deliver lectures
on my voyages, and by this means I hope to
arouse interest in merchants and others, with the
view of getting a good Company formed. Will
you kindly let me know, by wire or letter,
whether you think the Government would grant
concessions. . . .

1 It may be mentioned here that the Captain's application to the
Meteorological Office, before starting on his voyage in the Thames in
1876j met with a different result. The Committee much appreciated
the meteorological register kept on board the Diana. "We shall be
delighted/' to quote from Mr Robert H. Scott's letter, "to let you
have instruments."

n',] NORDENSKIOLD'S SUCCESS 73

" Please give my best greetings to Professor
Nordenskiold when he arrives in St. Petersburg,
and tell him I rejoice heartily, and warmly con-
gratulate him on being the first European to
make the round from the Kara Sea to Siberia and
St. Petersburg. Tell him also that he must now
try for Behring Strait, the grand Lena, and even
the Pole itself by this favourable route of the Kara
Sea. I proved by temperature and density obser-
vations of the water in Waigats Straits that the
Gulf Stream, which turns round the North Cape to
the eastward, continues to flow into those Straits,
and at a rapid rate. The warm waters of your
mighty Obi, Yenesei, I^ena, etc., will soon do the
rest, and enable a good steamer to pass along the
coast with ease to Behring Strait.^ AVould that I
had a commission from your Government to do
this easy task ! "

Several letters to the same correspondent
followed during October and November, contain-
ing further suggestions for plans of co-operation
with the merchants. The Captain had been urged
again and again by M. SidorofF to go to St.
Petersburg, and it was doubtless his diffidence, in
a measure, that prevented him from accepting the
invitation. Although, as the pioneer of the new
route, he deserved even more applause than the

^ This was the route taken by the Swedish expedition, under
Professor Nordenskiold in 1878. Sailing from Carlskrona on Julj' 4,
it proceeded across the Kara Sea, round the North-East CJape and the
East Cape to Behring Strait^ and thence to Yokohama, where it arrived
on September 2.

74 YARMOUTH CUITER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

Professor, yet he — " a humble mariner," as he some-
times styled himself — was reluctant to appear to
come into competition with the man to whom he
had offered himself as a free-service volunteer in
the Professor's Polar expedition of 1872.

Nordenskiold arrived in St. Petersburg to-
wards the end of October. On November 1 the
Captain addressed the following letter to him. It
is inserted mainly because it vividly reflects the
writer's generous spirit — a spirit free from the
slightest taint of petty jealousy or rivalry.

"My Dear Sir, — Permit me to congratulate
you on your success in ascending the mighty
Yenesei. My only desire now is that your
success may not be allowed to die out in the
minds of Russian merchants, and especially with
the Russian Government, and that very soon we
may see not only this river, but also the Obi, the
Lena, and the Indigirka — as well as a high road
right through to Behring Strait via the North-
East Cape — opened up to commercial enterprise.

" I note that, like myself last year, you found
the ice well to the northward. It only requires
time and a few south winds to drive it northward.
Then a good steamer could proceed onwards.
May you hve to undertake such a grand work,
which is far beyond the question of the Pole itself,
that is to say, in real value to mankind. . . .

" I find you had the sea inside the Straits much
freer from ice than I had. This was owing to the
north-east winds driving it all over to the western

IV.] LETTER TO NORDENSKIOLD 75

shores, which was what we wanted last year, but
the winds prevailed from the west the whole
summer. Still, when we were off the mouths of
the Obi and the Yenesei, from August 5 to 20,
we found all open water to the northward. I
could have run on any distance ; had I been
prepared to winter, I would have done so. I
could not afford to keep out so large a vessel and
the crew over a winter, and therefore it would have
been imprudent of me to attempt more than I did.

" I note that you have taken temperatures of
water and air. It will be interesting to compare
mine with yours, although I gave up the deep-sea
temperatures, because the present self-registering
thermometers are of no use for that purpose. I
hope the thermometer which you have overcame
all difficulties.

" M. Sidoroff is anxious for me to come and
meet you at St. Petersburg ; but, having to give
several lectures here and at other places, I cannot
come yet. 1 shall no doubt do more good by
working at home.

" I am most anxious to hear in what condition
you found the river when getting well up. Should
you have time to drop me a line with a short
account of your experience, I shall deem it a great
personal favour. Meanwhile believe me to be a
sincere admirer of your present praiseworthy
success, and an earnest well-wisher for your future
undertakings. — Sincerely yours,

" Joseph Wiggins."

76 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

Writing to M. SidorofF on November 8, the
Captain again alludes to the proposed meeting
with the Professor, and makes clear what had
yet to be done to demonstrate the utility of the
ocean route to Siberia.

" On the whole, it is as well for me not to be
with him just now, for he has earned his laurels by
himself, and if I have been the means of his going
to the river, I shall be well content. All I hope is,
that you and your fellow-merchants will bear in
mind that it is not yet demonstrated that a cargo
can he brought home. After all, the greatest thing
to do will be to take a vessel to and from, and bring
a cargo; this has never yet been accomplished.
Nevertheless, I believe it to be an easy task, and
should be glad to be engaged to bring one for you,
or for your fellow-merchants, providing I cannot
create sufficient interest in this country for effect-
ing the same object."

Yielding at last to M. Sidoroff's persuasions,
which came in telegi-ams as well as in letters, the
Captain went to St. Petersburg. Unfortunately,
there seems to be no record in existence of the
interviews between the renowned Professor and
the " humble mariner." It would be interesting
to have their impressions of each other.

A dinner was given in honour of the explorers.
Captain Wiggins made a speech, in which he
asserted that, guided by his own experience, there
was no difficulty in navigating the Kara Sea in
the summer season. This remark created an

IV.] NORDENSKIOLD'S REPLY 77

impression that he was attempting to minimise
the Professor's exploit. He hastened to assure
Nordenskiold, who by that time had gone home
to Sweden, that he was innocent of any such
intention. In a few days the following friendly
reply was received by the Captain.

" Stockholm,
December 3, 1875.

" My Dear Sir, — IVIany thanks for your letter
of November 26. I am glad to be able to assure
you that I regarded your statement at the dinner
on the 22nd — tliat it was easy to navigate the Kara
Sea — as the best compliment you could give our
expedition, and I am astonished to hear that these
words could give rise to misunderstanding.

"Thanking you for the cordial and hearty
manner with which you met me at Petersburg,
and for the pretty words you say about me in
your lecture. — I remain. Sir, yours most truly,

" A. E. Nordenskiold."

The story of the next three or four months
of the Captain's experience was one of cheerful
prospects, exuberant expectations, and hopes baffled
and defeated. It is needless to go into the details
of this first St. Petersburg interlude ; a short
summary will suffice.

The Captain conferred with M. Sidoroff and
other merchants, addressed large audiences of com-
mercial and naval men, to whom he set forth his

78 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

plans. At length, the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Commerce and Industry, and the Society
for the Encouragement of Naval Communications
undertook to supply means for an expedition of a
scientific character, and the Captain was expressly
commissioned to return to England to obtain two
suitable steamers.

On reaching home, he went up and down
the country, visiting the chief ports of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, in search of the desired
vessels. Towards the end of January 1876, he
reported to St. Petersburg that he had found at
Liverpool a suitable vessel for exploring the Obi,
and that it could be bought for about £2,000.
He suggested that it would be preferable to
build, rather than to buy, a second ship. It
could be built and got ready for sea by the
following May.

He waited in vain for an authorisation, with a
remittance, for the purchase of the ship at Liver-
pool, and for instructions about the second vessel.
Then it came to his ears that some of the
merchants were withdrawing from their compact,
and were asking one another — If we pay for an
expedition, why should we employ an Englishman
to lead it?

The leadership was not of the Captain's seeking.
In his first address to the merchants, he urged that
an expedition should be organised, with a Russian
naval officer as leader. He offered to advise,
but made no suggestion that he should even

IV.] DISAPPOINTMENT 79

accompany the expedition. The proposal to take
the command came entirely from the merchants
themselves. On his departure from St Petersburg,
the question was warmly discussed in meetings of
the merchants, as well as by the Press. One
newspaper vigorously opposed the appointment of
an Englishman, whilst another, maintaining the
opposite view, urged that if Russia had not got
any "Wigginses" to the fore, she had better use
an English one. One of the leading merchants,
speaking in favour of such an appointment,
asserted that it was " idle to talk of the nation-
ahty of discoverers and inventors ; their triumphs
were the property of the whole world."

It was not until April that the merchants
sent any full and definite communication to the
Captain. He then found that the promised sub-
scriptions were ridiculously inadequate for an
expedition on the large scale which the merchants
had contemplated. This fact, coupled with the
intention of the merchants to give him simply
the position of pilot, and to appoint a naval
officer to the chief command, quickly settled the
matter. He decided to have nothing more to
do with the affair. Thus ended the first St.
Petersburg interlude. High hopes built on fair
promises disappeared in a day.

The captain was still owner, or part-owner, of
two or three small trading-vessels, which, since
the beginning of his Siberian work, had lost more

80 YARMOUTH CUTTER'S ADVENTURES [chap.

than they had earned. One of them, the Loi'd
Raglan, was docked at Havre for repairs, and
here the Captain spent some five or six weeks
in February and March, supervising operations,
and working hard himself. " I never worked
harder," he wrote, "nor was I ever so dirty,
from morn till night." A few weeks before the
merchants' long-delayed communication reached
him, he had received private information from
St. Petersburg, which led him to conclude that
the Russian proposals would come to nothing.
He then seriously meditated abandoning, at least
for a time, his projects in the northern seas, and
taking a few voyages to South America in the
Lord Raglan, with the view of replacing, in part,
the large sum which he had spent on the voyages
of the Diana and the Whim.

He writes, in a letter to Admiral Glassenoff,
" Having spent all my means in the Siberian
work, and the Societies having apparently failed
me, I am compelled to go to sea and work for
money. In thus retiring from an enterprise
upon which I had set my whole heart, and have
risked my all, my only desire and hope is to see
operations carried on by others in a vigorous
manner. To any who will do this I would
willingly contribute my best advice, and all in-
formation I possess regarding my late voyages ;
for it is not a question with me who goes, or who
does the work, but, rather, that the work is being

IV.] A FIT OF DEPRESSION 81

carried on. Others may then take the honour
of it — that is but an empty reward. Still,
there are those who value it, and they are
welcome to it."

But the Captain was not to retire for years to
come, and the little Lo7^d Raglan was destined
to sail to South America without her owner.

CHAPTER V

VOYAGE OF THE THAMES

Relative values of "mustard" and "beef" — The Captain
buoyant again — Mr Charles L. W. Gardiner — Funds
for another voyage — Purchase of the Thames — Objects
of the voyage — Exploits of the Glozozvorm — Tribute to
Sir Hugh Willoughby, Chancellor, and Pet — Offer of
reward by M. Sibiriakoff — Dazzling sight at Nova
Zembla — Survey of Lutke Island and Muddy Gulf — A
visit from natives — A short cut to the Obi — " Dodging
about " — Rattling down the Yalmal coast — Blowing a
" sneezer " — Trying to enter the Kara River — A family
of Samoyedes — At White Island — A " council of war "
— In the Yenesei — Difficulties of progress — Driftwood
centuries old — In a deserted village — Looking for the
promised cargo — At Sverevo — Overreaching natives —
Work for the steam-launch — Nearly blown up — Arrival
at Kureika — Captain Schwanenberg and his cargo —
Farewell to the crew of the Thames — Off to Europe by
sledge.

On reaching home again, the Captain was greeted

with many expressions of sympathy from men of

wealth and influence. " But sympathy without

help," as he once said to a correspondent, " is what

mustard is to beef — a mere condiment — useful in
82

j^-j2£'

MR rHARLKS I.. W. (JARDINER.

\Tofaci: p. 83.

CHAP, v.] CHARLES L. W. GARDINER 83

its way, but not real food. It's the beef, otherwise
help, that, after all, must do the work."

But, in spite of the " mustard " being so con-
spicuously out of proportion to the "beef," the
Captain's spirits seem to have regained their normal
buoyancy on his arrival home. The cloud of
depression was evidently left at Havre with the
Lord Raglan.

His prospects brightened, mainly through the
encouragement and efforts of an attached and
admiring friend. This was INIr Charles L. W.
Gardiner, an enthusiastic yachtsman, and one who
rightly estimated the Captain's pluck, and the
importance of the objects which he had in view
in endeavouring to open the northern highway
to and from the Siberian rivers. Early in the
year (1876) Mr Gardiner had offered him £1,000
towards the expense of another expedition. When
the Russian commission was entrusted to him, the
Captain set aside the idea of an English expedi-
tion, carried out on his sole responsibility. Mr
Gardiner now renewed his offer, and did more
than this. He communicated with M. Sibiriakoff,
a wealthy merchant, urging him to transfer to the
Captain the contribution of £1,000, which he had
promised to the St. Petersburg Societies for the
Russian " Wiggins Expedition." The merchant
gladly responded, and sent his contribution to
London, to the care of the Editor of the Times.

With these funds, and a few small additional
gifts, the way for another voyage to the Kara Sea

84 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

was made clear financially. Thus encouraged and
helped, the Captain prepared for his third venture.
He bought the screw-steamer Thames^ 120 tons
register, formerly a clipper schooner, belonging to
Berwick. In some respects she was not at all
suitable for the task before her, but was the best
craft procurable with the funds at the Captain's
disposal. He set to work to strengthen her and to
remedy defects, as far as it was possible to do so.
In a short time she was double-planked with thick
elm, and her bows and helm were cased with iron.

A steam-launch was put on board, to enable
Wiggins to run up creeks and shallow rivers easily.
She carried a crew of nine, including the master,
and was provisioned for six months. A large
quantity of sample goods, eagerly supplied by
Sunderland merchants, was placed on board, for
the purpose of influencing business amongst
traders on the banks of the rivers.

The Captain's design was to resume his survey
of the Muddy Gulf and the Yalmal Peninsula,
to survey the Gulf of the Obi, to enter that
river, and to run up the Yenesei — a programme
daring in its comprehensiveness, seeing that it
had to be carried out within the space of about
two months. He also intended to bring home a \
cargo of graphite and other goods, which M. d
Sidoroif undertook to have ready for him in a
vessel somewhere near the mouth of the Yenesei.
The proceeds of the sale of the cargo were to be
shared equally by the Captain and the merchant.

v.] AT VARDOE 85

The Thavies left Sunderland on July 8, 1876,
flying the blue flag of the Royal London Yacht
Club, of which the Captain was a member. She
had a hard passage to Norway. Gale after gale
knocked her about, and, after reaching Hammer-
fest, two days were occupied in making all right
again. At this place the Captain heard of Mr
Gardiner. He had called, in his splendid Polar
yacht, the Glowwo7^m^ about a month earlier, on
his way to the Kara Sea for a sporting expedition.
He succeeded in entering the Kara Sea, via the
Matochkin Straits. He then sailed northwards
to the vicinity of Barentz' winter quarters in the
sixteenth century, and recovered many interesting
relics connected with that expedition. Sailing
south, he passed along the Yalmal coast, nearly
touched White Island, and returned home by the
Pet Straits. He gave the relics to the Dutch
Government, and they were placed in the JNIuseum
at Amsterdam, where they now are. The King
of the Netherlands presented Mr Gardiner with a
handsome gold medal, in recognition of his services.

Leaving Hammerfest on July 24, the Thames
put into Vardoe, two days later, for letters. The
Captain, in his Journal, gives vent to his feelings
as he enters Vardoe — "the ancient rendezvous of
the grand old discoverers, Sir Hugh Willoughby,
Chancellor, Pet, and many others, who were wont
to meet here, and refit their crazy crafts, and
arrange matters for their coming struggles. One
feels not only a great admiration for such an

86 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

old place, but even a deep respect, amounting
to reverence, on reflecting that it was here our
forefathers came who discovered Archangel and
the isles of the eastern seas — men who sacrificed
their lives in the glorious work of discovery, to
benefit their fellow-men."

Before leaving Vardoe, the Captain received
a telegram from M. Sibiriakoff, offering a reward
of 3,000 roubles should he enter the mouth of the
Obi and reach Obdorsk.

On July 26 the Thames "started for good,"
with her head to the east. At 4 a.m., on
July 31, "we sighted, in the most magnificent
manner, the shores of Nova Zembla. We
suddenly emerged from a thick fog into the
clearest of atmospheres, and beheld before us,
right ahead, a most dazzling sight of splendid
mountain scenery, raised, by the refraction of the
sun's rays, far beyond its actual height — the golden
sun, in all his glory, filling up the background, and
gilding hhe snow-crowned tops. The boisterous
weather, and the ship jumping and diving, made
us all seem to revel in life. We stood close into
the shore, and then had to tack off, the wind
being ahead, and no convenient anchorage near.
So we are now, at 6 p.m., beating about in a
heavy sea and wind, and time is flying fast —
but, patience — I must leave it all to Him who
alone ordereth all things well."

The Journal is not resumed until August 15,
and then we learn that on entering the Waigats

v.] LUTKE» ISLAND 87

Straits no ice was to be seen, but on coming up
with the Yalmal coast, the Captain found it " one
mass of heavy pack-ice, quite as heavy as when
we were here in June with the Diana. This
at once convinced me that no Obi or Yenesei
would be reached this year until at least late in
September, if then.

" I therefore made use of my time in surveying
Lutke Island and the Muddy Gulf, or more properly
Baidarata Bay, hoping to find the river that leads
across the Isthmus of Yalmal to the Obi, but
we have not yet succeeded. We found the top of
the Gulf too full of sand-banks, or rather mud-
banks, so that even the screw-launch could not float
up it, and a heavy gale from westward forced us to
give up further search and come away. At Lutke
Island, where the river is said to be by Admiral
Lutke, we found the same thing. A gale came
on there, and forced us to retreat, and we are now
on our way back, with hopes of being able to finish
it during the fine weather that is now continuing.
We lay there the Sunday before last, and had an
enjoyable day, and at last hoisted the Bethel Flag in
the Kara Sea. It was a lovely, warm, sunny day,
and we had a nice meeting in the little cabin, and,
indeed, have had several on the passage out. We
were visited by three natives the previous after-
noon, as we were steaming in, and they enjoyed
the visit much, the flres in the engine-room, the
engine at work, etc. Their momentary terror at
the steam- whistle, their enjoyment of a hearty tea
on deck ofi' biscuits, beef, and * chia ' in true eastern

88 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

style, their wonder at everything, and their pleasure
at trifling gifts, etc., remain to be described here-
after, as we are full of hard and earnest work.
Hands like horn, and so sore, for one finds our little
number of men (wilUng ones too) quite small enough,
and encouragement in the way of pull-hauling, and
watching in the crow's-nest, quite necessary.

" Yesterday we ran up to the ice again, to see
if there was any change in it since we were there a
week ago, and found it as hard and thick as ever.
We fell in with a Norwegian sloop, whose master
came on board. We had a long chat over coffee
and broiled ham, at the quiet, dusky midnight hour,
when, for the first time this season, we were
compelled to light a candle, to see our way clear
to do duty to the welcome meal. He has given
me some valuable news. It seems that about the
same time I was off Goose Land, he was, with
Mr Gardiner and Professor Nordenskiold, passing
through the Matochkin Straits, that divide Nova
Zembla. Now, I had a great mind to go through
them, being so near, but I felt sure, from the
accounts of the ice being so late in the White Sea,
and from north-east winds having prevailed all the
spring and summer, that the Kara Sea would be full
of ice, and therefore no passage across to Yenesei
or Obi ; so I preferred entering by the \A^aigats.
It seems probable that IVIr Gardiner has got through
and gone north to hunt, and that Nordenskiold
got through with the Norwegian Captain, and
then tried to steer across to the Yenesei, but heavy

v.] THE RIGHT WAY FOR COMMERCE 89

pack-ice soon stopped him. He and this Captain
(Berg, of the sloop Strummen) then came down the
inside shore of Nova Zembla southwards, and on
to where we have now met, and came to a stop
some eight days since. He thinks Nordenskiold has
gone back to the Yugor Straits and will lie there
for a week or so, and then try this coast again."

As a matter of fact, the Professor, on this his
second voyage to the Kara Sea, proceeded as far
as a village near Golchika, on the Y^enesei. He
was not able to ascend the river, and, leaving at the
village a small cargo of samples, started for home.
This cargo was taken up to Yeneseisk in the follow-
ing year by Kitmanov's steamer, the Nicolai.

" I am more than ever convinced," the Captain
continues, " as I have been from the very first, that
the right way for commerce will be by the isthmus,
or across the Yalmal land, into the Obi by the
ancient route of the Russians who traded three
hundred years or more ago ; but the point is to find
the river. To this end I shall now begin again to
survey the locahty between Lutke Island and the
Baidarata Bay. I am now again closing in with
Lutke Island, and should this weather continue,
hope to be at work with the screw-launch early to-
morrow. I must now to bed, to seize a few winks
before the coming night's work, that of getting the
ship into a good position. Regular hours of sleep
for the master is an unknown pleasure to us here.

"August 19. — Nothing more done at Lutke
Island yet. The wind having shifted, and bad

90 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

weather set in, we have been compelled to beat
about under close-reefed sails these last few days,
and what with wind, sea, and rain, things have
been the reverse of pleasant. The tedious part is
that we are losing such valuable time. The season
is so short, that unless we get a week or two of
calm weather, nothing can be done towards survey-
ing the shore. Certainly the weather is not what
may be called severe, still it is bad enough, with
moderate westerly winds, raising a swell which
prevents us landing, or working with the launch.

"As soon as I hove up from Lutke Island, I
tried to visit an encampment of Samoyedes that I
saw a few days ago on another part of the coast, but
the wind changed, and we had to leave the spot
without finding them. I wish much to get to
them, feeling convinced that it is from such people
that we must look for finding out the whereabouts
of the rivers that lead across to the Obi. I tried
the three natives who were on board, but they
seemed to know nothing about the Obi. The
Captain of the sealing sloop told me, however, that
he had six natives on board, who knew all about the
rivers, and that in 1874 he saw some who said they
came from close to Obdorsk. If this is really the
case, then there must still be a road for boats, for
they were in two large boats, fitted up for walrus-
and seal-fishing. It is surely impossible that they
ever came down the Gulf and round by White
Island, especially as that year was a close one,
from the ice on the coast, and nothing less than a

v.] WAITING FOR THE WEATHER 91

steamer, such as the Diana, could have got through
it so far.

" We are still dodging off I^utke Island, hoping
that fine weather may soon permit of our landing
and examining the channels. At present there
seems little hope of a change for the better. The
wind has settled into a wet quarter to the southward,
so I fear we must have patience and wait. Should
it continue much longer, I shall be obliged to make
use of the time in going again to the ice to see if
it has changed. No doubt another month will
bring about the desired change, when the north-
east winds set in ; but then it is too late for us to
try the Obi, as we are not provisioned for wintering,
nor have we winter clothing for the men. I fear
nothing will ever be done to find a passage, except
by a party well equipped with reindeer sledges, etc.,
landing on these shores early in summer, and work-
ing their way all round by the coast-line, and so
ferreting out every river there may be on this side,
and with a steam-launch, or boats, tracing the most
likely ones to their source inland. If I could get
hold of a lot of natives, there would still be time
for me to do much of this yet. But without their
help for sledging and rein-deer, it would be madness
to attempt the inland exploration.

"August 20. — Since writing the above a great
change has taken place, for a breeze set in from
the south-east, and off we set to seek, first, the
camp on the south Yalmal coast, and found it
had left, thence round a headland to seek for the

92 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

river ; but shoal-water once more shut us out.
Thence to Lutke Island, to try if there is an
entrance at the north end. Shoal -water again
prevented our doing anything. And now (3 p.m.)
we are rattling away down the coast with a north-
east wind, which, I fear, will not permit us reaching
the ice before it gets into the north. I want to
have another look at the ice, and should it be
tight on the land, I fear we must give it up for
this year. A few hours of this wind will tell. I
hope it may stand good.

"August 21. — To the northward the ice-
blink is of great expanse, showing that the sea is
comparatively full of ice to the northward of
about parallel 70° N.

" 8 P.M. — Blowing a hard norther, or, as sailors
vulgarly call it, a ' sneezer ' — coming as it does
from the ice, and now being close up to it, in
fact amongst it, makes it cold, very cold, for
our poor 'Jacks.' Now they begin to feel and
to have a small idea of what a winter here must
be like, when in summer it is so stinging. We
are now lying hove - to under close - reefed sails,
awaiting the result of this gale. It may set
the ice off the east shore, but I fear it is too
northerly to do so. In that case, as soon as the
weather clears up and moderates, I shall go down
to the south shore and examine it as well as I
can, and try to find a harbour there. I hear from
Captain Berg, the Norwegian, that the Kara River
has an entrance of three fathoms deep. If so,

v.] THE KARA RIVER 93

doubtless it would make a good port for ships to
lie in whilst loading."

The weather turning fine, the Captain took his
ship down to the Kara River, to see if, with a
good entrance and harbour, it could be made a
centre of trade.

" We came to anchor on the 24th, and set to
work with the steam-launch. As we were about
to start, a native boat came off, with three men
and a boy as crew. They had been fishing all
night, and had a grand stock of salmon and trout.
They at once tossed on board about two dozen
splendid fish, but seemed shy of coming themselves.
Finally, however, after giving them biscuits, etc.
(they would not eat meat), they plucked up
courage and came. Of course they were astonished
at all they saw, and gave us to understand that
the ship could get into the ' Kara Tom ' as they
called it. So the mate went ahead of the ship
with the launch, but had not gone far before the
water shoaled, and we had to anchor. He then
spent all the morning trying, with the natives, to
find a passage in, but all to no purpose, there
being hardly water for the launch. In the after-
noon I took the launch, and succeeded in finding
a passage of about ten feet into the entrance of
the river on the south side, but we could not get
far in. On shore was a Samoyedes' tent, so I
landed, hoping that the owners might be able to
convey me across the isthmus to Obdorsk ; but on
getting to them I found they knew nothing about

94 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

that part, but traversed the Kara River up to the
Fetch ora. The family consisted of father, mother,
son and his wife, and two bricks of children — boys
about eleven years old — such sturdy little chaps !
They wanted to barter skins, dresses, etc., for my
sea-boots, but these could not be spared. I gave
them a red silk pocket-handkerchief for some fish
they had given us, and at once the mother put it
on her head in true eastern fashion, at the same
time letting down her braided hair, which was
tightly tied with red flannel thongs — and well the
dame looked. We made them understand that
we had a ship outside, and could give them things
if they would come off! They demurred, and
pointed to the western sky, which signified there
was bad weather at hand. We were of the same
opinion, so bade them farewell, and set off" for the
ship, arriving on board about 8 p.m.

" It is very tantalising that a ship cannot enter
this fine sheet of water extending some twenty
miles in circumference — quite a lake. We could
see the water and an island, but could not get
to it. From this lake the Kara River runs south
some eighty miles, and joins the Fetchora by a
small lake, so that easy communication can be
held even with Moscow, by taking the route
which Count Wilczec took from the mouth of
the Fetchora.

"We had not been long on board, when off*
came the family, minus only the son's wife. The
little bricks were pulling at the oars, and the old

v.] NATIVE VISITORS 95

lady had on her best dress and another gay hand-
kerchief on her head, showing that they, somehow,
barter with the Russians. In my handkerchief she
had a splendid lot of ground berries like raspberries,
and these she at once gave to me. They soon
commenced exchanging ; two puppies, skins, bird-
skins, boots, hoods, etc., for which we gave them
salt, rye meal, knives, needles, and red cloth,
with which the lady was delighted, showing us
how she meant to use it in decorating skin dresses.
"This reception was just over, when another
lot came on board, from a much larger boat, full of
salmon nets — evidently come out for the night to
fish. They were the finest and largest set of men
I have seen. Indeed, most of them were giants,
over six feet, though some were youtlis of not
more than twenty, and so fat, sleek, and comely-
looking. They had much of the Russian type
depicted in their countenances, and some had
quite flaxen hair. They were astonished at every-
thing ; commenced to barter skins, etc., also two
foxes, one of which Miss Chang has this morning
settled. It is now fastened to her neck, and she
has to sleep with it for at least one night.
Probably this, with a reasonable chastisement at
the time, will have the right effect ; indeed, already
it must be so, for, strange to say, the other fox has
taken up its quarters close to her nose, probably
thinking the other is but sleeping, and Chang bears
it all, never daring even to look at fox No. 2."

Several days passed, during which a great deal

96 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

of hard work was done — re-surveying the mouth of
the Yurubei River, re-crossing the Gulf, surveying
the south shore, and examining an island, where a
good harbour was found. Then a favourable wind
sprang up, and the Thames steamed away north-
ward, reaching White Island on September 3,
the Captain's birthday and wedding-day. For
about a month the Thames had been toiling in
the Muddy Gulf, sailing or steaming up and
down, surveying the east shore and then the
south, crossing and re-crossing. Though full of
useful results, positive and negative, this month's
experience must have been monotonous to all
concerned.

The monotony was now at an end, and the real
excitement of the voyage was about to begin.
The Captain was in doubt. Should he return
home, or go on to the Obi or the Yenesei ? The
season was getting late, the nights were dark, gales
would probably be prevalent, and the cold of
winter was at hand. He was determined, not to
go forward without the hearty co-operation of his
crew. So he called a " council of war " in his
cabin, at which all hands attended.

" In a few words I put it to them whether we
should proceed or not. The wind was against us,
so we were losing no time by stopping the ship
here until it changed. Added to this, the engineer
informed me that some of our boiler tubes had got
so leaky that we could go no further till they were
caulked. To attempt to stem the currents, which

v.] THE CREW TO DECIDE 97

would be against us after rounding this island,
without steam and with a head wind would have
been folly. It was most annoying to be stopped
at such an important juncture — but patience must
have her perfect work.

" I told the crew about the 3000 roubles offered
by Mr Sibiriakoff for our getting to Obdorsk, and
that it was my intention from the first to give them
a thousand amongst them, as a reward, should we
succeed. I also showed them the temptation of
at least trying the Yenesei without such a reward.
I showed them that in all probability — nay, for a
certainty — we must winter there or at the Obi.
I gave them until this evening to consider the
question well. They will give me their answer at
7 P.M., when we shall be all mustered in the cabin.
I felt it to be my duty to consult the wishes of
such a willing crew. The risks that must be run
to survey the Gulf of the Obi, and the hardships
to be endured, may perhaps be very great. As it
is, we have had plenty of hard work. In proof of
which statement I am not ashamed to show the
palms of my hands, and this is the reason that I
have not kept a better Journal. What with watch-
ing in the crow's-nest, much heaving of the lead,
being mis-timed, and constantly on the severe
watch, the brain racked with deep anxiety — all
this makes a regular Journal impossible."

There is no further entry in the Journal until
September 26, by which date he had worked his
way up the Yenesei as far as the BrekhofFsky

98 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

Islands. On that day we find this important
announcement :

" In the mighty Yenesei. Riding at anchor
under the islands. Latitude 70° 30^ N. A hard
gale compelled us to bring up on Sunday after-
noon. This is indeed a great change of time
and place since my last entry, and I must now
briefly relate what has taken place.

" My crew, with the exception of one or two
only, decided that it would be our duty to see
what the Obi was like, and, if possible, ascend it ;
if not possible, then to try the Yenesei, should
circumstances prove favourable.

" As soon as the boiler was put in order, away
we went. The wind dead against us, we steamed
and steamed, and anchored when the current was
too strong ; and thus we battled away several days,
the head-wind increasing. At last, after getting
nearly as far as we got in the Diana, and finding
the current stronger, and no prospect of the wind
subsiding for many days, I decided to run for the
Yenesei. We therefore stood across the Gulf, and
kept towards the east land. We soon came upon
an island not on the chart. Then we got into
difficulties through finding the land not the same
as the chart, and had to anchor for the night.
After this we succeeded in running along the ill-
delineated land, and, through thick fog, rain, and
a whole gale from the south, pressed onwards.

*' At last we found ourselves completely land-
locked, and obliged to anchor amongst low sandy

v.] AMONG DANGERS 99

islands, shoals, and promontories. The weather
being so thick, we could not get our position by
sun, moon, or stars, and so two days passed in this
most dangerous locality. Then we got out, and,
at about 8 p.m. on the 9th, we made out the
islands and high mainland on the left-hand shore
of the Yenesei Gulf, where Nordenskiold has
placed Dickson's Haven. Next day (Sunday) it
came on a whole gale from the west, with snow,
sleet, and frost. A tremendous sea obliged us to
heave-to, instead of running for the river. To
have done the latter would have been madness,
not knowing how soon we might be thrown upon
a shoal or treacherous sand-bank.

" At 4 P.M. we found that we were fast closing
in with the islands, which appeared high, wild, and
rocky, with high and mountainous land in the
background — what may be termed a magnificent-
looking land, without a particle of snow upon it
except on the highest peaks. What a glorious
land for the bear, the reindeer, the wolf, etc. ! On
nearing the islands, we found to our surprise that
the vessel would easily manage to fetch to wind-
ward sufficiently for obtaining shelter under one
of them, should there be a good depth of water.
The risk was great to run amongst such a lot of
rocky, iron-bound islands ; but, then, keeping the
sea, under such serious circumstances, was also a
great, if not the greatest risk, for the waves were
now running mountains high — rain, fog, and sleet
prevailing, with every sign of this heavy gale

100 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

increasing to a hurricane during the long night
that was now fast coming on.

" The ship, under these trials, though behaving
admirably, like a perfect little life-vessel, was still
liable to be driven among still greater dangers
before daylight, should shoals abound to leeward.
With no chart to guide us as to the probabilities
or otherwise of such dangers, and with our late
experiences vividly before us, we decided, if
possible, to gain shelter under the lee of one of
the islands. At 6 p.m. we were close in under a
small island, and, under steam, soon succeeded in
smoothing our water, and ultimately anchored in
eight fathoms on a muddy or clay bottom, close to
the shore, a deep little cove with a sandy beach
being right ahead of the vessel. Here we had
shelter from W.S.W. round to the northward and
eastward, with every appearance of being able even
to enter the little cove, but the wild state of the
elements, and darkness coming on, prevented us
attempting this. At midnight we were compelled
to let go both anchors and for two days continued
riding out this terrific gale.

" Our ship had hard work to accomphsh it
safely, although moored not more than a cable's
length from the rocks, which were a providential
protection to us. The weather during the day
(September 14) was more moderate, and we
decided to haul the ship into the cove, and ballast
her if possible, for the coals were now fast dis-
appearing, and ballast must be obtained to make

v.] BALLAST COVE 101

her safe. During the mornmg we landed, and
found that the cove was deep and wide enough
for the ship to lie safely in whilst the wind
remained in the same quarter — that is, from N.W.
With our powerful steam- winch we soon weighed
anchor, and steamed into the cove, and all hands,
Skipper included, set to work immediately to load
the boats with the fine large stones from the beach.
By 5 p.iNi. the ship was well ballasted, and in a safe
condition to battle with the wintry storms once
more.

" This little cove is a fine harbour, with shelter
from the south, round by the west to the north
and east and E.S.E. It is nearly land-locked.
The island is about two miles long, by one broad,
having another cove on the west side, dkectly
opposite to this one. On the north-east side it
is very irregular, and apparently connected by
shoals to the next inlying island, which is much
larger. As viewed from the highest point, some
350 feet, there seemed to be an immense group
of large, bold islands, stretching far away along
the coast towards the Yenesei. There must be
many splendid anchorages amongst them, and any
amount of game, for on this small island we saw
large deer, but had no time to pursue them. I
tried a long shot at a splendid large fellow. He
was so unaccustomed to the gun that he actually
stood still and looked towards the place where
the sound came from, and continued thus until
no fewer than five shots had been fired. But he

102 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

was too far off, and as there was no possibility of
our getting nearer without being seen, we gave
it up, and exhibited ourselves to the astonished
gaze of the splendid creature. We had been
hidden by a projecting rock. As soon as he
saw us, away he bounded in a trice up the
cliffs and over the island to the opposite shore.
He had with him his dam and a fine young
one.

" The driftwood on this island is something
wonderful. At the head of the two little coves
it lies piled, looking like high hills, and some
has evidently lain there for centuries. Well
may driftwood be found on the shores of Spitz-
bergen and East Greenland. I named the cove
' Ballast Cove,' in remembrance of our quick and
valuable ballasting here.

" At midnight, on the 14th, we were once more
under weigh, and, with all sails set and full steam,
we proceeded direct for the Yenesei. The clear
weather showed us island after island as we ran
past them, now partially covered with snow from
the effects of the late storm — many of them not
less than eight or ten miles long, with fine bays
and good-looking anchorages in them. As morning
dawned the breeze increased. On, on we sped, the
high, bold mainland leading far away on our port
or left hand, the water, now shoaling gradually
from fifteen fathoms in the offing to nine, and,
becoming very muddy, showed us that we were
approaching a large river. Still, the current was

v.] KRESTOWSKY 103

not so strong down as one would have expected
from such an immense river.

" On flew the Httle craft, like a bird let loose,
or, perhaps better, like a bird seeking shelter, for,
being now so late in the season, it would soon
become necessary either to bear up for home or to
seek refuge for the winter in the Yenesei. Should
Captain Schwanenberg have the graphite close
down to the mouth of the river, say at Krestowsky
or Golchika, there would be ample time to take
it in, and sail for home ; for at the rate we were
bowling along we should be in the river that night,
or early in the morning at furthest, and then in
two days we could take in all the cargo. We
also expected that the natives along the coast,
at least as far as Krestowsky, which we were now
fast approaching, would have been informed of the
expeditions of Nordenskiold and ourselves, and
probably instructed to look out for and assist us.

" At noon we were abreast of Krestowsky, but
saw no signs of life on the land, so shaped our
course up outside the island lying off that shore,
still keeping nine fathoms by the lead. As
we approached the island, we observed a pole
stuck up, and we thought this must surely mean
people on the look-out for us. Closing up with it,
we found no signs of life, but, instead, immense
heaps or hills of driftwood and timber. Some of
the largest trees I ever saw were heaped together
in the greatest confusion, far above high-water
mark, and some had evidently been lying there for

104 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

many years. One part of the island, where it is
very shallow and nearly divided into two, is en-
tirely made up of drift timber. Such a scene we
never before witnessed.

" 4 p.]\r. — Coming towards another island, with
several others in the offing, we suddenly shoaled
water to three and two fathoms. We hauled off,
and passed outside of it near to the others, which
were high and bold, soon deepening our water to
six fathoms. On we ran as fast as our steam and
sails could propel us, averaging some eight or nine
knots an hour. The weather, clear and beautiful,
showed us the high land, still reaching far away on
our left, and any one would have said now that we
were running along the high main shores of the
Mediterranean, and not entering the estuary of an
Arctic River. All was sunshine and very lovely,
only the distant hills covered with snow. The sun
shone powerfully. Thermometer 40° to 45° in the
shade, temperature of water the same.

" We came to anchor for the night close under
the high headland of Cape Schantsky, the weather
having changed to heavy showers of snow and
sleet, with light wind from south-west. At 4 a.m.
we were again under weigh. Steamed on towards
the mouth of the river, keeping five fathoms by the
lead. The sun soon appeared, and we made good
heading close to the shore. We sighted a village
ahead, at the point or entrance of the river itself —
probably Soposhnagorka, as laid down on Nordens-
kiold's chart. Soon we distinguished the wooden

v.] A DEAD VILLAGE 105

crosses above graves. At 9 a.m. were abreast of
the village, consisting of some six huts, built in the
Russian style. Immense piles of drift-wood on the
shore, but no signs of life.

" We thought that Captain Schwanenberg must
have been down with his vessel thus far, so decided
to land and examine the huts for records. ' He
may have been here,' we thought, ' and, giving us
up, have returned to Dudinka.' Soon we were
struggling over the immense drift-trees, some of
them monsters. We were surprised at times to
find ourselves suddenly sinking up to the waist,
through the rotten timber giving way. It must
have been there for centuries.

" At last we reached a hut, to find it roofless ;
probably it had not been inhabited for many years.
We slipped on to the others, and with the same
result. Outside were lying about large troughs,
made out of the drift-trees. Being soaked with oil,
they must have been used for seal-blubber. One hut
had been a boiling-house, but in a very primitive
fashion. The place was evidently a disused seal-
fishing station. We found no records, and soon
retraced our steps, passing some graves of most
peculiar construction. The place seemed well
adapted for a summer town, for loading and unload-
ing ships from Europe. It has a deep bay on the
south side, in which ships could ride at anchor, safe
from all winds that blow from the sea. Those that
blow from the river could not harm vessels, though
a heavy gale from the south might prevent work

106 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

from being carried on. To meet this difficulty,
a mole could easily be constructed to shelter
vessels and lighters. The date we landed here
was September 3 (Russian calendar). We took
away some trophies — a stool, an old grindstone,
and a two-bladed paddle for a canoe. ^ Query —
how many years had these things been lying there,
untouched by man?

" Steamed away up the river. Warm sunshine.
We hoped we should not go far without meeting
some one who could tell us of Captain Schwanen-
berg and the graphite cargo. If we came across
the ship within another day or two, there would
still be ample time to take the cargo on board, and
rattle away home with it.

" About two and a half hours' steaming brought
us to Sverevo, and, for the first time, we discovered
signs of life. We soon descried a man running
down to the beach, then another and another. They
hastily launched a boat, and were soon pulling with
might and main towards the ship. One was stand-
ing up, evidently anxious lest we should pass by
without seeing them. ' No fear ! old gentleman,'
we thought ; ' we want you more than you want
us, for you will doubtless be able to give us
information about our cargo.'

" They were alongside in a trice — two Samo-
yedes, and a Russian in a velvet suit. One of the
natives turned out to be a woman. On coming on
board they made their desire quite plain, namely,
to barter. But we found their prices too high, and

V.J CRAFTY NATIVES 107

were compelled to decline negotiations. Then we
began to interrogate them, in broken (very broken)
Russian, as to their knowledge of Schwanenberg,
graphite, etc. The only answer was a vacant, wide-
mouthed stare. Had they seen another ' parahkhot '
(steamer) go up before us ? ' Neyete, neyete ' (' No,
no '). Had they heard of Nordenskiold ? ' Neyete,
neyete.' Finding we could get nothing out of these
bad bargains, we soon cut the conversation short
by giving them some presents, and saying ' Prahsh-
chah'ite' ('Good-bye'). They jumped into their
crazy craft, and, after much bowing, paddled away
in great glee, probably arising from the fact that
they had not parted with a single article in return
for the presents. These were the first natives to
show an overreaching disposition. All those who
boarded us in the Kara Sea were most scrupulous
to make as good a return as they got.

"On we steamed. Evening soon closed in,
and a head - wind, springing up, compelled us
to anchor for the first time in the Yenesei River.
The first British flag that had ever flown on
this mighty river was hauled down at sunset.
We had hoisted it in the afternoon on perceiving
the natives.

"At daylight on September 18 we were at it
again, steaming against a fresh head-wind, which
ultimately veered three points to the south-west,
enabling us to set our fore and aft sails. Thus we
made fair headway against the current. But these
goodly prospects did not long continue. Just before

108 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

noon we suddenly shoaled to three fathoms, but
soon found deeper water.

" We went down to dinner with the hope
of keeping on, and thus soon reaching the islands
about twenty-five miles off, where natives are
known to exist, and hearing something about our
cargo and Captain Schwanenberg. But, alas ! we
had not sat down more than five minutes, when
we heard the cry of the leadsman, ' Three
fathoms.' We rushed on deck, to find the ship
in not more than two fathoms. Stopping, turning
astern, and putting ship about was the work of a
few moments. She had stirred up the mud with
her propeller. The crow's-nest had to be visited,
with the hope of picking out a road ; but, for
all we could do — going from side to side of the
river, not less than four miles broad there — it
was of no use. No more than three or two and
a half fathoms could be found. We decided to
anchor for the night, and hoist out the steam-
launch, hoping that in the morning the mate
might be able, with her, to guide the ship up.

" By breakfast-time (September 19) steam was
got up in the launch, ready for a start after the
meal. But misfortune still patronised us. The
second engineer, whose duty it was to go in the
launch, discovered, just as steam was fully up,
that he had forgotten something. Leaving mate,
carpenter, and an able seaman seated in the launch,
all ready to push off, he jumped on board and
dived into his cabin for what he wanted. Soon the

v.] "BUST!^' 109

steam began to roar from the safety-valve of the
little boiler. From 36 lbs. pressure, it was soon up
to 45 lbs. Then we heard shouts from the boat —
' I say, are you a-comin' afore this thing busts ? '
Then the mate, who considered himself quite equal
to the occasion, from his knowledge of engines,
made a dash at the safety-valve — 'to ease it,' as
he said. And, sure enough, he did ease it, for
with a touch off flew the top, and out rushed
the steam. Up the side of the ship flew the
carpenter and the A.B. Down into the stern
dropped the mate, to behold and to contemplate,
at a safe distance, the effects of his handiwork.
Down jumped the second engineer, just in time
to open furnace-doors and draw the fires, and thus
prevent further mischief.

" This job took us till late in the afternoon to
put right. At three o'clock all was again in readi-
ness, and off went the launch, with her gallant crew,
to search for a passage close in shore. Soon it
came on to snow so heavily that she was lost
sight of, and nothing more was seen of her until
her return at six o'clock."

With the aid of the launch a safe channel
was discovered, and the Thames sailed with ease
to Dudinka. Thence she proceeded, some 250
miles, to the entrance of a little tributary of the
Yenesei, named the Kureika, about 900 miles
from the mouth of the great river. She arrived
at the Kureika on October 18. Of course it was
too late in the season for the Captain to take his

110 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

ship home, even though a cargo had been ready.
He determined, therefore, to leave her at the
entrance to the Kureika until the breaking up
of the ice in the spring. He succeeded in placing
the Thames alongside the bank, and in two or
three days she was securely fastened to her posi-
tion by ice. The crew were then comfortably
housed on shore.

The Captain made an excursion, in a sledge,
drawn by reindeer, to a copper mine, some seventy
miles from Kureika village. On his return journey
he was overtaken by a blinding snowstorm. The
driver lost his way, and the reindeer were almost
exhausted with stumbling and slipping in the deep
snow. When matters were looking very serious,
one of the Dolgans, who inhabit this part of Siberia,
suddenly appeared, mounted on an elk. Quickly
divining the predicament of the travellers, he led
them to his large tent, a short distance away, where
a fire was burning, which lit up the faces of the
man's family, and of a number of other persons
who had taken refuge in the hospitable dwelling.
A kid was killed, and a thick soup made of portions
of it, whilst the Dolgan's wife brought forward a
copper kettle and brewed tea for all the company.
The order and decency prevailing compared favour-
ably with what might have been found in many
homes of English towns.

" The little children," says the Captain, " crept
from their warm fur sleeping-bags, climbed upon
my knees, and played quietly with the buttons on

v.] CAPTAIN SCHWANENBERG 111

my coat. After supper, the women industriously
applied themselves to embroidery and bead-work.
The older women strung the different- coloured
beads, whilst the girls festooned them gaily upon
the sleeves and breasts of the tunics worn by the
tribe. A warm and comfortable bed was made
up for me, and the next morning my host insisted
upon supplying me with fresh reindeer, out of his
herd of some five hundred, and driving me himself
into Kureika in his own sledge. He refused to
accept the smallest remuneration for all he had
done." It was this Dolgan who picked out from
his herd four milk-white reindeer as a present
for Queen Victoria, and four black ones for the
Prince of Wales, and asked the Captain to convey
them to England. Unfortunately, the Captain
was unable to comply with his request, having
to return home overland.

Captain Schwanenberg joined Wiggins at Kureika
at the beginning of November. It seems that he
had taken his schooner, the Aurora Boixalis — con-
taining a cargo of graphite — amongst the islands in
the estuary of the Yenesei, but had failed to meet
with the Thames. Having left his ship and crew in
winter quarters at one of the Brekhoffsky Islands,
he had come up to Kureika to discuss the situation
of affairs with Wiggins. The two captains decided
at last to proceed on sledges over the now frozen
river to the town of Yeneseisk, about 800 miles
from Kureika, and then go on to St Petersburg.
Wiggins' main object in returning to Europe was

112 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap.

to make another attempt to rouse leading com-
mercial men to support his ocean-route projects.
The farewell scene between Wiggins and his crew
can be told in the Captain's own words.

" The sledges arrive, and the packing begins. A

bright thought strikes Captain S : ' We had

better have a cover, for the cold will probably be
severe, especially at night.' The thermometer now
shows more than 35° below zero ; it is marked only
to that minimum, and the quicksilver is down to the
bulb, hard and fast ; so the frost is probably more
than 40°. A cover is soon rigged up, consisting of
the canvas hood of the steam-launch and the iron
hoops. The sledge now starts for the ship, to take
in the last portion of luggage — my portmanteau.
We dive below to our snug little cabin, for a final
refresher of coffee and biscuit.

" We glance round at the wee cabin, which has
so long and so faithfully sheltered us in storm and
in sunshine — a stroke on poor old Chang, who is
comfortably snoozing beneath the table, after the
last hearty meal from her master's hand — at least
the last for this voyage — and a pat on the head of
little, funny, faithful Kara, and we go on deck, and
round the bows of the ship towards the sledge.
We pause, and, unobserved, lay our hand on the
scroll-work of our gilt figure-head, and breathe a
a prayer that He may see fit to preserve the ship
and all her crew until our return.

" The word from Captain S is given that

all is ready. The crew are gathered closely round,

v.] AN ENGLISH "GOOD-BYE" 113

to receive a last look and a shake of the hand.
We hardly seem to realise the fact that we are
about to part for a long time, perhaps five months.
I give them an earnest exhortation to be careful
to keep themselves in health by two or three
hours' daily work, and in the early evenings to
employ their time in reading or study, or in
mending and making clothes, and now and then
to take a scalding bath from the good old copper.
I also exhort them to be careful in their behaviour

towards the natives, especially as Captain S

has taken so much care to impress upon the
natives the fact ( ?) that we English are ' angels '
as compared with them ; that we are kind, self-
sacrificing, never cheat, etc., etc. My last word
is to urge the crew not to neglect the good
Bethel Flag, but to let it fly every Sunday
from the flagstaff opposite the house. Then we

grip eac]i others' hands, and Captain S and I

dive into the sledge.

" We start at a fast trot. In a few moments
our driver pulls up suddenly, evidently bewildered
by the unusual sounds proceeding from the ship,
sounds that he never before heard. ' Hark ! what

is the matter ? ' calls out Captain S . ' Listen !

they want us back surely — we must have
forgotten something.' Soon the awful sound
comes booming along over the still, smooth ice —
a deep, sonorous, hearty English cheer — then
another, making, with the one gone before, the
usual three cheers of the British tar. We throw

114 VOYAGE OF THE THAMES [chap, v.]

back the sledge-cover, and send three in return.
Then one more from the ship. By this time
the driver reaUses that we have been merely
saying ' good - bye ' in the English fashion, and
then whisks his single rein over the back of his
leading reindeer, and off we start."

CHAPTER VI

SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE

Accidents — Attractions of a post-house — A breakdown — A
lazy driver — The British flag at the fore — Officiahsm
at Turukhansk — A woman driver — Forest scenery —
Welcome at Yeneseisk — Reception by the Governor-
General of Siberia — Advantages of a Government pass —
Krasnoiarsk — Entertainment at Omsk — Shipbuilding at
Tinmen — Crossing the Urals — Nishni Novgorod — Re-
ception at Moscow — Arrival at St Petersburg — Benefits
of teetotalism — Frozen spirits — The Captain reports his
voyage to the Society for Naval Communications —
Elected Life Member — Presentation by the Society —
The Captain''s address to the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Commerce — On the navigation of the Obi —
Reasons for preferring the Isthmus route — Fails to rouse
the Russian merchants — Stranded — " A friend in need "
— Leaves St Petersburg with " nothing but thanks and
Life-Memberships."

The Captain's description of his sledge journey to

Yeneseisk is too lively reading to be omitted.

After running for about seven miles, the deer

were allowed to stop to take wind.

"We are soon off again, and when we are some

three versts from the post-station a break-down

115

116 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

occurs. After a little pulling, tugging, and shout-
ing to the patient animals, we start again. Alas !
our progress is soon suddenly stopped with a loud
crack at the fore part of our sledge. Something
has indeed broken now.

*' ' What is the matter now ? ' shouts Captain
S .

" * Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! ' wails the poor driver,
adding other emphatic utterances. Then he comes
with the news that the bow of the sledge and the
trace have broken.

*' * It must be God who has done it — oh, indeed
it must ! ' mutters the driver.

*' ' God, indeed ! ' shouts Captain S . ' God

keeps things good that are made good and strong
at first, and He helps only those who do things
right. You knew that we had a big sledge ; then
why did you not see that all was good and strong?'

" In a little while things are lashed together,
and we set off once more. We cover a short
distance, and then the deer stop. A lot of water
has got on to the ice and on to the sledge. The
sledge sticks fast, and bang goes another trace.

" ' Oh dear ! oh dear ! oh dear ! ' moans the
poor driver.

"'Whatever is the matter with you now?'
shouts Captain S .

*' * Oh, oh ! it must be the devil, then, who
has done all this. It must indeed be the devil.'

" * Get along with you ! ' shouts the Captain,
after a hearty laugh at the fellow's simplicity.

VI.] AT A POST-HOUSE 117

" We bundle out of our dripping shelter into
the pure, dry, but severely frosty air. We start
to walk up to the post-house, but, on the sledge
overtaking us, hang on to the back part of it, and
are soon pulled up to the door of the house. We
bolt into the place to save our frozen faces, for
the drippings that bedewed them whilst in the
sledge were instantly frozen when we emerged
into the open air.

" And now we are standing at the end of the
travellers' long room, and after throwing off our
heavy reindeer-skin, we sit down to draw breath
and look round. We recognise some merchants
who were on board the Thames a few days ago.
They greet us, and then we drink the refreshing
glass of tea brought by the landlady, and all
is well.

"About 9 P.M., after writing up our log, we
retire for the night to the skins placed on the
floor, leaving our merchant friends to enjoy their
rather noisy game of cards. The warmth of these
houses and the absence of any draughts is remark-
able. Although it is rather nice to lounge about
in one's shirt-sleeves, yet the situation has its
drawbacks. A suffocating sensation is experienced,
and not over-pleasant smells greet the nostrils.
The occupants of the room number about a dozen
men, and four or five women, and several naked
children are flitting about, screaming, shouting,
crying, and squalling. A number of cats must
also be reckoned. So, on the whole, it is easy

118

SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE

[chap.

to imagine that a Russian post-station is not the
sweetest paradise in the world.

" Resuming our journey at nine in the morning,
we reached the next post - house at four, to find
that no reindeer were to be had. So we were
obhged to stay there for the night. The inhabitants
of the village had a bad reputation ; nevertheless
we had a shake-down of straw, and were quite
comfortable, saving a fear of the approach of
certain small wingless enemies.

" We are astir before daybreak, and find that

no reindeer have arrived yet. Captain S gets

impatient, declares that the people know where to
get reindeer, and are waiting for the offer of more
money. At last we offer an extra rouble if they
will get us horses at once. Result — horses are
collected in a few minutes, and in half an hour we
make a start. All goes well for a time, and then
the wretched horses break down, and we are landed.
The snow is deep, and the ice bad and rough. A

lecture to the driver from Captain S makes no

impression. We decide we must ' do ' the rest on
foot — a serious undertaking, encumbered as we
are with heavy garments.

" We head the sledge, and soon find that we
may head it if we choose, for, on looking round, we

see no signs of the driver. Captain S uses his

stentorian voice, and at last we discern the fellow
making a move. We wait, sitting on a snow- clad
ice-block. As he draws in sight, we can see him
coolly riding in the sledge, and the fine little boy,

VI.] HOISTING THE BRITISH FLAG 119

who accompanied him as outrider on the first horse,
walking at the side of the animals, urging them on.

This is too much for the mercurial Captain S .

He stalks off to meet the driver, with a fierce
expression on his face, which the driver observes.
Forthwith he pops out of the sledge, and trudges
on behind, as if he had been walking for twenty
miles. The Captain contents himself with a threat
as to what he would do if he catches the driver at
that game again."

At this point in the Journal Captain Wiggins
declares that he must henceforth be content with
" notes," for it is quite impossible to keep a " proper
log," owing to the dim light in the houses, and his
condition of fatigue and weariness. He is much
impressed with the fine entrance to one of the
villages — " lovely trees — what beauties for a gentle-
man's park ! what would be given in England for
such a drive, winding in and out, to a mansion —
evergreens, silver birch, etc."

When half a mile from Turukhansk, he stopped
to hoist the British flag at the fore part of the
sledge. " Old driver delighted." " Off we shoot
into the village — bells tinkling, dogs barking, and
met by other dogs, barking, and falling to our rear."

At this place he was detained five days by the
over-officious Governor, who seized samples of goods
carried by the travellers, on the pretence that the
laws of Russia had been infringed by giving away
presents on the journey to villagers who had done
small services. The Governor got his deserts, for,

120 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

on his conduct being reported at Yeneseisk to the
Governor- General of Siberia, he was superseded,
and orders were given for the release of the seized
goods, free of all duty.

" We proceed fast from village to village, a
messenger having been sent on ahead to announce
our want of horses. Villagers uncover their heads
— much reverential bowing — flag carried at the
fore — great admiration."

At one village no man could be found to drive.
"A woman volunteers — catastrophe. Lovely moon-
light night. We fly along, and drive through
magnificent woods. Trees an immense height for
their slender base. Tremendously high banks to
the river. Lovely drive through forest — intensity
of cold — comfort of sleeping-bag." At last the
800 miles were accomplished, and the horses
galloped into Yeneseisk.

This important Siberian town contained a
population, at the time of Captain Wiggins' first
visit, of over 11,000 inhabitants, many of whom
were wealthy merchants and owners of gold-mines.
The fine appearance of the town impressed the
Captain. Amongst its many well-built houses were
several large churches, with gilded domes and
cupolas, in the Byzantine style of architecture. A
considerable trade was carried on in wheat, barley,
oats, tallow, hides, tea from China, and in a variety
of other produce. The gold mines of the district
are rich and extensive, and there are also copper
and iron mines. The population consisted of

VI.] AT KRASNOIARSK 121

Russians, Germans, Poles, Tartars, Jews, and one
Englishman or Anglo- German, a Mr Boiling, the
only shipbuilder on the river.

During his brief stay in the town the Captain
was lionised. He was warmly received by the
Governor- General of Siberia and other officials,
and several parties and soirees were given in his
honour.

Writing to his wife on December 4, he says :
*' Everybody here is very kind, and glad that we
got our ship up as far as Kureika — some 900 miles
from the entrance to the Yenesei. By doing this
we have saved the character of the river. Had
we not succeeded, it would have been set down
that the river was too shallow for navigation, and
unfit for carrying on commerce. Certainly we had
much labour, and every one wonders how we got
up. I must close this, for the post goes out this
morning, and I am very busy calling upon all the
* great guns,' from the Governor down to the well-
to-do merchant."

In a few days he left Yeneseisk for Krasnoiarsk,
another large town on the river, between 200 and
" 300 miles from Yeneseisk. Here, he says, he met
with a hearty reception from the Governor, " who
rendered me all the aid in his power, furnishing me
with a Government pass for engaging horses on the
I road to St. Petersburg. 'J'his pass constituted me a
courier, who took precedence of everything on the
road, even the mail, and consequently I was for-
warded with the utmost despatch, travelling day

122 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

and night, only stopping for a single night at such
towns as Omsk, Tomsk, and Tinmen."

The Captain kept no detailed journal of his
overland journey of some 4,000 miles to St.
Petersburg, but made various allusions to it in
his letters, lectures, and articles for the Press.
Some of his brief comments in the Geographical
Magazine may be quoted.

" At Omsk the Governor- General of Western
Siberia received me in the most hospitable manner,
entertaining me to dinner, and giving me the most
valuable information concerning the Obi and its
estuary, and the mode of transit of the immense
commerce of that district. He authenticated in
every way the reports of the richness and wealth of
the country, and expressed the most earnest desire
that I would not allow my energies to flag in the
endeavour to open out such magnificent rivers as
the Obi and the Yenesei.

"Pushing forward, I reached Tiumen, the'
principal city for shipping on the Obi. Here I
found the spirit of progress in full operation. On|
the river were to be observed steamers of the largest
dimensions, being nearly 300 feet in length and of I
300 horse-power, built and finished in a good style
with modern engines, constructed principally by!
the English firm of Wardropper Brothers. I also
observed splendid lighters of between 200 and 300
feet in length, and capable of carrying 500 or 600 1
tons of cargo, at the same time not drawing morej
than three feet of water.

VI.] A LONG SLEDGE-RIDE 123

" Proceeding night and day via the Ekaterin-
burg Pass of the Ural Mountains, ascending the
eastern slopes on the last day of the old year, and
descending the western side on the morning of the
new year — thus leaving the Urals and the old year
behind together — I soon found myself at Nishni-
Novgorod where I left my sledge, and took train to
St. Petersburg. At ^loscow I was well received by
the President (Count Camarovski), the Vice-Presi-
dent (M. Trapeznikoff), and the Secretary (M.
Waldemar), of the Imperial Society for Marine
Communications. These gentlemen also gave me
much valuable information."

Immediately after the Captain's arrival at St.
Petersburg he wrote to his wife. From this letter
— undated, but probably written on January 10
or 11, 1877 — we may quote a few sentences.

" I arrived yesterday all well, after a seriously
hard sledge-journey of over 4,000 miles to Nishni-
Novgorod, where we took train for St. Petersburg.
I have not time to tell you all our adventures,
trials, difficulties, and dangers. They must wait
for some future opportunity — when, I can hardly
tell at present, for I do not know yet whether
circumstances will permit of my coming home,
greatly as one may wish it. Suffice it to say at
present that, throughout all the above - named
trials, amidst the severe frosts and snow of a
Siberian winter journey of two months, the 'tee-
totaler ' never suffered in the slightest degree, but,
on the contrary, was fresher at the end of the

124 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

journey than at the beginning. In fact, he became
so inured to frozen beard, and terrific jolting and
knocking in a sledge, that he could have gone on,
he believes, for ever.

" The reverse was the case with his Russian !J
companion, a very strong man, thoroughly inured
to his own climate, and a very temperate drinker.
He was on two occasions liors de combat, with
frightful rheumatism in the head and body, and
is now very shaky, whereas, we are glad to inform
our Temperance chums, that we have not as much |
as a single pain in our body.

•' As to the effects upon my crew, I can answer
for them only up to the time of leaving them,
when they were all well. For some time pasts
they had been doing hard duty amidst intense!
frost and heavy falls of snow.

"Markham says that the bacon froze on his
journey. With us, when sledging, the spirits
taken by my companion froze, and even forced
their way through the glass bottles, and became
hoar-frost on the outside.

" So now, you see, we had some cold in Siberia
— charming Siberia, so far as the country is con-
cerned. In spite of the fact that I have under-
taken a severe task, I would not have missed it
for anything, even though I have little hope of
doing any business here. . . . The Society for
Naval Communications has asked me to read a
paper on Tuesday next, Russian New Year's Day.
.... Certainly, the disturbed state of the political

VI.] MEETING IN ST. PETERSBURG 125

atmosphere has a bad influence here upon commerce
of all kinds, especially upon new speculations. . . .

" I must now close this hasty scrawl, for I
have to write several letters, and to prepare my
paper. Tell Arthur that Uncle Joe managed to
cut through the ice without the help of the kitchen
chopper, but he must be sure not to allow me
to sail on another Arctic voyage minus such an
important instrument."

The paper which the Captain prepared, and
was read for him in a Russian translation before
the Imperial Society for Naval Communications,
on January 16, consisted of a report of his
voyage in the Thames. It was, practically, his
Journal, summarised, polished, and adapted for
his select audience. The long extracts from the
Journal already given in these pages render the
reproduction of the paper unnecessary.

The meeting received the Captain with
enthusiasm, and heartily thanked him for his
report. In the course of the remarks made by
members at the close of the address, hints were
thrown out that if the great Siberian rivers were
to be thoroughly surveyed, the work should be
done by Russians. The Captain, in a letter to
his wife, says : " Fortunately, I urged them, in
returning thanks, to set to work with their own
countrymen, as there was room for all." He adds :
'* The Naval men are evidently jealous in the
extreme, because their Government will not allow
them to go to work."

126 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

The Society elected the Captain a Life Member,
and presented bini with a chart of the locaUty of
his explorations, handsomely bound in morocco.
A letter of thanks, for his efforts to open up the
rivers, was also presented.

He constantly strove, throughout his Siberian
work, to emphasize his main object, rather than
his own personal exertions. " I care not who
does it, so long as it is done," he often said, with
regard to opening up the rivers to commerce.
He was willing to do all in his power to help
on the great project, whether the funds for the
purpose were provided by England or by Russia.
This generous attitude is illustrated in his address
of thanks to the above Society, which is given
below, and was — he notes on the manuscript
copy — "written in pencil during the meeting for
the translator to turn into Russian."

" To the President and Members of the

Imperial Society for Naval Communications.

" Gentlemen, — I have to thank you for the
honour you have conferred in granting me an
opportunity of reading a descriptive report of my
last voyage to the Kara Sea, the rivers Obi and
Yenesei, and also to thank you for the handsome
gift just presented to me.

" The chart will serve to remind one always of
the fact that your countrymen worked on these
seas and rivers long before I commenced, and the
Life-Membership will serve to incite me to further

VI.] A CALL FOR CO-OPERATION 127

efforts in working for the noble cause which such
a Society as yours represents, providing that I can
but meet with the necessary support.

" I began my work with but one view — the
benefit of mankind ; for the field is so extensive
that, should commerce flourish, nearly the whole
of mankind will be affected.

" Permit me to congratulate you upon the
noble efforts of your countrymen this last summer
to explore and navigate the Yenesei and the Obi,
and the Kara Sea, by building two schooners, and
despatching them to the entrances of the rivers.
Whilst admiring such enterprises, allow me, in the
most friendly manner, to warn you and them
against any hasty or ill-formed plans for over-
coming the difficulties connected with the naviga-
tion of the Kara Sea. It can only be done by your
having, or building, the best and strongest of ships
for such work. With such vessels, no explorers
could be more sanguine of success than your own
countrymen, inured as they are to the hardships
and the cold of your Siberian climate.

" Above all, let me recommend all expeditions,
whether of Russian or of foreign origin, to work
in conjunction with, rather than in opposition to,
one another. Had I known that a schooner was
attempting to descend the Gulf of Obi, I should
have continued on at all risks. Then, with regard
to the Bremen expedition across the Isthmus of
Yalmal : the native guides actually saw my ship
at anchor at the head of the Baidarata Gulf;

128 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

and had I known the expedition was there, I could
have taken the party on board, and returned wdth
them to Europe, or have gone on to the Obi or the
Yenesei, as might have been determined. Again,
had I known that M. SidorofF's schooner had been
built with the intention of taking her to sea, and
that she would call, and perhaps have to pass the
winter, at BrekhofFsky Island, I should have pro-
ceeded to that spot, and, finding her there, could
have taken her cargo, or, in company with her,
returned to Europe. Not having any definite in-
formation respecting such arrangements, I missed
seeing her, and proceeded on, up the river.

" In conclusion, I again thank you, gentlemen,
for the high honour you have conferred upon me
this evening."^

A few days later, at a meeting of the Imperial
Society for the Encouragement of Commerce,

^ The allusions made by the Captain to other expeditions need a
word of explanation. In the summer of 1876 a Russian schooner was
sent down the Obi, with the object of reaching the sea and surveying
the locality of the Obi Gulf. She was maimed by river sailors, wlio
were quite unable to manage her when she entered the sea. After
being driven upon sandbanks, she was taken back to Obdorsk in a
damaged condition. The Bremen expedition had a scientific object in
view. It proceeded to Siberia overland, and after penetrating the
Yalmal Peninsula, returned home by the overland route. M. Sidoroff's
schooner, commanded by Captain Schwanenberg, was the vessel con-
taining a cargo of graphite which Captain Wiggins expected to meet
in the estuary of the Yenesei.

In the summer of 1876 no less than ten expeditions — without
counting the voyage of the Thames — set out to these seas and rivers
of the north. Two of them were scientific, one sporting, and the
rest had a commercial object in view, but they all originated undoubtedly
from the interest excited by the voyages of Captain Wiggins in 1874 and
1876.

VI.] ROUT BY THE ISTHMUS 129

another paper by the Captain was read. In
this address he confined himself chiefly to the
question of the future navigation of the Obi,
how best to accompHsh it, and thus open a new
route for commerce witli Europe. He strongly
advocated the utilisation of the isthmus between
the Muddy Gulf and the Obi River — a distance
of only about sixty miles — for the transit of
goods to and from Europe, and urged that a
thorough survey, by competent land and marine
surveyors, should be carried out, for the purpose
of deciding in what way the transit could be
effected easily and quickly. He thought that,
possibly, the two rivers on the isthmus might be
connected by a canal, or goods could be carried
overland across the entire sixty miles.

He gave four reasons for preferring the route
by the isthmus to going round by White Island
and the Obi Gulf: "First, that, providing a
good road for transit could be found, a distance
of 2,000 versts would be saved. Second, that the
probably difficult and shallow navigation of the
long Gulf of the Obi would be avoided in favour
of the Baidarata (or Muddy) Gulf, which is
clear of shoals and exceedingly safe and easy to
navigate. Third, that time, which means money,
would be saved, not only because of the route
being shorter, but because, according to my
experience, vessels can enter the Baidarata Gulf
a month sooner, on an average, than they
could reach the Obi at White Island. Fourth,

130 SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

that a greater danger than navigating the long
Gulf of the Obi and the shallow estuaries of
the river would be avoided, namely, the serious
difficulty of forcing a passage at times through
the ice, the risks of which to life and property
are, when compared with those of sea and river,
as a hundred to one."

The Captain assured his audience that, although
he gave such prominence to the Isthmus route,
he felt convinced that the Gulf of the Obi could be
navigated. " I believe that, with such a steamer
as I was requested to obtain and take command
of last year, there would be no difficulty in
ascending the Obi, even as far as Tiumen ; and
I earnestly trust that not only the isthmus may
be surveyed, but your Societies may see the need
of despatching this summer a vessel similar to
that which they commissioned me to purchase
in England. Whether under the command of
your own countrymen or not, be sure, gentlemen,
of one thing, that I wish the expedition every
success, and would willingly, if required, give it
every aid in my power."

He said, in conclusion, " Having now demon-
strated that a large ocean-going steamer can
ascend the Yenesei, I am still ready in the
future to combine with, or to aid, any expedition,
in attempting to demonstrate the same question
with regard to the Obi, for it was to this river
I devoted my first effi^rts, and, although foiled
in my three attempts, owing to the want of

V,.] "THANKS ALL VERY WELL" 131

proper means, I still hope that by receiving
support from some quarter or other, I may be
yet able to prove that the task I set myself in
1874, and which had been revolving in my mind
for many years, is a proper and right one, well
founded in theory, and worthy of practical
demonstration. Had I been acquainted, previous
to last season, with such gentlemen as your
enterprising citizen, M. Sidoroff, and your generous
Alexander SibiriakofF — the only man in Russia
who has practically assisted me — doubtless, with
the advice of the one and the pecuniary aid of
the other, I could have succeeded in settling the
question of the Obi in 1875. As it is, it remains
to be done, and I trust will be accomplished next
season by some expedition succeeding in ascend-
ing or descending the Gulf of the Obi, and also
settling the question of a route via the isthmus."

The members of the Society of Commerce
were profuse in their thanks for the Captain's
valuable paper, and for his services in the cause
of commerce, and they elected him one of their
Life Members. " Thanks and Life- Memberships
are all very well," wrote the Captain to his wife,
— " but it is not business."

His object in coming to St. Petersburg was to
do business — to persuade the leading merchants
to form a company, in order that his cherished
scheme might be advanced ; but by the end of
nearly a fortnight he had not received the smallest
encouragement in that direction. " Had they any

ISa SLEDGE-RIDE TO EUROPE [chap.

steam in them," he wrote to his wife, " I ought to
be sent home to purchase a boat, and take her out,
with a cargo, to meet the Thames at the mouth of
the Yenesei, proceed home with her, and let the
new steamer be taken up the river. But this
means money, and to start a company in earnest
and quickly — well, this the Russians are the last
people in the world to do."

Having got nothing but " thanks and Life-
Memberships " from the merchants, the Captain
turned to the Government itself, but with no
better result. He had " an interesting interview
with the Secretary of State," who distinctly in-
formed him that no privileges would be granted to
any company, Russian or foreign.

The Captain's position at this juncture was not
by any means an enviable one. It is true that his
third voyage was, so far, a notable success ; he had
accomplished much by his observations and survey-
ing, and his yacht, the Thames, was the first ocean
steamer that ever ascended the Yenesei ; but
financially these three voyages had stranded him.
He had spent all his savings to advance the great
scheme, to which, two or three years previously, he
had resolved "to devote the remainder of his life."
Writing to M. Sibiriakoff, he says : " Yes, sir — I
have risked every kopek 1 have in the world
over it."

The cost of his journey from Yeneseisk to St.
Petersburg had been defrayed, to the extent of
1,000 roubles, by this same generous supporter,

VI.] MONEY TROUBLES 133

who, unfortunately, was now in Vienna. The
Captain had been advised and encouraged to
undertake the journey, the prospect being held
out that the merchants would co-operate to
further his scheme. And they had done nothing.

He was in pecuniary straits — more formidable
to his dauntless spirit than ice-laden straits of
Arctic seas and rivers. He had no means either
for meeting the cost of his return journey to the
Yenesei, for paying the expenses of his ship
wintering in the river, or even for running home
to Sunderland. " Give my dearest love to all ; it
will be indeed hard not to come home after getting
so close — to be so near and yet so far — but the
stern realities of duty must be obeyed first."
Thus he wrote when he saw no prospect of
getting to England.

But the " wind " of adversity was " tempered "
in some degree. His devoted friend, Mr Charles
L. W. Gardiner, came to the rescue, and offered
to pay his expenses to England and back to St.
Petersburg, whilst the same gentleman — one of his
staunchest friends to the close of his life — promised
to bear £300 of the expense incurred by his ship
wintering in the Yenesei.

He reached London on January 31, 1877, and
in a few days went home to Sunderland.

CHAPTER VII

ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI

Flying visit to England — From Charing Cross to the Yenesei
with Mr H. Seebohm — Buying the Ibis — Sledging up
the river to Kureika — Ascent and descent of river banks
— Kamin Pass — Sagacity of sledge-dogs — "Keeping
shop " at Turukhansk — A grasping Governor — Greeting
from the crew of the Tharnes — Cutting out the ship
from the ice — Break-up of the ice — Niagara outrivalled
— Advent of summer — Starting for Dudinka — On a
shoal — A question of " two minutes " — Abandonment of
the Thames — Testing the crew's pluck — Seebohm on
" a thorough Englishman " — The " offence " of sailing a
teetotal ship — Relations between Captain and crew — To
Golchika in the Ibis — An appeal to British patriotism
fails — Sale of the Ibis — Seebohm's criticisms.

One of the most important of the Captain's engage-
ments during his flying visit to England was the
preparation of an article on his voyages for the
Magazine of the Royal Geographical Society. He
had been invited to read a paper before the Society,
but as the date mentioned would compel him to
defer his departure for Siberia, he reluctantly
declined the honour. Mr (afterwards Sir) Clements

R. Markham urged him, as an alternative, to write
134

VII.] MR SEEBOHM 135

a report of his voyages, and, accepting this
suggestion, he apphed himself to his task. The
article, containing a skilfully condensed account
of his three voyages, presenting all their salient
features, duly appeared in the issue of the Geo-
graphical Magazine for March 1877, on the last
day of the Captain's sojourn in England.

The main object of his visit, however, remained
unaccomplished. To quote his own words, he
desired " to get some people, with faith enough,
to try to open up trade with the Yenesei. But I
found that no one would listen to my calculation
as to the trade that might be done there."

He had no expectation of having a companion
on his long journey until within a few days of his
departure. On February 23, Mr H. Seebohm,
the well-known ornithologist, made his acquaint-
ance, and, wishing to pursue ornithological and
ethnological researches in East Siberia, thought
that the opportunity of travelling with a gentle-
man who had already made the journey, and
consequently "knew the ropes," might never
occur again. It was the Captain's intention to
start from London in three days, but he finally
arranged to allow the naturalist five days to
make the necessary preparations for accompanying
him.

Leaving Charing Cross on March 1, Captain
Wiggins and Mr Seebohm went direct to St.
Petersburg, where they stayed three days. The
Captain had interviews with some of the members

136 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

of the Russian Government, also with SidorofF
and other merchants, and again sought to excite
practical interest and co-operation respecting his
Siberian projects.

The travellers proceeded to Moscow, and then
to Nishni Novgorod, where the sledge journey of
more than 3,000 miles began. The thaw had set
in, and consequently the roads were bad. " Given
bad roads, with wild weather," said the Captain
once, " sledging is awful." Mr Seebohm forcibly
described his experience as the equivalent of
"being inside a well-battered tin kettle tied to an
affrighted dog's tail." Nevertheless, there were
compensations. The ornithologist found his, from
noting the varieties of birds met with here and
there, whilst the explorer improved his acquaintance
with Siberian shipbuilding operations at Kongur
and Tinmen, and was gratified with the interest
shown in his work by merchants and Governors.
For details of the journey to Yeneseisk, the reader
is referred to Mr Seebohm's entertaining account
in his book " Siberia in Asia." ^

From a letter written by the Captain at
Tiumen, and addressed to a Sunderland journal,
it is evident that the mariner's expectations and
hopes were once more on the up-grade. Referring
to the excitement in Russia and Siberia about the
ocean-route, he says : " At Moscow, the Imperial

1 Mr Seehohm's " Siberia in Europe," and his " Siberia in Asia,"
were reprinted and issued as one volume, with the title of " The Birds
of Siberia/' in 1901.

H
■I.

vii] SEEBOHM'S OPINION 137

Society for Commerce is fitting out a steam expedi-
tion, to sail from England with cargo this summer.
The merchants at Tinmen have decided to equip
a well-built schooner, with a cargo of grain, hides,
tallow, etc., to join the Thames at the Gulf of Obi.
If this proves feasible, we shall come home to-
gether. The merchants offer a reward to my crew
of 1,000 roubles, should we be successful in escorting
the schooner to Europe. Steamers are to proceed
down the Obi Gulf, as far as possible, in the
summer, in order to meet my vessel and the
Russian expedition. On the Yenesei the excite-
ment is also as great, for I have already received
offers from merchants enough to load my small
steamer three or four times over.

" I have just had a letter from my ice-master
at Kureika, informing me that the crew were all
well at the time of his writing (December 23).
My companion, Mr Seebohm, of Sheffield, is
charmed with everything he sees, and wonder-
struck at all the facilities for commerce, and
especially at the abundance of natural wealth to
be found here. What he will think by the time
he reaches the gold-fields, etc., of the Yenesei, 1
cannot imagine. Suffice it to say that, up to the
present, he agrees with me that it is a crying
shame that commerce is not flourishing between
England and these parts."

The travellers reached the town of Yeneseisk
on April 5. Eight or nine hundred miles of ice
and snow lay between them and the winter quarters

laS ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

of the Thames. Wiggins introduced his companion
to the grandees of the town, and both the Enghsh-
men filled up their three days' rest with business
and attending receptions. Mr Boiling, who has
been referred to in a previous chapter, had a small
schooner on the stocks, which Mr Seebohm decided
to buy. Boiling undertaking to deliver her at
Kureika, when the ice broke up, Wiggins was
to be part owner, his share of expense being the
rigging of the ship, which he engaged to attend
to at Kureika. The schooner, to be named the
Ibis, was to carry Seebohm and Boiling for 1000
miles down the Yenesei to Dudinka — to enable
the former to pursue his ornithological observa-
tions— whilst AViggins went up the Kureika with
the Thames for a cargo of graphite. It was
left an open question whether the Ibis should
be sold at Dudinka, or accompany the Thames
across the Kara Sea homewards. It is necessary
to give these details in order that the sequence
of events may be understood.

The Captain and his companion left the town
hurriedly on April 9. For some days before reach-
ing Yeneseisk they had been trying to outstrip
the south wind, which was following them too
closely for their comfort. A wind prevailing from
that quarter meant the breaking up of the roads,
and probably many weeks' delay. However, on
reaching Yeneseisk they found a hard frost, and were
anticipating at least a week's rest. On the morning
of April 9 the dreaded south wind swept into the

VII.] SLEDGING A DELIGHT 139

town, the snow began to melt, and the travellers
quickly packed their sledges and set off.

In one sledge rode the Captain and Mr See-
bohm, and in the other Mr Seebohm's servant,
who had been engaged in the town for the purpose
of skinning birds.

The first part of the journey lay along the
banks of the river, often through dense forests,
where the track, of the roughest description, caused
several upsets. It was a relief when this road was
exchanged for the river itself, for here the surface
was perfectly smooth, making sledging a delight.
But at every post-station, placed above the banks,
the sledges had to toil up the steep ascent, a difficult
task even with the help of the villagers. The
descent was undertaken with several villagers hold-
ing on to the sides of the sledge, to acts as brakes.
As the pace increased, one or two of the helpers
usually rolled over into the snow; but the travellers
always reached the river again safe and sound.

On approaching the majestic Kamin Pass, a
strong and bitterly cold wind drove the snow in
dense sheets, so that little of the scenery was visible.
" When I sledged through the Pass in December,"
writes the Captain, " it was on a day of brilliant
sunshine. The huge piles of ice sparkled like blocks
of diamonds, and the frozen waterfalls, hanging
over the faces of the rocks, were like fretted crystal
veils." During the first portion of the journey,
horses drew the sledges. At Turukhansk the horses
were replaced by dogs — " splendid animals, strong.

140 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

willing, and sagacious, pulling steadily, and never
shirking work." Several empty sledges, drawn by
dogs, were passed on the journey. Having taken
travellers to their destinations, or to post-houses, the
dogs had been dismissed, and were making their
way home without drivers.

On arriving at Turukhansk, the Captain sold
some of the sample goods, which he had left there
on his previous visit. He "kept open shop for
a couple of days," says Mr Seebohm, who gives
an account of the proceedings, together with a
graphic description of von Gazenkampf, the grasp-
ing, shifty old Governor, or Zessedatel, and his
crafty ways of doing business.

On the last portion of the journey, reindeer
took the places of the dogs, and the pace was vastly
increased. " Sometimes," writes Mr Seebohm,
"the animals seemed to fly over the snow." The
party reached Kureika on April 23, and received
a hearty welcome from the crew of the Thames.
Again quoting the ornithologist, for details not
supplied by the Captain — " We had sledged from
Nishni Novgorod to the Kureika, a distance of
4,860 versts, or 3,240 Enghsh miles. Including
stoppages, we had been forty-six days on the road,
during which we had made use of about a thousand
horses, eighteen dogs, and forty reindeer. The
total number of stages was 229."

The crew of the Thames were all well, most of
tliem " looking fatter " than when the Captain left
them. Plenty of lime-juice and dried vegetables.

■ -V.

lifa.

nOG-SLEDGE CATIAVAX OV A SIISKISIAN lUVKH.

[To face p. UO.

VII. ] THE THAMES FAST 141

with daily exercise, had preserved their health.
The crew of the Aurora Borealis, who had wintered
some two hundred miles further north on the
Yenesei, had fared very differently. They had not
been provided with lime-juice, and consequently
three of them perished from scurvy.

The quarters of the Thames were situated a
short distance up the river Kureika, one of the
tributaries of the Yenesei. She was close to the
north bank, about a hundred feet high. The task
of releasing her from the grip of the ice can be
told in the Captain's own words.

" The ship was frozen to the ground ; but the
crew had succeeded in cutting her out of the
ice about half way. We now began in earnest,
as the water was rising fast, and we feared lest
the ship, being so firmly frozen to the mud
bottom, might be dragged under water. I hired
all the labourers to be found in the neighbourhood,
and we attacked the ice with all our pickaxes and
all that we could borrow. This part of the work
was soon accomplished, but we found a tougher
job awaiting us, in the shape of mud frozen to
a rock, forming a sort of cradle, in which the
ship lay up to about eight feet.

" And now such a hammer - and - tongs task
began as was surely never tackled by desperate
men before. The crew worked well, but not until
a fortnight had passed did we succeed — working
day and night — in getting about two - thirds of
the ship cut out. Then the water from the over-

142 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

flowing river broke in upon us, and we had to
give up the task. I cannot recount in the brief
space of a letter all our difficulties, but will give
just an outline of them. Early one morning
the ship suddenly broke away from the ice, and
floated, with the water nearly to her loaded marks ;
but the breaking away was followed by a terrific
rebound, which made one fear that the keel must
be smashed. She proved strong enough for the
strain, however, and nothing seemed to be injured.

" The real test of her qualities for strength soon
occurred. On June 1 the ice in the Yenesei
broke up, and with a tremendous smashing it
rushed to the place where the Thames was lying,
and its force seemed enough to tear away the
very ground from under her. Away she went
like a feather with the ice; and worse was in
store for her. She was screwed and literally torn
along the beach, from stone to stone, from rock
to rock. At last, after taking the ship about a
mile up the river, the rush of ice stopped, and
away went the water, falling some ten feet, as
suddenly as it rose, leaving the Thames high and
dry, cradled in and on the top of a pack of ice —
her rudder smashed to pieces and her stern-post
damaged. It was a wonder the injury was not
more serious — in fact, that her timbers were not
torn away.

*' In about twelve hours up came the water
again, bearing with it vast quantities of ice, and
away went the poor craft, forced along the rough.

VII.] A PROCESSION OF BERGS 143

rocky beach, tossed about like a football from
ice to flood, and from flood to ice. This second
ordeal caused her to leak somewhat, but still
she stood it out bravely, driving backwards and
forwards, crushed and jammed by huge blocks
of ice. She suffered similar attacks until, on
k June 3, we had open water. On getting up
steam we found, to our infinite satisfaction, that
the propeller was all right. We soon managed,
with the propeller and with the aid of ropes, to
get her into the creek, near which she lay all the
winter. It has taken us from that time (June 8)
to this (June 22) to make a new rudder, and to
get it to fit. Oh, what a job ! The poor carpenter
and self working till 11 p.m. I had to fell the
trees for it. To-day we succeeded in getting it to
work. Then we took the ship out of the creek,
for the water is now falling so fast that the ship
would have been aground in a day or two, not
floating again until next summer. We are now
moored at anchor abreast of the house, and shall
take stores on board to-morrow, samples of tallow
in casks, and graphite for ballast, and then off' to
Dudinka."

Mr Seebohm calculated that at least 50,000
acres of ice had passed the ship. " On several
occasions we stood on the banks of the river
for hours, transfixed with astonishment, staring
aghast at icebergs, twenty to thirty feet high,
driven down the river at a speed of from ten
to twenty miles an hour. Such a display of

144 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

irresistible power dwarfs Niagara into comparative
insignificance."

" I now haA^e to tell you," writes Wiggins,
"that our expedition has been enlarged by the
arrival yesterday, from Yeneseisk, of a staunch,
sturdy little craft, named by Mr Seebohm the Ibis,
about one-third larger than the Whim. So you
see that, should anything happen to the poor
Thames, we shall have ' another string to our
bow.' "

The three weeks' ice-battle had come to an end.
The south wind had conquered ; the winter was
over ; summer appeared, and, as if by magic, the
fields were decked with flowers. Quoting Mr
Seebohm, " Winter was finally vanquished for the
year, and the fragments of his beaten army were
compelled to retreat to the triumphant music ot
thousands of song-birds, and amidst the waving of
green leaves and the illumination of gay flowers
of every hue."

During his stay on the Kureika the enthusiastic
naturalist, as the result of excursions in the neigh-
bourhood, bagged about a hundred specimens of
the birds of Siberia.

On June 30 the Thames left Kureika, sailing
down the Yenesei for Dudinka, with Mr Boiling,
of Yeneseisk, acting as pilot. Unhappily, her
career was soon to come to an end. On the
following day she was crossing the river when an
unexpected current carried her on to a sandbank,
close to a small island. She was quickly lightened

VI,.] DISASTER TO THE THAMES 145

— her stores being transferred to the Ibis, and the
ballast thrown overboard. An anchor was carried
off in a boat, and the cable hauled in ; but the
anchor could find no hold, the bottom of the river
being apparently smooth ice. This effort was
repeated again and again, but it failed to move
the ship. At last an anchor was dropped at a
great distance, and, to the intense joy of all on
board, held fast. As the cable was hauled in, the
ship was gradually drawn off the sandbank into
deep water.

The next day the ship was re-ballasted, and on
July 3, she once more set off, with a strong wind
ahead. But she worked badly, and answered her
starboard helm slowly. Something was wrong
with her keel. About midday she got on to a
shoal, and was got off with great difficulty. Just
as she was reaching a safe position, the wind
suddenly changed to the north, and, before the
sails could be furled, the ship was driven again
into shallow water. It was a question of only
"two minutes," says Mr Seebohm. If the north
wind had held off for two minutes, the ship would
have been in perfect safety in deep water. The
crew worked hard through the night in attempt-
ing to release her, but all their efforts proved
useless. The Captain came to the conclusion that
the ship must be abandoned.

We may be sure that he did not arrive at this
decision until the smallest hope of saving the
vessel had fled. He believed that she would

]46 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YExNESEI [chap.

remain in her present position until the following
summer, and then be carried away by the ice and
probably destroyed. Although her loss could not
be attributed to any fault or lack of skill on his
part, yet he felt that such a disaster would probably
prove of serious detriment to Siberian projects.
Merchants, speculators, and underwriters, facing
the hard facts of the difficulties, problems, and
perils of navigation, and of the short and variable
summer seasons, might draw the inference that
"the game was not worth the candle," and with-
draw their support from a scheme which, for these
reasons, seemed to them impracticable.

" We were beached beyond recovery, wrecked
on our homeward track, the prospects of the
voyage destroyed, and our labours and endurance
were all in vain. It was a severe blow, after
escaping from the ice, to find our expedition
brought to such an inglorious end. We had
overcome difficulties of no ordinary character,
fighting against climate while navigating an
unsurveyed river, whose mighty waters rolled
impetuously to the sea, digging for itself fresh
channels, and in its course building up islands of
sand, making the navigation extremely difficult
and dangerous to the inexperienced."

But the Captain's religious faith kept him calm.
Disaster had baulked his carefully-laid plans, but
drawing strength and hope from his creed, he felt
and said, "All is for the best." In that strain he
wrote to his wife : " All is ordered well. There

VI,.] AN APPEAL TO THE CREW 14T

is a good reason for this disappointment, otherwise
I believe I should go out of my mind. It may-
be that there is other and better work in store for
me, although it may prove a harder task than the
present one."

When all hope of saving the ship was gone, the
Captain set to work to finish the rigging of the
Ihis, and to re-transfer the stores and baggage from
the Thames to her. Then a " council of war " was
held, which Mr Seebohm joined. The Captain
told his men that he could say nothing at present
as to how they were to get home — whether over-
land or by sea. Perhaps a passage could be
secured in a Government steamer, or a merchant
steamer from Golchika, or they might return in
the Ibis. The last suggestion provoked very
evident signs of disapproval. Then he put the
matter plainly to them — " If necessity or duty re-
quired," would they go home with him in the Ibis,
or as far as the Obi ? Beginning with the mate,
they one and all flatly refused. He appealed to
their patriotism, to their honour and pluck as
British sailors ; but all his arguments were useless.

Mr Seebohm declined to commit himself, but
expressed a strong wish to go as far as Golchika,
and proposed tliat the future destination of the Ibis
should not be finally settled until reaching that
port. He says that he considered the suggestion
to proceed to Europe in this ship "foolhardy"; but
then he was not a seaman, and had not been on
Arctic waters in the JVliim, which was smaller than

148 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

the Ibis. The Captain knew what he was about ;
he would never have made the proposal had he not
felt convinced that the httle schooner could be
taken safely, in the middle of the summer, across
the Kara Sea to Europe. The sequel proved that
he was perfectly right.

Seebohm, in narrating the events immediately
following the disaster to the Thames, takes occasion
to criticise the conduct of both Wiggins and his
crew. He alleges that master and men were at
loggerheads — that there was almost a mutiny ; and
that the master was responsible, to some extent, for
this state of things. " He had not sufficient tact,"
and was " apt to form rash judgments," and that,
being a " thorough Englishman," he often blundered,
and showed perseverance and ingenuity in extricat-
ing himself from the effects of his blunders. The
Captain's failings, in the view of the naturalist, were
all crystallised into one — that " he was a teetotaler,
and worked his ship on teetotal principles." This
really seems to be the head and front of the
Captain's offence, for Seebohm goes on to say in the
next sentence : " In my opinion, this was the
fountain-head of all his difficulties. After four-and-
twenty hours' hard work, a glass of honest grog
would, more than anything else in the world, have
cheered their drooping spirits, revived their fainting
pluck, and cemented the camaraderie that ought to
subsist between a captain and his men, especially
upon expeditions involving such rare difficulties."

There is little doubt, of course, that if Wiggins

VII.] THE "HONEST GROG" QUESTION 149

had taken the precaution to serve out a glass of
" honest grog " — or two — prehminary to the council
of war on July 8, all the men would have been
prepared to go with the Captain in the Ibis to
Europe, or even to the uttermost parts of the earth.
But in order to keep their courage to the sticking-
place, and support the camuj^derie, it would have
been absolutely necessary to serve out similar doses
daily, until the little ship was fairly on the Kara
Sea. Whether, under such circumstances, the men
would ever have seen home again, is doubtful.

Mr Seebohm may be right in his contention, but
the real question was not one of grog or no grog,
but simply one of contract between Captain and
crew. Before these men signed articles at Sunder-
land they knew they were joining a teetotal ship,
and that, however hard their work might be, no
grog would be offered to sustain their fainting
energy. Wiggins had sailed teetotal ships for
many years, and in many parts of the world ; and
he was not going to budge from his contract or his
principles, even though these men were hard-worked
for four-and-twenty hours. He had seen quite
enough of the *' vodka habit " in Russia and Siberia
to strengthen, rather than to cause him to relax, his
principles. The people, high and low, from Govern-
ment officials down to the peasants, with exceptions,
were addicted to the habit, with ruinous effects in
business, on morals and health.

Even Mr Seebohm is forced to make note at
times of the prevailing evil. One instance will

150 ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI [chap.

suffice. Speaking of the natives of Kureika, he
says : " We left the settlement with gloomy antici-
pations of the future. Debt and drink continually
drain everything of value into the hands of half-a-
dozen merchants, who are gradually killing off
the geese that lay the golden egg."

Referring again to the relations between the
Captain and his men, it is satisfactory to find
that Seebohm's sympathies *' went rather with the
Captain than with his crew: the latter, when he
appeared unjust, should have considered how much
allowance ought to be made for a man who had
seen his pet schemes frustrated and his ship lost."
In other places in his book he speaks of the Captain
as a "very agreeable travelling companion," as a
man of "indomitable pluck," and of "scrupulous
honesty in dealing with the natives."

The Ibis sailed for Golchika on July 9. She
was manned by three of the crew of the Thames,
the rest of the crew remaining at Igarka, near
which village lay the wreck. Nothing particularly
worthy of note occurred on the journey. The
boat anchored at several places, thus giving Mr
Seebohm opportunities to continue his bird and
egg collecting. Wiggins noticed at Dudinka a
quantity of fine large coal, also some copper ore
and alabaster.

At BrekhofFsky, Captain Schwanenberg joined
the ship, which had been " behaving remarkably
well." He reported the loss of the Aurora Borealis
— wrecked at the break-up of the ice. He wanted

vxi] THE IBIS SOLD 151

to buy the Ibis and proceed to Europe with her.
Wiggins offered to unite with him for a joint
" Anglo - Russian " expedition homewards, but
this oiFer was promptly declined.

The ship anchored off Golchika on July 19.
This little village, near the mouth of the Yenesei,
and the most northerly settlement on the river,
was all alive with its summer industry of catching,
curing, storing, and selling fish. Two or three
steamers and several barges were waiting for
cargoes of fish, to be conveyed up the river.
There was no steamer hailing from Europe, but a
ship was expected from Bremen in a month or two.

Wiggins had not given up the idea of taking
the Ibis to Russia or England. Co-operation with
Schwanenberg had been refused, and now his
only chance left lay in the possibility of persuading
the three members of the crew of the Thames, who
had manned the Ibis to Golchika, to change their
minds, and accompany him in the little flat-
bottomed schooner. He wrote them a letter,
appealing to their courage and patriotism, and
pointing out the probability, in the event of
their refusal, of Russians sailing the ship to
Europe. A¥ould they permit Russian seamen to
put boasted British pluck to shame ? He gave
the men twenty-four hours to decide. The appeal
was useless — they would not sail in the Ibis.

Schwanenberg secured the boat, after all, for
his employer, SidorofF. Seebohm was willing to
sell his share for 600 roubles in a bill upon

152

ICE-BATTLE ON THE YENESEI

[chap.

SidorofF, and Wiggins agreed to take 400 roubles
in cash, and 300 more in a bill upon SidorofF. It
may as well be stated here that the naturalist never
got his money, and that Wiggins' bill was not paid
until he had sued SidorofF in the St. Petersburg
courts in 1878. From that date the merchant
disappears from this story.

Seebohm returned to Yeneseisk in one of the
river steamers, and then travelled home by the
overland route. In his account of the journey
down the Yenesei he expresses disappointment
with his visit to Golchika, because he had
reached the village so late in the season, and
had failed to obtain the eggs of certain rare
birds. He appears to blame Captain Wiggins —
but without sufficient ground — for the lateness
of his arrival. The Captain cannot be saddled
with the blame with any degree of justice. He
could not reach Golchika earlier owing to the
delay at Kureika, which arose partly from the
unusual lateness of the summer, and partly from
the difficulty of freeing the Thames from the ice,
and the accident which happened afterwards. For
this delay the Captain was in no way responsible.

With regard to other matters, Mr Seebohm
appears to have fallen into an unfortunate way
of applying the word "blunder," not only to
accidents, but also to any arrangements or pro-
ceedings which failed to secure his approval.
Captain Wiggins, from the beginning to the end
of his association with the naturalist, did all in

vii] SEEBOHM'S POINT OF VIEW 153

his power — in more ways than can be mentioned
here — to contribute to the success of Mr Seebohm's
expedition, and it seems a little ungracious for the
distinguished naturalist to attempt to find fault
with the Captain because his collection lacked
a few rare specimens. Although his ambition
was not realised to its fullest extent, through his
failure to obtain eggs either of the knot, the
sanderling, or the curlew sandpiper, yet he
returned home with about fifteen hundred skins
and eggs, thus increasing his fame as one of
the foremost ornithologists of England. But
naturalists are never satisfied I

CHAPTER VIII

UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI

The exploit of the Ibis — A paradise of ferns — Fruit and
flowers of Siberian forests — Scenes on the river-banks —
The Scoptsi sect — A fine ground for yachtsmen — Low
prices of live stock — An official shark — Scheme for
surveying the peninsulas — Sale of the Thames at
Yeneseisk — Devotion of the Captain's crews — Down
the river again — Archbishop of Krasnoiarsk — On a
shoal — Thanksgiving service — A Tongousk canoe —
Hunting a squirrel — Daily diet — Entrancing scenery
— Native gratitude — " Jolly priests " — The vodka curse
— A breechloader's doings — Attack on a woman —
Religious abasement — Happy sledge-dogs — Vegetation
in springtime — An Ostjak family — The old cooper-
hermit — Condition of exiles — Ostjak tea-party — ^Trans-
ference of the Thames — Too late for the Fraser — High
temperature — Back to Yeneseisk — Splendid sturgeon —
Migration of swans — An ill-paid doctor — Effects of
spirits in a cold climate — Weird rocks — The travels of
drift-wood — At Yeneseisk once more — 25,000 miles in
thirteen months, and no practical results — Pluck and
energy undiminished.

" Transferred the Ibis to Captain Schwanenberg
and his crew of three men. Hauled down English

colours; Captain S hoisted Russian."

154

r.HAP. vm] FAREWELL TO THE IBIS 165

It is easy to read between the lines of this brief
entry in Wiggins' Journal the keen disappointment
and humiliation experienced as the Ibis passed
from his control. Nevertheless, the ship and her
new Captain had his heartiest wishes for a successful
venture to Europe. She was re-christened, with
much ceremony, the Dawn. Before Wiggins took
his farewell of her at BrekhofFsky Island, whither
she had been towed to ship her crew, he wrote
to her Captain the following letter : —

" Brekhoffsky, July 26, 1877.
" Captain Schwanenberg.
" Dear Sir, — In handing over to you the
schooner Ibis, I beg to say that, although my
crew refused to sail in her with me to England,
and I am obliged to confess that I part with her
with deep regret, yet I wish you every success
that I could desire for myself.

" Trusting that you and your crew — now setting
such an example of courage — and your owner,
Michael SidorofF, through you, may reap a rich
reward, I am, yours truly,

"Joseph Wiggins,
" (late Commander Ibis).

" P.S. — I sincerely wish that circumstances had
permitted my accompanying you, even only as a
passenger."

To finish the story of a notable exploit — the
Dawn put to sea on August 13 ; she was

156 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

navigated in perfect safety to Stockholm, whence
the Russian Government — proud of her achieve-
ment— had her convoyed by a man-of-war to St.
Petersburg, where she arrived on December 13.
Captain Schwanenberg and his crew were wel-
comed to Russia with great rejoicings.

Wiggins returned to Yeneseisk by a steamer
belonging to Soltnikoff, SidorofF's partner. He
had to settle up the affairs of the Thames, and
send the crew home overland. Being only a
passenger on this journey of 1800 miles, he had
ample leisure to inspect the scenery on the banks
and the villagers at the calling - places. As he
proceeded south the air became soft and balmy,
but the mosquitoes were as great a plague as
they had proved in warmer climes. He noted
the dense forests above the high and sloping
banks. At one of the wooding - up stations he
strolled into a forest, and found a paradise of
ferns, growing in luxurious beauty. The male
fern reached a height of over five feet, whilst
many small varieties formed a verdant carpet all
around. Large bushes of currants, raspberries,
and blackberries were loaded with fruit. Straw-
berries were abundant, whilst fine large mushrooms
made him long for his stewpan and a good fire.
Cranberries were also abundant, and beautiful wild
flowers, including familiar friends, such as hearts-
ease, forget-me-not, wild-rose, and anemone.

On the banks, here and there, were the chooms
of natives, pitched in groups. The children

1 H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l

1 ^^■^^^^^^^^■^^^^^^H

vni.] THE SCOPTSI 157

appeared very happy, playing about in scanty
attire on the sand, or among the flowers on grassy
slopes. Their parents and seniors were busy
fishing or boating, whilst the old folks basked
in the sunshine. " Quiet, gentle, meek - eyed
reindeer" were seen in picturesque groups near
fires, which were always kept burning to prevent
the mosquitoes from tormenting them. Splendid
horses, fifteen hands high, could be bought for £5
each. '* Any number of cows were to be seen,
but few sheep, although the pastures are very
rich." Haymaking was going on at various places,
the hay being carried " with grace and ease by light
sledges, drawn by pretty horses, driven by prettier
maidens." "The hay is composed of rich grass,
mixed with large clover, buttercups, sorrel, and
many other flowers."

Most of the villages were dirty and miserable.
An exception was found at Silovanofi^, quite a
model village, inhabited by a fanatical sect, called
Scoptsi, who had been exiled from Russia on
account of their peculiar practices. They were
remarkable for their industry and cleanliness. Their
chief occupation was fish-curing, and the Captain
was invited to inspect the curing-houses, which he
found " beautifully clean, tidy, and cool." He saw,
for the first time on the banks of the Yenesei,
signs of land-cultivation. In the gardens were beds
of turnips, potatoes, and onions, and in the fields
excellent crops of the same vegetables. Tlie people
numbered only about twenty. They drank nothing

158 UP AND DOWxX THE YENESEI [chap.

but milk, and a very mild beer. All intoxicants,
as well as tea and coffee, were forbidden, and
animal food was never touched.

The Kamin Pass, which had so much impressed
the Captain in the winter, presented scenery more
diversified, with higher lands, finer trees, and more
and brighter flowers than other stretches of the river.
He thought the scenery quite equal to that of the
Hudson river, and in the same style. Island after
island, richly wooded, from two to three hundred feet
high, came into view, with bold headlands and
rocky cliffs, fringed with trees, whilst, on sloping
banks, haymakers were at work, their bright-coloured
garments adding animation to the scene. Gold-
fields abounded in this neighbourhood.

The girdle of islands in this part of the river —
eight to ten miles wide — makes the water appear
to be an immense and beautiful lake. " What a
place for yachting — in and out the labyrinths of these
islands, and what lovely spots here and there for
gentlemen's mansions and estates to nestle in !
AVhat glorious river excursions could be taken
between Irkutsk and Golchika ! It is a sad reflection
that this magnificent river, which might be a high-
way for commerce and pleasure, is so neglected.
One steams its whole length, and never sees a single
sail. The use of sails is not understood here yet,
and the two vessels, the Thames and the Ihis^ were
the first ever worked on the Yenesei under fore
and aft sails."

" The speed of the river steamers is fairly good.

viii] A THIEVING GOVERNOR 159

even though barges, laden with merchandise, have
to be taken in tow. The vessels are entirely fired
with wood, which costs ten shilUngs a fathom. As a
steamer usually burns six fathoms a day, the firing
becomes an expensive item. At certain stations
along the river, the wood, cut and stacked, is
awaiting the steamers. Wherever we stopped for
wood, women and girls flocked on board, bring-
ing new milk, wild fruit, and other things for sale.
The price of a sucking-pig was threepence, and of
a fowl threepence-halfpenny.

" Mops and scrubbing-brushes are unknown on
board, and therefore the deck is not very clean. It
is desirable not to visit the cook whilst she is
preparing meals. When dinner is announced, we
just sit down and eat with thankfulness, asking
no questions."

The voracious, crafty old Governor of Turuk-
hansk, who had been visiting some of the villages,
was a passenger on the steamer for about a
week, much to Wiggins' discomfort. He tried to
appropriate many valuable articles belonging to
liim — his watch, a new binocular glass, a new
portmanteau, etc., — in fact, he would have taken
every article of value from his cabin, had not the
Captain at last effectually seciu'ed the door and its
lock against the old fellow's knavish tricks. He
was a specimen of the unscrupulous Russian
Governor, sent to a distant town, and expected
to maintain himself, which was usually done by
exacting exorbitant fees, by a system of black-

160 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

mailing, as well as by shameless begging. The
departure of this official shark from the ship was
an infinite relief to Wiggins. " Good riddance !
and may his crafty face not shine upon me again
for a long time to come."

SidorofF, the merchant, also joined the steamer
at one of the villages, and discussed with Wiggins
future plans for working the Yenesei and the Obi.
A scheme for thoroughly surveying the Taz and
the Yamal peninsulas — with a view of construct-
ing canals to connect the Obi and the Yenesei —
occupied much of their attention. The merchant
was enthusiastic on the subject, and made Wiggins a
tempting offer, in a financial sense, to undertake
the work. Wiggins accepted the offer, although
the important and expensive work would delay
his departure homewards for five or six months.
Final arrangements had to be deferred, however,
until SidorofF obtained from St. Petersburg
sufficient support for prosecuting the brilliant
project.

On reaching the Thames, a survey of the wreck
was held by the " official shark " — whose knavish
propensities have been described above — Sidoroff,
and the Captain. She was in the same position in
which the Captain left her, but he had some hope
that she might be released from the mud-bank if
he could obtain efficient aid at Yeneseisk. He
was greatly troubled at finding that some of the
portion of the crew whom he had left at Igarka
had succumbed to the vodka habit, and were

viii] THE THAMES SOLD 161

almost in an imbecile condition. He took them
on board, and the steamer resumed her journey.

Arriving at Yeneseisk on August 22, Captain
Wiggins at once consulted Mr Boiling on the
possibility of saving the Thames. He offered him
4,500 roubles for floating the ship and helping to
place her in a safe creek for the winter. In Boiling's
opinion it was impossible, with all available appli-
ances, to float the ship, and that, even if the work
were accomplished, it would cost considerably more
than the sum named. In the event of the ship
being safely brought to Yeneseisk, her repairs,
together with the cost of floating, would probably
amount to more than she was worth. Under these
circumstances the Captain decided to offer the ship
for sale by auction. He made the reserve price
6,000 roubles. The Mayor of Yeneseisk — Mr
Ballandine — and two other merchants made a bid
of 6,100 roubles, and the ship was knocked down
to them. Their chief object in buying her was to
obtain her boilers. The purchasers stipulated that
the ship was to be formally handed over to them
at Igarka, where she lay, and this stipulation com-
peUed the Captain to make another journey, more
than 1,000 miles down the river. He decided to
book his passage in the Nicolai, which was starting
in a few days for Golchika, with food supplies for
the numerous villages on the banks, and barges in
tow, laden with wheat and tallow, for the ocean
steamer Fraser', which was expected to await the
arrival of the river-steamer at Golchika.

162 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

Before setting off there was another duty —
a painful one — to discharge. He had to make
arrangements for the overland journey homewards
of his craven crew. It should be borne in mind that
the conduct of these men was quite exceptional
in the Captain's experience. As a rule, throughout
his sea-faring life, his crews were devoted and loyal,
and many of them, after their discharge, sought
an engagement for another voyage. There are
letters from seamen still existing showing devotion,
if not affection, towards their Captain. He was
always careful about the welfare of his crews, and
anxious to give them credit for good work, and he
never allowed them to incur risks which would
endanger their lives unnecessarily. The Thames
crew was a scratch one, picked up hurriedly at
Sunderland, and it seems clear that the Captain
failed to exercise sufficient care and discrimina-
tion when engaging them.

During this visit to Yeneseisk, Wiggins received
invitations from merchants to dine at their houses,
and to meet the Archbishop of Krasnoiarsk. He
describes the " grand houses, the grand dishes, and
the grand company," and takes note of the " sad
havoc among the viands " made by the priests — or
"popes," as they are called in Russia — who were
included in the dinner-parties.

He left Yeneseisk in the Nicolai on August 29.
His first object in taking the journey was to
transfer the Thames to her new owners. His other
objects were doubtful. He might leave the Nicolai

viii.] AGROUND 163

at Okotsk, go overland to Obdorsk, and survey the
peninsulas ; or he might return to Europe by the
Fraser^ which belonged to JM. SibiriakofF.

Amongst his travelling companions was the
Archbishop, on a tour of inspection of the churches
down the river. He had a priest in attendance,
who turned out a jovial and intelligent fellow.

Wiggins soon got on sociable terms with the
Archbishop — " a very chatty, vivacious, quick-eyed,
and gracious old gent." " He warmly extolled
the size and capabilities of this mighty, but, as
he agreed, wasted river." On August 31, just as
the English mariner was quietly reading Miiller's
" Orphan Schools," he heard a sudden running to
and fro and shouting. " I slipped out on deck,
to find that the steamer had grounded on a shoal.
All was confusion. The barges were coming down
upon us with the rapid tide, threatening to smash
our stern in pieces ; but, fortunately, they took the
ground in time to avoid a collision. The voyage
seemed to me ended, and this vessel in all proba-
bility doomed, for I thought that, with the poor
means the crew had at hand, there was little hope
of getting her off; not a single steam-winch, not a
windlass, not a capstan fit to heave up a cat —
merely a round piece of wood, stuck through the
deck, turning round on a point in the keelson."

The Captain gives an amusing description of
the efforts of the skipper, his crew, and of some
thirty helpers, who had been summoned from a
neighbouring village, to release the steamer. They

164 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

were quite ignorant of the right way to handle
the ship in her present predicament, and, for lack
of proper appliances, " strength and numbers " had
to be used, and for a long time ineffectually.
Amid the din and confusion on board, the skipper's
stentorian voice was heard giving an order, and
then another, which seemed quite contrary to the
first. Then the Archbishop, who knew nothing
whatever about managing a ship, interposed with
his suggestions and orders. He had to be obeyed,
although dire disaster might follow.

The men were making a muddle about taking
out an anchor. " At last, in pity, I was con-
strained to get into the boat, and show them how
we did such things. They made no show of
jealousy or resentment at this act of apparent
officiousness, like some British tars I have known.
They acted quickly upon every hint or instruction,
which I gave them by signs, doing most of the
work myself." A lot of the cargo had to be
discharged, in order to lighten the ship, and
at last, after two days' laborious efforts, the men
managed to force the ship into deep water.

At the next village the Archbishop landed, to
hold a thanksgiving service in the church for the
steamer's safe deliverance. "All the people of
the village, gaily attired, were there. The Arch-
bishop was received with the most profound
reverence, the people struggling to be the first
to receive his hand to kiss. The service and hand-
kissing occupied about an hour, and the Arch-

Mil] THE ARCHBISHOP OF KRASNOIARSK 165

bishop, after taking refreshment at the house of
the village priest, returned on board, being received
with a salute of three — not guns — but screeches
from the steam-whistle.

" I secured a tiny birch - bark canoe, which
was on the beach — the only one of the kind I
had seen on the river. Being so light of con-
struction, it will serve to replace the canvas boat
which I had the misfortune to lose. It was a
most necessary addition to my outfit for surveying
the peninsulas. The Archbishop congratulated
me when I came off with the boat, exclaiming,
' Ah ! very good, very good ; you have now got
an original Tongousk canoe ; and when you have
finished your work, and return home, you can
put it into the museum.' This was all said in
Russian, but I managed to gather the old gentle-
man's meaning. He is a well-informed man and
also very abstemious — a thing rare to see amongst
the priesthood of this land.

" We are steaining very slowly. Should we
arrive at Golchika later than September 12, I
am told the steamer — the Frasei\ from Bremen,
— is at liberty to go away. At the rate we are
going, we can't arrive there until the 16th or
later. Much time is lost by the Captain anchoring
at night. He is too nervous, after his accident,
to proceed in the dark.

" This morning the Archbishop, marching
about the deck, staff in hand, and expatiating
on the beauties of the scenery, suddenly called

166 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

me to come to the fore part of the steamer. He
pointed, as I thought, to a pretty spot on shore.
He looked into my eyes, and said, with another
emphatic gesture, ' Neate, neate ! tam, tam ! ' (' No,
no ! there, there ! ') He directed my eyes to the
bowsprit, where sat a bonny Httle squirrel, wiping
his face with his dainty little paws, quite uncon-
cerned by the fact that enemies were gazing at
him. ' Sabah'ka, sabah'ka' ('dog, dog'), said the
reverend gentleman, meaning that I should fetch
my little Kara to catch it. I slipped away to
my cabin, and brought back, not my dog, but
some broken biscuit, which I deposited close to
where the squirrel sat. He at once ran to it,
but on discovering many eyes gazing at him,
cut off without tasting it. Then the sailors chased
and tried to capture him. I tried to explain that
if they left him alone for a few days he would
get tame. But it was of no use ; they continued
the chase, until, sad to relate, the poor little
chap popped overboard. He struck out bravely
for the shore, with his bushy tail high above
water; but I fear that his tail would be sub-
merged before he could reach land, and, by its
extra weight and hindrance to swimming, place
him in ' Davy Jones' locker.' I suspect that he
took his passage in my birch canoe, where he
was probably curled up in the bow or the stern,
which is formed into a kind of rolled-up point.

"It is astonishing what one can get used to
in the way of eating and drinking. My daily

Mil] THE KAMIN PASS 167

fare consists of black bread, and tea, with sour
milk — the latter reminding one of our soft cream
cheese at home — in the morning; at 4 p.m. soup
and flesh, and in the evening, tea and black
bread. With this moderate fare I feel well, and
am satisfied. It is long since that I came to the
conclusion that simplicity of habits and arrange-
ments are, after all, the essence of comfort to a
traveller.

" We have now fairly entered the grand
Kamin Pass, with its rocky islets, with high
cliffs of basalt frowning upon us. As the rapid
stream drives us swiftly forward, whisking us
round one jutting point after another of almost
perpendicular cliffs, the effect produced by the
rapidly changing scenery is most magical, bewitch-
ing, entrancing. The old Archbishop, and even
the sailors and firemen, are enraptured by the
glorious sights that meet their gaze. We, one
and all, stand looking in mute enjoyment, the
Archbishop now and then expressing himself in
loud ejaculations, which, Englished, mean 'Very
fine,' 'Very, very fine,' 'Thank God!' and many
are the grateful crossings of breasts and reverent
bowings of heads both by himself and all around
him. This reverential appreciation of mercies
received is a peculiar and admirable trait in the
Russian, both rich and poor. I admire it most
in the latter, who, whether it be for the partaking
of a slight meal, or deliverance from peril, or on
retiring from deck at night, coming up again in

168 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

the morning, relieving one another at the helm,
or on beginning a voyage, etc., uncover their
heads, and turning towards the east, or towards
a church, devoutly cross their breast three times,
bowing with each crossing. This custom prevails
all over this immense territory.

" Three large boats, housed-in, are being towed
astern of our barges. In one of them are about
half-a-dozen priests. Last night, as soon as the
anchor was down, the Archbishop's attendant in-
vited me to pay a visit to the priests in the barge.
I was heartily welcomed, and soon a * spread ' was
prepared, in which vodka and wine, of course, pre-
dominated. When I declined their pressing invita-
tion to partake, they could not understand my
refusal. And this is the case wherever I have been,
either at a banquet or at a simple meal — people
can't understand my not drinking. It convinces
me that the chances are I shall never become
popular. Well, one can afford to lose esteem for
the sake of that which is best. This cursed vodka
is undermining not only the health of the people,
but the very constitution of the realm, both political
and religious ; for I know that all who indulge in
this way are not the men they would be without
the drink. If it muddles their brains — as it does —
it must muddle all their works, which rule holds
good in our o^\ii land. After an hour's chat, in
which my pigeon-Russ was severely put to the
test, we bade adieu, the elder priest — a jolly,
comfortable-looking old gentleman — giving me a

Mil] ARCHIEPISCOPAL CURIOSITY 169

napkinful of freshly gathered cranberries, which he
had received at the last stopping-place. One thing
astonished me. The old gentleman showed me a
chart of the districts of the Turukhansk Govern-
ment, which contained all the villages where
there are churches and priests, and they actually
extended nearly to the North-East Cape, on the
Khatanga River.

"A great amusement to the Archbishop and
his young priest - attendant is the examination
of my instruments — sextants, azimuth compass,
barometers, thermometers, salinometers, mountain-
height barometer, telescope, etc. By pantomimic
gestures, judiciously and well carried out, I flatter
myself that they see pretty clearly their different
uses. Then the guns create intense interest —
especially the heavy breechloader, for either shot
or bullet — powerful enough to bring down a
mammoth, I tell them. To convince them, I let
fly a bullet along the face of the water, and, as it
flies — leaping along, bound after bound, duck and
drake fashion — they stand in amazement to see the
great distance the missile goes before finally sinking
into the river. They are satisfied it would kill at
1,000 yards, but were doubtful about the mammoth.
So I try to convince them, and, setting up a log of
birch wood, some seven inches thick, I fire. Not
only does the spelter-hardened bullet pass througli
it, but speeds on over the face of the still waters to
a distance of some .500 yards. The doubts of the
astonished gentlemen were dispelled.

170 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

" The young priest, a very bright fellow of only
eighteen summers, standing nearly six feet, and
stoutly made in proportion, fraternises well. He
sits in my cabin for hours together, to hear what
I have to say about England and London, and to
see my books. He declares he would like to visit
London and Sunderland, but exclaims, clapping
his hands on his pocket, 'Meena neate dingy' ('I
have no money'). I tell him that no doubt the
London steamer will give him a free passage.
' Ah ! but I must have " dingy " for London,' he
replies.

*' Anchored at a village where stands the house
of four generations of the rich Koshemnikoe family.
The Archbishop went ashore and held a service,
with the usual formalities. The Captain and crew
also landed, to wood-up. Soon after they had
gone, an unpleasant event happened. 1 was stand-
ing near the galley, talking to the pilots. The cook,
a Russian woman, was sitting near the door of her
quarters. The engineer suddenly made his appear-
ance, and, slipping behind the woman, so that she
should not see him, caught her by the hair — I
thought, at first, in fun. Before one could realise
that he was abusing the poor creature, he had her
down on the deck, dragging her by the hair from
side to side with great violence. Her piercing
screams soon made me aware that the cowardly
wretch was in earnest. In a moment I was at him,
and forcing my way between him and the sufferer,
tried to push him away ; but, with a demoniacal

viii] A COWARDLY RUFFIAN 171

face, pale as a corpse, and firmly set teeth, he held
on to the hair of the poor screaming woman, and it
was evident that he did not mean to let her go
until some serious mischief was done.

"Then I seized him by the throat, and soon

compelled him to gasp for breath, and loose his hold

of his writhing victim. AVith a smart shove, I

sent him a yard or two off, to contemplate the fact

that, though he was sneak enough to get behind a

woman to attack her, or even to attack her at all,

he was now face to face with a man, who meant

to use all the power he had to prevent such cowardly

usage. He made a decided effort to return to his

victim, but another smart shove sent the big fellow

reeling a few yards away. He had now to remember

that he could not get at the woman — crouching

and screaming, with hands to her head and ears in

an agony of pain — without passing me. He made

another attempt, but I approached him with arms

extended in a determined manner, and, placing

them firmly across his front, gave him to understand

that he could not pass that way. I told him that

it was cowardly to attack a woman. He tried to

explain, in a wild way, something that had happened

— something that she had or had not done.

" Presently the second engineer came on deck,
and rushed towards the woman with a vicious-
looking expression on his face, intending, as I
thought, to have a 'go in' at her. I stepped
quickly across her crouched-up form, and stood
between them. He contented himself by giving

in UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

her a good lecture, she screaming all the time. The
pilots looked on calmly, and had no intention of
interfering; so I had it all to myself The two
engineers went below, but the first engineer soon
returned, and invited me to go on shore with him,
not to fight it out, but to visit Mr Koshemnikoe.
I suspected this was a plot. If I went away with
him, the second engineer would finish the business
with her. So I declined.

" Darkness set in, and all retired. I awoke at
5 A.M., hearing the Captain's stentorian voice
scolding somebody. Going on deck, I found poor
cook sitting on her box, all packed, and ready to
clear out — the Captain still scolding her, while the
engineers looked on, all smiles. Then I got an
explanation from the Captain. The engineers had
quarrelled with the cook for some time past, and
now things had reached a crisis. The first engineer
threatened to leave if the woman was not sent
away. The Captain realised the fact that he could
do without a cook, but not without his engineer.
The poor, wretched-looking cook and her baggage
were placed on a boat by themselves, and the boat
towed to shore by a man in another lodka. The
event had a comical side which appealed to the
sailors, and as they watched the woman, seated on
her box, carried slowly away, they burst into a
loud laugh, although they were sorry to lose poor
Pollygay, who had been cook on the Nicolai for
many a year.

" Mrs SaltnikofF, and her daughter, the wife of

vin] DOGS 173

the third generation of the- Koshemnikoes, came
on board at the village, the latter with her husband,
a lad of eighteen years. The young couple travelled
with us to the next village. I was sorry to see
the abasement with which the wife took her leave
of the Archbishop. On approaching him, she fell
on her knees, her face bowed to the ground, close
to his feet. On raising herself — he proffering no
assistance, as one would think our Lord and
Master would have done — she placed her two
palms together, to receive his hand, and devoutly
kissed it. This reverential act is the usual form
of devout salute ; but the abasement I had
never witnessed, except amongst the poorest. It
cannot be healthy for either rich or poor.

" Now and then we pass a lodka, full of people,
being towed by two or three of the fine dogs of
these districts, which are trained not only to draw
sledges, but also for towing. They go prancing
along the beach, looking very picturesque and
happy. The work is evidently play to them,
compared with the winter sledging, and the natives
seem to treat them very kindly and to value them
highly. In my weakness for dogs, I bought four
when on my way down the river in April. They
are still at the village, near which the Thames lies,
but I fear they will never see England now. They
were puppies, not larger than a kitten, when I
bought them for one rouble each, and when we left
the ship they were nearly as big as poor old Chang,
my English mastiff."

174 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

The Archbishop left the ship at one of the
villages, in order to visit a neighbouring monastery.
" He was most affectionate in his farewells. All
on board, except the heretic Englishman, stood
bareheaded to receive his blessing, and Mrs SaltnikofF
placed herself in the same grovelling attitude as
her daughter had adopted. Crossing the deck, he
came to me, and raising his hat — which he never
does to Russians — he shook me warmly by the
hand, and, drawing me to him, gave me a holy kiss
on the cheek. He then took his seat in a large
housed lodka, and started away, with a fair wind
and a strong current. He is evidently a highly
educated man, and well informed on most subjects.
His knowledge of Latin enabled him to understand
me easily, at least far more easily than any one
else on board understood me.

" I took a walk into the woods, and, from an
eminence, looked down on vast forests — verdure
everywhere, soon to be enveloped in snow and
hard frost — frost so intense that everything save
animal life will be, as it were, enshrouded in death.
It is not death — only rest. Any one coming here
in the spring can witness the swift and marvellous
re-appearance of tree, shrub, and flower. Flowers
have been known to grow on the wheels of carriages,
seeds having adhered to the mud on the wheels,
and thus quickly germinating.

" Turning from the woods, I visited the choom
(tent) of an Ostjak family. Little Kara, my dog,
was with me, and she had a narrow escape of being

VII,.] AN OSTJAK FAMILY 175

gobbled up by a large sledge- dog, who faithfully
guarded the home of these wandering children of
Nature. The occupants consisted of a mother and
her five little ones. "^Fhey were shy, but the
mother soon offered me some freshly - gathered
cranberries, and I won the hearts of the sickly,
dirty-looking wee ones by giving each of them a
small silver coin. The mother would not allow me
to depart without taking the cranberries, and she
asked for a cloth in which to put them. I had
nothing but a coloured cotton handkerchief, so
gave her this to fill. But she was evidently alive
to business, and, overcome by the gorgeous colour-
ing, slipped the handkerchief into her shouba, and
filled a small birch basket with the berries. Bidding
farewell, and walking away, I could not help reflect-
ing how such people are sustained, protected, and
cared for by an All-wise Power during their wander-
ings amid the terrible severities of an Arctic winter
— for they are all nomads, performing journeys of
hundreds of miles into the forests in the depth of
the winter. One asks, how can they exist ?

" I then went to the village, consisting of only
five or six wooden houses, into one of which I was
soon invited to drink tea. Here I bought some
flying- squirrel skins, and wanted badly to buy a
splendid sledge-dog — a beauty, and well his master
knew it, for he declined to sell him.

" Once more on board. We pass the monastery,
at a distance of some three miles. It looks quite
imposing, as it stands on a well-wooded eminence.

176 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

Although standing so high, there are times when
it is nearly level with the water ; for in June, when
the ice breaks away, and the river floods, the water
rises to a height of over 100 feet, just as it does
at Kureika. The high side, or bank, of the river
is on the right hand as you descend it, as is the case
with all very large rivers — a curious phenomenon
of nature, caused by the rotation of the earth on
its axis. On the left-hand side the soil is mostly
low and sandy, and there are innumerable islands
of the same kind, all evidently the effect of deposit.
The islands are well covered with willows and
grasses, a rather remarkable circumstance, when
we consider that they are nearly all flooded during
the spring, at which period they are scoured by
millions of tons of ice for many days together.
Some of the immense blocks of ice are about half
a mile in extent, and eleven feet in thickness, and
one would naturally think they would make a clean
sweep of all vegetation. Yet willows twenty feet
high, with grasses and flowers in abundance, exist
on many.

" We shall soon be at Kureika now, the scene
of so many troubles and struggles, but a spot
which will ever hold a place in one's heart. The
inhabitants, although they had their faults, are to
be remembered as kind and hospitable people. I
hope they may have as kind a remembrance of the
first English crew who ever visited their shores.

" We are passing the old place now, enshrouded
with trees, gorgeous with their autumnal foliage.

VIII.] EXILES IN SIBERIA 177

A lodka is in mid-stream, some distance up. The
occupant is probably the honest old cooper-hermit,
on his way home from a journey in search of large
willows, to make hoops for his fish-casks. He
lives a lonely, quiet life in Mr TurkofF's small
wooden bath-house — a little hole, some eight feet
square. He told me during my stay at Kureika,
that he was once the happy serf of a baron. On
one occasion he committed himself to the extent
of being very saucy, and for this offence his master
packed him off to the Land of Exile, without trial
or Government order, and he was thus separated
from his family and home at an hour's notice.
' And he was a good master, too, on the whole,'
remarked the old man.

" One has a strange feeling when first mixing
with the exiles of Siberia. You may be speaking
to a criminal of the deepest dye, or to a man
doomed to banishment for a comparatively trivial
offence. One will tell you that he was an officer
in the Army, that he insulted a higher officer,
and perhaps struck him, and was promptly exiled.
You find that another was a private soldier, that
he got drunk, and abused his commanding officer,
and was consequently sent off to the distant land.
Then you come across one who was a gentleman's
servant ; in a fit of passion he attacked his master.
You may make the acquaintance of an elderly man,
who will tell you that in a certain revolutionary
uprising he was sitting quietly at home — having
nothing to do with the affair, and having no know-

178 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

ledge of it — when, without a moment's notice, and
without trial, he was sent off far beyond the Urals.

" When exiles are reticent about their past,
you may conclude they are guilty of serious crimes.
But you need have no fear even from this class
of exile, for, owing to the excellent and rigid
system of surveillance throughout these vast
territories, there can be no wrongdoing without
the culprit being easily traced. Moreover, the
penalties are so severe that the worst criminals
are deterred from wrongdoing by terror of the
law and its officers. It is the highly cultured
political offender who is the greatest sufferer. He
becomes at times the victim of secret jealousy
and envy, and his life, already blighted, is made
wretched and unbearable.

" But the exiles, generally speaking, have not
much to complain of. This land is so rich and
fruitful, even for the poorest, that the lack of
comfort in any particular instances may be traced
to the exiles' lazy or dissolute habits. Moreover,
the Government sends annually to each village on
these rivers a supply of corn or rye-meal, sufficient
to last them, and the natives too, until the next
year. They are charged but the bare cost of the
article, and are not required to pay until the expira-
tion of twelve months. Each village has a store-
house for this food - supply, and the starosta, or
elder of the village, is responsible for its distribution
and for the payment of the same. The exiles
obtain more fish than they need. Horses, cows,

RUSSIAN EXILES.

GOVERX3IKXT HOUSE AM) ■MONASTERY, TOBOLSK, AM) FIGURES ILLUSTRATING

OCCIPATIONS OK THE I'EOPLK.

(Drawn by a Russian exile.)

{Tofacef. 179-

v,„.] THEN AND NOW 179

and reindeer they possess in abundance. There is
a plentiful supply of berries — even splendid black
and red currants, as large as the largest that I
have ever seen in England. Thus Nature supplies
a most precious anti - scorbutic, and the people
have the sense to appreciate this gift, for they
store the fruit for vv^inter use. Other foods they
obtain from the steamers trading on the river.

" True it is that in times past the sufferings
of the poor exiles, when on their way from their
native land to these then inhospitable regions,
must have been terrible, marched, as they were,
in gangs of hundreds, composed of whole different
families — the delicate and aged grand - parents,
the mothers with their weakly and tender children
and infants, the sick and infirm — all compelled
to walk the entire distance, along the terrible
and tortuous road, bad enough in the summer,
but in the winter even strong, hale fathers and
sons broke down under the effects of the severity
of the weather, and the cruelties of their ignorant
and oppressive escorts. But that time is now past
and gone. The roads of this mighty highway
are good, and transit is comparatively easy, so
that few exiles now arrive except in good health ;
and the Government has doubtless long since
learnt the lesson that if she desires to populate
and strengthen her dominion in these parts, it
is to her advantage to see that the exiles are
cared for on the road, and also after their
arrival.

180 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

" September 9. — A party of Ostjaks, who
worked for me at Kureika, came on board.
When they had done their bartering with the
Captain, I invited them to partake of tea in
my cabin, and it was an amusing sight to see
them all squat down, huddled together in a tight
circle on the floor. It would have done the heart
of any teetotaler good to see how they disposed
of mugful after mugful of the delightful beverage,
gasping for breath as they returned the empty
mug to be replenished, and jabbering out their
thanks in broken Russian. If one may judge from
the satisfaction depicted on their faces as they
departed, tea, after all, goes as near to their hearts,
if not nearer, than the fiery vodka.

" September 10. — At last we anchored abreast
of the Thames. Mr Ballandine's steamer was here.
His captain and agent came on board, and I went
with him to the vessel. Much to my surprise, he
had succeeded in doing a great deal to her, having
placed large balks of timber underneath, to prevent
her being frozen to the ground, and erected the
greater part of an artificial island of timber, of
immense size. The space between the ship and
the timber is to be filled in with earth. The new
owners intend to trust to this device to prevent
the ice driving upon the ship, and thus ensure
safety until the ice has passed away in the spring.
It is a huge business, and will cost much money.
It would have cost us more than the steamer is
worth. I hope the plan may succeed, for I should

VIII.] AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED 181

not like to hear that the old ship was smashed up
with the breaking up of the ice."

Captain Wiggins, having attended to various
details connected with the transfer of the Thames
to her new owners, returned to the Nicolai, which
then resumed the journey to Koreopoffsky and
Golchika. She was much behind time. The
continual stopping to obtain wood for the engine
fires was an irritating cause of delay, and Wiggins
was wondering how the Nicolai was going to
complete her journey to Golchika and get back
to Yeneseisk without being frozen up. By this
time he had abandoned his half-formed intention
of landing at Okotsk and going overland to
Obdorsk, in order to survey the peninsulas. He
was not sure that he might not find himself
burdened with the expenses of the expedition.

When the Nicolai was approaching BrekhofFsky
Island — about seventy miles from Golchika — on
September 17, a lodka was seen, pulling for the
steamer. The lodka -men, who were taken on
board, brought letters from Golchika, contain-
ing the information that the Fi^aser had reached
that port on August 21. Her cargo of gold-
washing machinery, sugar, and tobacco was placed
in a store - house. Her captain waited till
September 9, and then, hearing no news of the
Nicolai, sailed back to Europe.

Thus, mainly through the slow progress of
the Nicolai, the opportunity of carrying the first
cargo of wheat from the Yenesei, through the

182 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

Kara Sea, to Europe was lost. Captain Wiggins
found out afterwards that an intrigue existed,
having its origin amongst certain merchants of
Yeneseisk, for preventing the wheat carried in the
barges from arriving at Golchika in time to
be transferred to the Fraser. At that time the
merchants in question were strongly opposed to
the opening of the ocean route, and were thus
attempting to frustrate the plans of the merchant
who owned the wheat.

Wiggins was surprised that Captain Dalmann,
of the Frasei\ had not delayed his departure for a
few days longer, the temperature being ^5"^ in
the shade — a clear indication that the Kara Sea
would remain free from ice until the middle of
October. It is worth noting, as an example of
the variations in the seasons, that when Wiggins
was in the estuary at the same time in the previous
year a hard frost prevailed.

The Nicolai now started on her homeward
passage to Yeneseisk, with Wiggins still one of
her passengers. The tedious journey of some
1,700 miles was not to his liking, but he accepted
the inevitable with a good grace, as his Journal
testifies. It is filled with the record of striking
incidents, odd experiences, mingled with notes and
comments on the natives at the villages where
the steamer stopped. Two or three specimens of
these entries must suffice.

The Nicolai took on board a number of Siberians
who were leaving the fishing stations and going

via.] "JOSEPH JOSEPIVITCH" 183

south for the winter. At many of the caUing
places quantities of dried fish were shipped, for
sale at Yeneseisk and other towns. Amongst the
fish were " some splendid sturgeon and sterlets,
the former weighing about two poods each (72 lbs).
I am told they often average seven poods each.
They must be very nutritious, composed, as they
are, of a considerable amount of gelatine. The real
gelatine is extracted in the form of a bag, and also
in a long rope-like piece from the whole length of
the backbone. It is hung up in the air to dry,
and then the bags are strung together, and the
ropy part twisted, or rolled up, like wisps of
straw, and it is ready for the market. It sells at
Yeneseisk for a rouble a pound, in China as mucli
as seven roubles a pound, whilst in England it is
extremely dear. An immense profit could be
reahsed by sending it home by steamers sailing
through the Kara Sea.

" The temperature has fallen, and the wind
blows from the north. Now the splendid white
swans are on their way south in immense flocks.
Thousands and thousands passed us yesterday, and
they are still ' coming — coming ' — not with the
* spring-tide and the flowers,' but rather with the
sleet and snow showers.

" The Captain of the Nicolai settled for me to-
day what my name is in Russian. It is customary
in these regions to call people after the Christian
name of their father, with a ' vitch ' at the end of
it. Therefore my name is ' Joseph Josepivitch,' or,

184 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

as pronounced in Russ, ' Eeyooseep Eeyooseepivitch'
— certainly quite a curiosity of a name when it
comes out in that fashion.

*' The doctor from Turukhansk came on board
yesterday. Poor creature ! he looks as if, at some
period of his life, he had been half scared out of
his wits. He opened his heart to me in my cabin
over a cup of tea, and ended by informing me
that the Government pays him, for tending the
natives, the extraordinary stipend of twelve and a
half roubles a month. Poor fellow ! I no longer
wondered at that half-scared look. In the course
of our talk he assured me that, after long observa-
tion, he had come to the conclusion that indulgence
in ardent spirits, in this severe climate, produced
not only rheumatism, but even scurvy. This
opinion, at least as regards scurvy, is corroborated
by Sir Leopold M'Clintock and other Arctic
explorers.

" Yesterday we stopped at an Ostjak village.
Men and women came on board, the former to deal
with the Captain for their fish, and the latter to do
business with the crew with sweet berries, milk, etc.
They gathered round me, and, with surprise and
pleasure, shook hands, asking the reason of my
returning. This, by the way, is the usual enquiry
at all the villages, for I am now pretty well known
to most of the people on the river banks. I soon
gave them an answer by repeating, for the hundredth
time, the story of how we missed the English
steamer at Golchika. They bemoaned the unlucky

vin] WORK OF OCEANIC CURRENTS 185

event, and hoped that another year might enable
me to succeed in continuing the work, and that we
might meet again. The native tribes have been
most kind towards the stranger. On our way up
and down the river last year on sledges, not one
kopek would they take for entertaining us to tea,
j with bread, fish, etc. ; they are to be remembered
with gratitude.

" In some places the towering, perpendicular
rocks have a most weird appearance. Much of the
rock, having been disintegrated by frost, has fallen to
the base, where it lies in a confused heap. In its
fall it has uprooted huge trees, many of which are
hanging down in the most fantastic and threaten-
ing manner, supported by only a few remaining
roots, which have struck inwards. After the frosts
of next winter, these trees will probably be shot
down, and, floating along the mighty Yenesei, will
find their way most likely, in time to come, to the
very Pole itself, and then be carried south to East
Greenland, to the shores of Iceland, and perhaps
even to Smith Sound. So much for the mighty
work of ceaseless oceanic currents."

The steamer arrived at Yeneseisk on October
16. The journey of 1,700 miles had taken twenty-
eight days. There were no signs as yet of ice on
the river ; in fact, the weather was " oppressively
close and warm," and the Captain was assured
by reliable authorities that for many years past
the summers had gradually become longer.

"The town is now very busy, for the gold-

186 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap.

washers are returning from the mines for the winter.
It is most interesting to watch the arrivals — some
on foot, some in tarantasses, others on horse-back —
sturdy men, and almost as sturdy women, astride
the wildest, shaggiest, and dirtiest of little horses.
The costumes are as varied and as curious as the
animals, and most of the returning workers are
decent, quiet-looking people."

The roads were almost impassable from the
mud, and sledging homewards was out of the
question. So Wiggins procured a four-wheeled
tarantass, and in this springless vehicle he set off to
Europe in the last week of October, and reached
England in time to spend Christmas at home.

In the course of thirteen months he had travelled
about 12,000 miles by sledge and tarantass. During
the same period he had gone twice down and twice
up the Yenesei — equal to a journey of about 6,000
miles. If we add to these figures the journeys by
rail and sea — twice from Russia to England, and
once from England to Russia — the entire distance
traversed was upwards of 25,000 miles.

Since November 1876, when the Thames was
left in her winter quarters at Kureika, the mental
strain on the Captain had been continuous and
intense. Hope, suspense, and disappointment had
changed places in quick and wearisome succession.
Since the notable voyage of the Thames as far as
Kureika, his projects had made no advance, in spite
of all his toil and efforts. His overland journey to,
Europe in the winter of 1876, undertaken mainly

VIII.] HOPES FRUSTRATED 187

for the purpose of rousing interest in his work, and
inducing merchants to send out another ship to the
Yenesei — leaving the Thames free to carry cargoes
to and fro between the mouth of the river and
Yeneseisk — proved a failure. When the Thames
was released fi*om the ice, there sprang up the
prospect of returning to England with the first
cargo ever shipped from the Yenesei ; but with the
wreck of that ship the prospect was dashed to the
ground. Hope sprang up once more. The trim
little Ibis might take the place of the Thames, the
Captain thought, and carry a small cargo to Europe.
Again hope vanished when his men turned craven-
hearted, and refused to sail in the schooner. When
he saw the Ibis sail away with a Russian captain,
he accepted the inevitable with stoical fortitude,
and went to the heartless task of selling the
stranded Thames to the highest bidder, largely from
a sense of duty towards the friends who had enabled
him to buy the ship. That task over, up the
Yenesei he toiled once more, to hand over the
Thames to her new owners, and with hopes divided
between the important work of surveying the
peninsulas and a swift passage home in the Fraser^
to try again to kindle enthusiasm in England.
With both plans unrealised, he journeyed back to
Yeneseisk, and set off to England, his only stock-
in-trade being one great absorbing idea — unchecked
in the slightest degree by failure of hopes — together
with indomitable pluck and amazing energy for
carrying out the idea to its consummation.

188 UP AND DOWN THE YENESEI [chap. vm.

Whilst Wiggins, in straitened circumstances,
was pursuing his mission of commerce and peace
on the Yenesei, Russia was engaged in spending
£120,000,000 on her desperate struggle with Turkey.
The war broke out on the day he began cutting the
Thames from the ice, and went on until after he
had reached home and was laying plans for another
voyage.

CHAPTER IX

FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES

Frustration of plans — Appeals to English merchants —
Mr Oswald J. Cattley — Successful voyage of the
Warkworth to the Obi — First cargo brought to the
Thames from Siberia — Splendid quality of wheat —
Difficulties of navigation at the mouth of the Obi —
Voyage of the Neptune — Congratulations — Letter from
Lieutenant Weyprecht — From Tinmen to the Thames —
Lecturing — Encouragement of competition — The best
kind of monopoly — A foolhardy expedition — " Eggshells
of steamers" — Development of the sea-route stopped
by speculators — Russian disaster — Voyages of Wiggins
in southern seas — Acquaintanceship with General
Gordon.

On his way home, Captain Wiggins made
tentative arrangements to supervise the building
of a ship at Tobolsk, for a merchant on the Obi,
and take her down that river to Europe with
a cargo. Difficulties about insurance stopped
the realisation of this scheme. He also entered
into preliminary negotiations with the well-known
firm of Messrs Wardropper Brothers, of Tiumen,
for the purchase of engineering and shipbuilding
works, the object in view being the opening of
direct trade between the Obi and England. Ships

189

190 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

of light draught were to be built at the works for
carrying goods down the river, and by the ocean
route to England. This scheme also had to be
abandoned, owing to inadequate support in Russia
and England.

The Captain's efforts, by public lectures and
personal influence, to induce merchants and
capitalists to form syndicates or companies, for
the purpose of working the trade of either the
Yenesei or the Obi, seemed destined to have little
result. His voyages, so far, had convinced the
lords of commerce that a large investment of
capital would not be safe from the extravagant
demands of the ice-king, or from the perils and
vagaries of unsurveyed rivers.

It must be borne in mind that the Captain
never attempted to keep back or disguise the
dangers and costly contingencies in which an
expedition might be involved. His appeal to rich
men, summarised and put into plain words, ran
thus : Here is a splendid opening for trade ; but
before it can be utilised to great commercial
advantage, a large sum of money must be spent.
The ultimate aim in view is the bringing of
England and Russia into more friendly relation-
ship by means of this new bond of commerce.
The money which you spend now may, or may
not, yield a financial return. In any case, the
establishment of the sea-route is bound to become
an accomplished fact sooner or later. Are you
prepared to expend money on such conditions ?

IX.] VOYAGE OF THE WARKWORTH 191

The Russophobist class — far more numerous
thirty years ago than now — promptly declined to
co-operate. Rich men, with friendly feeling
towards Russia, shared the Captain's admirable
aims, but were not fired with enthusiasm equal
to his, and consequently hesitated to unite in a
strong, bold effort, with the determination to make
the enterprise a permanent success.

At last, through the co-operation of a British
merchant in St. Petersburg — Mr Oswald J. Cattley
— a little scheme was initiated and carried out,
bearing notable and valuable results. Mr Cattley,
through Mr William Byford, of London, chartered
a screw steamer, the Warkworth, of Newcastle, of
650 tons burden, for a voyage to the Obi. The
Captain took the ship to Liverpool for a cargo
of salt, Sheffield goods, porcelain, glass, etc., whilst
some of the Obi merchants arranged with Mr
Cattley to have a cargo of wheat and other produce
ready at the mouth of the river for conveyance
to England.

The Warkxvorth left Liverpool on August 1,
1878. Crossing the Kara Sea, she steamed up
the Gulf of the Obi, having met with but very
little ice. She had some difficulty in crossing the
bar at the estuary, but, helped by a strong north
wind, she reached her destination in safety — a
few miles beyond Nadim. A large pracmi, about
300 feet long, laden with 300 tons of wheat,
linseed, hemp, flax, etc., awaited her. Having
discharged her cargo, the JFcu^kwoi^th took on

192 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

board the contents of the praam, and sailed for
home. The bar again stood in the way, and the
ship had to be reUeved of some tons of her
freight before it was possible to clear the
obstruction.

She arrived in the Thames on October 2, after
a successful voyage of just two months. Her
cargo was the first ever brought from Siberia,
through the Kara Sea, to this country. The
experience of the voyage fully verified Wiggins'
calculations, and solved the problem of carrying
on ocean commerce with the Obi. The wheat
brought home proved, on analysis, to be even
better than Indian wheat.

Whilst in the Obi Gulf, Wiggins met the
Hamburg steamer, Neptune, which was bound on
the same errand as the Warkworth. By his aid
the Neptune was carried over the shallows. She
was then loaded with wheat and taken back to
Hamburg in safety. She was commanded by
Captain Rasmussen, and sent out by Herr
Bartning, of Hamburg, co-operating with Herr
Funck, a merchant of Barnaul, a town in the
Government of Tomsk.

Captain Wiggins was the recipient of many
congratulatory letters on the completion of his
successful venture. One of the most acceptable
of them came from his friend and brother-explorer.
Lieutenant Weyprecht. " I most sincerely con-
gratulate you," he wrote, " on your splendid success
of this year. You are certainly the first who

|^3

O
H

a
o

IX] THE EXPRESS 193

pointed out the possibility of sea-communication
with the Obi and the Yenesei — or, at least, the
first who undertook to show it. I am quite sure
that, not every year, but nearly every year the
same voyage can be performed. . . . Experience
and comparison of different years and different
places have convinced me that, whenever one part
of the Arctic Sea is free from ice, there exists an
accumulation of ice in another part. The more
open the sea is on the western side, the more will
it probably be closed in the easterly direction. . . .

" I am very glad that your disinterested en-
deavours have been rewarded finally with distinct
success. I hope also that your pecuniary sacrifices
in some measure will be compensated."

It has been mentioned that one of the Captain's
ideas was to get ships built at Tiumen or at
Tobolsk, load them with Siberian produce, and
take them direct to England. A demonstration
of the feasibility of this idea took place soon after
he reached London in the JV^ctrkworth. A Moscow
merchant had the Express built at Tiumen. She
was of light draught, and only roughly finished
in hull, spars, and rigging. She left Tiumen
with a cargo on August 2, and was towed down
the river some distance. After grounding, but
without injury, at the mouth of the river, she
reached White Island on September 30, cleared
the Kara Sea on October 12, and then had a
splendid run to the Thames, where she arrived
on November 5.

194 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

During the winter of 1878-9, Captain Wiggins
accepted several invitations to deliver lectures on
his voyages and the prospects of trade with Siberia.
In these lectures he kept back nothing — favourable
or unfavourable — concerning the working of the
sea route. It was his desire to give all information
possible, not only for the sake of creating interest,
but also that he might be the means of helping
navigators, of any nationality, who might be sent
to the Obi or the Yenesei by merchants and
capitalists. He had not the slightest wish to
monopolise, for his own use, or for the use of any
firm or sjmdicate with which he might become
connected, the experience and information that
he had gained. His knowledge and experience
were for the benefit of the world, and not for
doling out, by special favour, here and there.

Some of his friends thought that he would
safeguard his own interests by exercising a little
reticence, and one of them wrote : — " I am afraid
you are giving too much information by lecturing
that others will take advantage of and will not
benefit you." The Captain's answer is not avail-
able, but we can easily imagine its character, and
can be sure that his friend never ventured a second
expostulation of a similar kind.

When there was a prospect of a syndicate
taking up the work, another of his friends, who
was connected with the syndicate, hearing a rumour
that Wiggins intended to co-operate in a different
Siberian venture, expressed a hope that he was not

IX.] SPECULATORS SPOIL THE BUSINESS 195

going to join "a rival concern," because he (the
writer) would certainly do his best to prove "a
thorn in the side of any competitor."

This paltry threat instantly aroused the Captain's
dudgeon. " I hardly think you would be so
foolish," he answered, " to enter upon the work
with the intention of impeding or destroying honest
competition, based upon the Christian principle of
' Live and let live.' No, no, my dear sir, this has
never been my policy, and I trust it may never be
yours. It is a great work, and, as a consequence,
there is room for very many workers. Believe me,
if ever a monopoly is obtained by any one party,
it will be, not by struggling to oppose others, but,
rather, by a well- based system of carefully navigat-
ing the very best vessels that can be constructed
for the purpose, employing the right kind of
men, and making proper arrangements at loading
places."

The success of the Warkworth, and of other
vessels in 1878 directed the attention of commercial
circles to the question of the ocean route, and the
immediate future seemed, to Wiggins, to be full
of promise. But, unfortunately, the people who
decided to utilise the Captain's pioneering work,
by sending out ships with cargoes, did so with
unsuitable vessels, and on a plan rashly and crudely
devised. Their expedition ended in disaster, and
stopped the development of the sea route for several
years. " Speculators rushed in," said Wiggins,
" and spoilt the business."

196 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

The story of this foolhardy venture can be told
in the Captain's own words. It was given in the
course of an interview, which Mr W. T. Stead
had with him in 1888, published in the Pall Mall
Gazette.

" Never was an enterprise more certainly doomed
to failure from the outset than was the despatch of
the little fleet of merchantmen, which left England
for the Obi in 1879. Five large sea-going steamers
of deep draught, and about as capable of standing
the nip of an ice pack as so many matchboxes,
were chartered at large freights to go to Nadim, on
the Obi. They started a month too soon, in defi-
ance of the strongest warnings. Five thousand
tons of Siberian goods were purchased in the interior
and sent down to meet them at Nadim. But none
of them ever reached their destination. And for
the very best of all reasons — it was impossible.
Cavalry could as soon ride across the Channel as
these big eggshells of steamers could have delivered
their cargoes at Nadim. For eighty or a hundred
miles north of Nadim there stretches shoal water
stormy enough to be impassable by river steamers.

" It is this bar of shallow sea which constitutes
the greatest obstacle to the navigation of the Obi,
and that is the obstacle which we have to overcome.
We have to lift the lame dog over the last step of
the stile. But these speculators in 1879 knew
nothing of the conditions of the navigation. They
ignored the advice of those who did ; and so the
whole enterprise came to a most ignominious

IX.] EGGSHELLS OF STEAMERS 197

collapse. They did not even get to the outer edge
of the Obi shore. They cruised about in fog sur-
rounded by floating ice for a month, without ever
making their way through the Iron Gates, and at
last, growing thoroughly alarmed, they gave up the
attempt, and brought their cargoes home again.
The 5,000 tons of Siberian produce sent down for
shipment was wasted, and so both in England and
in Siberia the project of opening up a new trade
route became utterly discredited. But nothing
happened in 1879 which I did not predict before
the ships left port, and therefore there is nothing
whatever in the experience of that year to dis-
courage us to-day."

Captain Wiggins, although his advice as to the
choice of vessels had been disregarded, was offered
the command, or the pilotage, of these " eggshells
of steamers " — the 3Iizpah, the Amy, the Brighton,
the R. J. Alston and another — but, of course, he
declined having anything to do with the venture.
The serious mistake of the organisers of this ex-
pedition, and the consequent loss, created ridicule
and distrust, and no one in England cared to take
up the work again until the year 1887.

In 1880 some Russian ships, belonging to a
wealthy firm in JNIoscow, met with disaster. The
steamer Louise and two schooners were lost in the
Obi Gulf, and a third schooner sank in the Bay of
Baidarata. Another steamer, the Oscar Dickson,
belonging to M. Sibiriakoff, failed to enter the
Yenesei Gulf, and had to winter in the Bay of Gyda.

198 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

The owner, who was on board, left the ship in
December, with some of the crew, and contrived to
reach Obdorsk, thence traveUing to St Petersburg
overland. The failure of these vessels arose mainly
from lack of skill and experience, and had the same
effect on Russian commercial circles as the failure
of the English fleet, in the previous year, had upon
merchants at home.

It really seemed as if Captain Wiggins was the
only man who thoroughly understood the conditions
of safe navigation in those waters — the only man
capable of conducting a ship to either the Obi or
the Yenesei. Wiseacres, not inclined to accept
such a conclusion, put their heads together, and
decided, in the first place, that Wiggins had been
favoured merely by " good luck," and, in the second
place, that the Kara Sea was not an open sea,
except in unusually warm summers.

With the prospects of Siberian work so gloomy,
Wiggins abandoned, for the present, all idea of
resuming his enterprise. He was led to that deci-
sion, in a great measure, by the persuasions of
friends, who urged him to consider his financial
interests, and try to repah% in other seas, his
shattered income. Left to himself, he would have
attempted, probably, to carry on the work, in spite
of the unfavourable impression existing in England
and Russia. The inefficiency and folly of others
could not bank up the fire of his enthusiasm.

Some of the Captain's friends, and particularly
Mr John Ridley, and his daughter. Miss Annie E.

IX.] OBJECTIONS OF THE WEALTHY 199

Ridley — afterwards her father's biographer — made
strenuous efforts to enHst the support of Austrahan
merchants and shipowners for the Siberian work.
Mr Ridley, whose name was a household word in
South Australia, in connection with the invention
of the " Ridley Reaping Machine " — which proved
of such immense value to the Colony — had consider-
able influence with leading merchants in London
and Australia, but the appeals which were made
met with no encouraging response.

One wealthy shipowner stated that his chief
objection to render aid was that the work had in
view "the interests of a foreign nation." The
Captain, writing to Miss Ridley, met the objection
with an apt rejoinder. " Such folks seem to have
narrow views when they express themselves in such
selfish terms. If they only reflected for a moment,
they would surely make the simple discovery that
the people of one nation cannot promote the
interests of another nation without promoting their
own welfare — and honour."

Another rejoinder was called forth when the
same shipowner remarked : " Charity begins at
home ; we must not forget our own household or
our own country for the sake of doing service to
another." " I note that your friend's charity," the
Captain said in another letter to Miss Ridley, " is
that of the world's charity in general — that is, it
' begins at home.' No wonder that such people
become millionaires ! . . . Still, it would not
matter so much that their charity began at home,

200 FROM THE OBI TO THE THAMES [chap.

providing they did not keep it all at home. ... If
the milhonaire would only summon courage to
explore a gold district in another country, and take
from it from five to seven tons of gold annually,
then he might be able to realise the fact that one
can do a service to a foreign country w^ithout
neglecting one's own."

Writing to the same correspondent, the
Captain expressed a strong wish that the Hudson's
Bay Company, "not being over - flourishing at
present," should turn its attention to the north-
east. "Although under the rule of a despotic
Government, it would meet, nevertheless, with
every encouragement, have every protection, and
realise an immense fortune. The inhospitable
lands of the north-west, for certain geographical
reasons, are not to be compared with Siberia,
with its inexhaustible treasures. For the same
reasons the Hudson's Bay Company will never
become the wealthy concern that the Muscovy
Company of old became. How satisfactory it
would be if a concern like the Hudson's Bay
Company, with all its resources and experience,
its splendid ships and men, took up this new
enterprise, and, by working it as no other nation's
company could, reaUse a monopoly of its own —
the only right and proper kind of monopoly that
ought to exist. Well, if they, or others of our
enterprising merchants will not do it, there are
those of other nations who will."

Between 1880 and 1887 Wiggins devoted his

IX.] GENERAL GORDON 201

energies to voyages in southern climes. He
made a surveying voyage in the Indian Ocean,
and took ships to the Cape, to South America,
the Mauritius, and the West Indies. Three of
the principal ships which he commanded were
the Sii^occo, the Maenatchy, and the Nourmahal,
Wherever he went he tried to awaken interest in
his Siberian projects, and always took with him
his lantern-slides, to illustrate any lectures which
he might be invited to deliver.

Many interesting incidents occurred in the course
of these voyages, and one of them, at least, left an
ever-enduring impression upon the Captain. This
was the formation of an acquaintanceship with
General Gordon, the future " hero of Khartoum,"
who, it will be remembered, went out to the
Mauritius, in 1881, to hold a temporary command
for a few months. He travelled either to or
from the Mauritius in a ship commanded by
Wiggins, and the two men quickly found that they
were closely allied in sympathies and aspirations.
Wiggins never forgot, and always treasured, the
wise and elevating utterances which fell from the
General's lips in their daily conversations. They
parted with regret that, probably, no opportunity
would ever occur for the renewal of their inter-
course ; but the devout and hearty " Godspeed "
that came from each was a fresh incentive to
faithful service.

CHAPTER X

VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX

Formation of the Phoenix Company — Sir Robert Morier —
Mr H. N. SuKvan — Arrangements for working the
Yenesei — Incidents of the voyage of the Phoenix — Sun
and cloud effects — Rocks on the Yenesei highlands —
The blind "king" of the Samoyedes — Forcing a way
through the rapids — Tribute to the Captain's skill —
Ovation at Yeneseisk — Congi'atulations from England —
Visit to gold mines — Krasnoiarsk — Christmas festivities
in Siberia — A teetotal banquet — Sledging under
difficulties — Social entertainments at Tomsk — The
Aristocratic and Democratic Clubs — Tomsk University
— Doing business en route for home — Mr Sulivan's
visit to St Petersburg — Concessions obtained by Sir
Robert Morier from the Russian Government.

In the year 1887 the way was opened for Captain

Wiggins to make another venture in Siberian

waters. Several of the Captain's friends, and a

few other gentlemen, who had been attracted by

the prospect of carrying on a regular and profitable

trade with the merchants on the Yenesei and the

Obi, were brought into communication with each

other. Various plans were discussed, and it was at

length resolved to form a small company for the

purpose of buying and fitting a ship, freighting
202

cHAP.x.] SIR ROBERT MORIER 208

her with a suitable cargo, and sending her up the
Yenesei.

It was known to the Company that Sir Robert
Morier, British Ambassador at St Petersburg, had
felt the deepest interest in the efforts of Wiggins
to establish an ocean trade between England and
Siberia. The Company therefore laid their scheme
before him, requesting that he would use his
influence to get the Russian Government to admit
the cargo into Siberia free of duty. Sir Robert
gladly undertook the task, and obtained the desired
concession.

The Company bought the steamship Phcenix —
273 tons register — and named themselves after her
— the " Phoenix Merchant Adventurers (Limited),"
afterwards altering their name to the " Phoenix
Company (Limited)." The principal organiser and
managing director of the Company was Mr H. N.
Sulivan, a son of Admiral Sir James Sulivan — who
assisted Darwin in the voyage of the Beagle — and
a member of the firm of Messrs Eicholtz &; Co.,
of Newcastle. Among the Adventurers who held
a considerable stake in the concern were Wiggins'
old friend, Mr C. L. W. Gardiner, INIajor W. P.
Gaskell, and Mr S. N. Corlett, a London merchant.
Wiggins was appointed Marine Superintendent,
and Adviser to the board.

The details of the scheme were as follows.
The Phoenix was to take in a cargo of salt at
South Shields. Wiggins was to be her com-
mander, and his brother, Captain Robert W^iggins,

204 VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX [chap.

chief officer. Mr Sulivan arranged to accompany
the expedition, as business director, and in order to
see for himself the prospects of establishing a trade.
The Phoenix was to proceed through the Kara Sea,
and up the Yenesei as far as Yeneseisk, and there
discharge her cargo. She was to winter at that
port, in the charge of Robert Wiggins. At the
breaking-up of the ice in the spring of 1888 he
was to take the steamer, with a cargo, down the
river as far as Koreopoffsky or Golchika. Captain
Wiggins and Mr Sulivan proposed to return
home overland, and another ship was to be sent
out from England in the summer of 1888, to
meet the Phoenix, and exchange cargoes with
her, the Phoenix returning to Yeneseisk, and the
other ship to England. If the double expedition
proved successful, and further concessions could
be obtained from the Russian Government,
similar arrangements were to be carried out year
after year.

Mr Gardiner, with his usual liberality, supplied
the expedition with a fine steam-launch, for leading
the way up the river.

The Phoenix left South Shields on August 5,
1887. She called at Vardoe, and left that port
for the east on August 23. In five days she
reached the Waigats Straits, and on the 29th
entered the Kara Sea, where the water was nearly
clear of ice. " I shall never forget the magnificent
spectacle that greeted us in the Kara Sea," writes
the Captain, "the first morning after entering it.

x] WONDERFUL ROCKS 205

We had steamed about a hundred miles beyond
the Straits, and had got clear of the fogs hanging
about there, and at 3 a.m. the sun rose, and
tinted the whole cloud-laden sky from extreme
east to extreme west, until the heavens were
brilliant with colour — gold, red, pink, and purple.
In some parts the clouds were 'mackerel back,'
in others light and fleecy, while, in the distant
west, huge, heavy masses had gathered, all tinged
with purple and gold. The sea, and even our
vessel, were ablaze with the reflection of the
gorgeous scene overhead. In the evening of the
same day we witnessed again a transcendently
beautiful sight, for, as the sun went down, the
whole canopy of clouds, overhead and far away
to the eastward, was flooded with golden light,
while ship and sea were bathed in a ruddy glow.
" On September 3 I landed at a deserted spot
on the highlands of the Yenesei. Near this place
we sheltered with the Thames, in 1876, in a fearful
gale, and I named the refuge Thames Haven.
On the present visit the sun was shining brightly.
The rocks were the most wonderful that I ever
beheld, Fingal's Cave alone excepted. The high,
rugged rocks were deeply furrowed vertically by
the action of the melting snows, and stood out
in hundreds of mighty columns — the sea dashing
and bellowing in the dark caverns. It can easily
be imagined that the effect was weird and fascinat-
ing. Unfortunately, as we were going full steam,
no photograph could be taken."

206 VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX [chap.

After encountering a severe snowstorm, the
ship reached Sidoroff Bay, the first inhabited
place on the Gulf, and the travellers received
a hearty welcome from both Russians and
Samoyedes. A young Samoyede was taken on
board as pilot for a short distance, and Patchka,
the old and blind " king " of the Samoyedes, who
greeted the Captain with overflowing joy, also
joined the ship. This man, although bhnd, had
piloted the Thames a long distance. He knew
"every inch of the way," and described each
island, every safe channel and dangerous point
as the ship approached them.

At Dudinka a young Russian count was
engaged as pilot, but was incompetent for the
work, although making himself useful in other
ways. Some of the cargo was discharged at one
of the villages, and then the Phoenix steamed
ahead, the launch leading the way, and the woods
and the forests coming into view.

"About 1,000 miles up the river we came to
the Kamin Pass, the most dangerous spot in the
whole journey, on account of the very rapid
current and the treacherous shoals. It was gener- j
ally believed that the depth of water here was no
more than five or six feet. The Phoenix drew
about nine feet. However, I took the central
deep-water passage, and, finding twenty fathoms,
put the vessel at it, pushing right through the
circuitous gorge — rocks and cliffs towering high
overhead — but leaving plenty of room to navigate

IJLI.M) " Kl\(;

<ll Iin: SAMOVKDKS^ WITH PRESKNTS
FHOM THK (ZAR.

[Tofarri,. 206.

X.] TESTIMONY TO SEAMANSHIP 207

the vessel. Steadily the sturdy little Phoenix
ploughed her way under the fullest pressure of
steam that could be given her ; and well she
did her work, for in an hour and a half she
succeeded in forging her passage through water,
where no other steamer had dared to go, simply
because their speed was insufficient to push
through the rapids.

" The villager who had volunteered to show us
the road, seeing me take the channel, drew in
his breath, and stood aghast, watching, in silent
awe, the progress of the vessel ; nor was he relieved
till he saw us come through into the broader
and somewhat less boisterous stream beyond. I
took the wheel myself when we approached the
rapids, and got safely through without once
touching a shoal or a rock."

Mr Sulivan bore public testimony to the
Captain's able seamanship on this voyage. " I
cannot praise too highly the skill of Captain
Wiggins," he said, " in navigating his vessel
through unknown seas and places where the charts
are not correctly laid down. He practically felt
his way in the dark from the Kara Straits with
the lead. Observations could not be taken, owing
to the fog, and the skill he displayed was a very
high tribute to his capabilities as a navigator."

The Phoenix anchored off the city of Yeneseisk
on October 9, having steamed, without any mis-
hap, over more than 2,000 miles of this intricate
river, which had never been surveyed, and on

208 VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX [chap.

which there was not a single buoy, not a single
warning indication of shoal, sandbank, or hidden
rock.

" On our arrival we mustered all hands on deck,
fired our gun, blew our steam-whistle, and gave
three ringing British cheers. Thousands of people
then flocked down to the river to see the first
ocean steamer that had ever entered their harbour.
They swarmed on the deck, and it was a difficult
matter for our agent to force his way through
the crowd to get to the post office, and telegraph
our success to England. Two answers were
flashed back, each consisting of a word — ' Hurrah I '
' Congratulations.' "

The Governor and other officials, together with
the merchants, gave the Captain and Mr Sulivan
a most hearty reception, entertained them at their
houses, discussed with them the question of an
ocean trade, and made them acquainted with the
evidences of progress and enlightenment in this
wonderful little town, of 10,000 inhabitants, in
the heart of Siberia.

When the Phcenioc had discharged the remainder
of her cargo she was shifted into her winter quarters,
and the Captain and Mr Sulivan, with some of
the crew, started on December 1, in sledges, for
Krasnoiarsk, another busy town on the Yenesei,
about 250 miles south of Yeneseisk. On the way
they visited some of the large gold mines, and
noticed the primitive methods in operation for
obtaining the gold. The owners begged the

x] KRASNOIARSK 209

Englishmen to bring out modern machinery in
their next ship.

Krasnoiarsk ("Red ChfF") got its name from
the vivid red sand of which the surrounding
hills are composed. " It has v^^ide streets,"
writes the Captain, " many large houses — some
illuminated with the electric light — a large college,
and free schools, a fine cathedral, and many
other churches ; a large market - place, roomy
Government buildings, and public gardens, beauti-
frilly laid out.

" We were inundated with visitors at our rooms,
and the hospitality of the people was unbounded.
I had ordered a good dinner for our men on the
English Christmas Day. The news spread, and
we were invited to dinner to the house of some
ladies, who speak English. We found a costly and
elegant house, with immense rooms, parquet floors,
white marble mantel-pieces, with open English fire-
places, an art gallery with very valuable paintings
and statuary, and the furniture throughout of the
best. We were welcomed by the lady of the
house — an elderly Quaker -like dame, speaking
fluently both English and French. The other
visitors consisted of relatives of the lady, and
we made an agreeable party. The dinner was
thoroughly English, but included splendid apples
and grapes from the Crimea. I sat by our hostess,
and conversed on many topics. My abstaining
from wine was a surprise, and led to some talk on
the subject of temperance, and the lady readily

210 VOYAGE OF THE PHOSNIX [chap.

admitted that there was great need for reform in
the drinking habits of the country.

" On New Year's Eve we went by invitation
to a doctor's, who had intimated that we were to
partake of 'ploom poodine.' At 10 p.m. we had
tea. At midnight we tried some singing, and then,
shaking hands all round as the old year stole away,
expressed our good wishes to each other, and to
absent friends. Dinner followed in true English
style. Nothing stronger was provided in the
way of drinks than fresh milk, soda-water, and
other effervescing beverages, this being the first
teetotal banquet ever served in this house — an
unexpected compliment paid to me, which I
heartily appreciated. We were accompanied to
the door by our kind host, who bade us adieu
at 2.30 A.M."

The travellers left Krasnoiarsk on January 5,
and in three days arrived at Tomsk. Writing to
his wife, the Captain gives an idea of the journey,
and of the gay and festive scenes in which the
English visitors participated.

" We have just arrived here, all well, but have
experienced a severe jolting and thumping on the
bad roads — so much worn and damaged by the
enormous traffic of caravans of sledges, which are
now making their way with goods and produce
of all kinds to the various markets and fairs.
Thousands upon thousands of sledges are passing
to and fro, east and west, and so the roads are
worn into large holes and dykes every few hundred

i.] SOCIAL HAPPINESS 211

yards, the consequence being that sledges with
trotting post-horses bump into these holes. The
jolts and bangs are most excruciating to those
even who are accustomed to sledging. However,

Mr S and the men have borne it well so far,

but now stand in need of a rest.

" We have been received already by the
Governor, who was very kind. He gave us what
information he could, and hoped that we should
bring out a steamer to the Obi this year.

" I left off this letter to go to a Christmas
Tree party, given on the Russian Christmas Day
by the captain of Sibiriakoffs steamer." Here
the Captain draws a vivid picture of the large
house, the spacious room, the swarming children,
the music, the dancing, and the exciting scene
when the time came for distributing the gifts, with
which five huge trees were laden.

" The next evening we were invited to a grand
musical soiree at the 'Aristocratic' Club (there
is also a ' Democratic ' Club), It is a splendid
building, furnished luxuriously, and we heard high-
class music, instrumental and vocal. These happy
gatherings are termed ' Family Concerts,' and
all who sing or play are volunteers from the
people assembled. The rich dresses and refined
manners would have charmed some ladies I know
in London.

" The next night I went to an entertainment,
more interesting to me than the first, for it
reminded me of one of our Infirmary Christmas

212 VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX [chap.

parties. It was held at the ' Democratic ' Club,
and was intended for the enjoyment of children.
Admission was obtained by tickets, costing a
shilling each ; and adults had the privilege of
buying tickets and distributing them among the
youngsters of all classes. There were three
immense trees, fully lighted, and crammed with
presents. These having been distributed, every
youngster had an opportunity of a dance. A
gold-miner, whom we took for the M.C., was the
most active man present in picking out the wee
ones, one after another, and whisking them round
for a few circles. It was one of the happiest
social meetings I ever witnessed.

" Last evening the immense Theatre w^as open
for the performance of a light opera, and as
our tars have had no entertainment here, and
we do not want them to attend the low - class
entertainments — of which there are many — we
thought it only right to give them a treat.
So we took two boxes. ' Togged up ' in their
best suits, they were highly pleased with the
performance — a pretty burlesque, with first - class
music.

" Yesterday we inspected the University — now
nearly ready for students — given to the town by
a wealthy merchant whose father was a nomad
Samoyede. It is a vast building, standing in
extensive gi-oiuids, and has botanical gardens,
conservatories, lecture - halls, and a library of
60,000 volumes. SibiriakofF has contributed hand-

I— '

...==^

x] SMALLPOX AT MOSCOW 213

somely to the cost, and his full-length portrait
in oils hangs on the walls.

" The electric light is the one thing needed in
this town. Many merchants have told us to bring
it out, for the whole town would adopt it, and
it would not have to compete with gas, there
being no gas here.

" Of course, T have not time to tell you a

hundredth part of what we have seen. Mr S

is more astonished than ever, and wired to Major

Gaskell the other day : ' W has not told us of

half what is to be done in these parts. Immense
commerce to be done by sea.' We are now ready
to start."

Proceeding on their journey, the party stopped
for a few days at Tinmen, and then went forward
to Moscow. At all the towns visited Mr Sulivan
made arrangements with the merchants, for the
next season, for the purchase and sale of merchan-
dise. A delay of several days occurred at Moscow,
owing to an outbreak of small-pox amongst the
sailors, one of whom died. All the travellers went
into quarantine, and were treated with the utmost
consideration and kindness by the Mayor, the
sanitary officials, and especially Mr Hornstedt,
the British Vice-Consul. Captain Wiggins took
his men to Libau, and thence by ship home, where
they arrived in February.

Mr Sulivan went on to St. Petersburg, and
had interviews with Sir Robert Morier and the
Russian Ministers of Finance and Commerce

214 VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX [chap. x.

respecting the projects of the Phoenix Company.
He had two main objects in view — to obtain
further concessions from the Russian Government
respecting the admission of goods into Siberia
free of duty, and to secure permission for the
Phoenix to take a cargo of Siberian produce down
the Yenesei, from Yeneseisk to the river's mouth,
which was an exclusive right of the Czar's subjects.
To anticipate, by a few months, the result of these
interviews, Sir Robert, by his persistent appeals
to the Russian Government, obtained a further
concession of five years for the free entry of British
goods up the Yenesei, and a similar concession, but
limited to one year, for the Obi. He also obtained
permission for the Phcenioc to take a cargo of
Siberian produce down the Yenesei for trans-
mission to England.

CHAPTER XI

INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT

Chartering the Labrador- — Enthusiasm of Sir Robert Morier

— Wiggins summoned to St. Petersburg — In a pre-
dicament on the frontier — At the British Embassy —
Consultations with Sir Robert Morier and Russian
Ministers — Sir Robert's despatch to Lord Sahsbury —
Mr Victor Morier decides to sail with the Captain

— The Ambassador''s speech at South Shields — In-
spection of the Labrador.

As soon as Captain Wiggins and Mr Sulivan

reached England, the Phcenix Company looked

out for their second ship, which was to carry a

cargo to the mouth of the Yenesei. At length

they chartered a fine, full-rigged Arctic steamer,

of about 300 tons burden, named the Lahradoi^

owned by INIr G. W. Ashdown, which had done

good service for the Hudson's Bay Company on

the coast of Greenland. She was built of wood,

and plated with iron, to enable her to cut easily

through the ice. She was to be loaded with general

goods, gold-washing machinery, electric light and

power apparatus, destined for the gold-mines and

towns on the Yenesei.

215

216 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

Whilst preparations for the voyage were going
on in England, Sir Robert Morier, whose interest
in the Siberian projects had reached an enthusiastic
point, was making efforts to secure concessions and
privileges from the Russian Government. He was
anxious that Wiggins, who had won a high position
of regard among some of the Czar's ministers,
should himself come to St. Petersburg, to answer
any enquiries which Sir Robert, from lack of
sufficient information, might be unable to deal with.
The Captain responded to the Ambassador's urgent
invitation, and in June, 1888, set off for the
Russian capital, accompanied by Major Gaskell.
A few extracts from letters written by Wiggins to
his wife will serve to indicate the course of events
during his visit.

His first letter, written from Eydtkuhnen, on
June 17, discloses an awkward predicament in
which he was caught. " I fancy I hear you trying
to pronounce the above name of a place, and
wondering where it is. It is a frontier town on the
German side of the Russian border. Then you
will say, ' What on earth is he after there ? ' Ay,
there's the rub. Who would have thought it
possible that such an ancient Russian traveller
would have forgotten his passport ! Yet so it is.
Arriving yesterday evening at the Russian station
not a thousand yards from here — where all had to
expose baggage and passes — imagine the feelings of
ye wanderer when confronted with the dread official,
in full uniform, sabre, etc., at his side, demanding

XI.] PREDICAMENT 217

to see my passport. I stared — tried to look
innocent — gave up my coupon book — all no go !
Then came a high official, in fuller uniform, who
coolly informed me that I must return to this place
and get a passport from London. I straightened
myself, and explained that I was on a visit to the
English Ambassador. All no use. So, amidst all
the bustle and turmoil of turning out hundreds of
boxes for inspection, I had to beat a retreat igno-
miniously, and deposit self and baggage in the
returning train, and was again brought to this sweet
spot. I at once telegraphed to the Ambassador,
explaining how matters stood, and have received a
reply this morning at 4 a.m., which I enclose, just
to let you see what his Excellency must think of

me."

He goes on to say that he was not entirely
to blame for omitting to bring with him his life-
passport, and then describes in eloquent phrase
the scenes of "rural bliss and simplicity," which
passed before his eyes on the railway journey. He
was now " awaiting results of the Ambassador's
unwearied applications on my behalf Has he not
been doing this ever since he heard of the
unromantic name of ' Wiggins ' ? "

In the next letter (June 23), written at the
Hotel d'Angleterre — which he always patronised —
the Captain reports that he has been holding a
consultation with Sir Kobert at the latter 's bedside,
for his Excellency was laid up with an attack of
gout. In intervals of the conversation Sir Robert

218 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [c„ap.

dictated letters to his secretary, in reply to letters
from Ministers on the Siberian schemes. The
Captain was anxious to get back to England, for he
had much to do preparatory to the sailing of the
Labrador. "We have still to see several ' big
guns,' and those we have seen urge us to visit them
again, and all this takes up time. Sir Robert him-
self is now due in London, and has put off his visit
entirely on our account. . . . How I wish we had
Mr Gardiner here ! he would agree so splendidly
with our dear old advocate, Sir Robert. I can just
imagine seeing them together. And Lady Morier
is so very open and amiable too. Sir Robert seems
to look as much — if not more — on the romantic
side of my work than on the political. He was
very pleased with Mr Sulivan, and I am glad
of it, for Sulivan is working more like a nigger
than the son of gentlefolks. The Major is
charmed with this Venetian - like city, with its
huge palaces, etc."

On June 26 the visit was drawing to an end.
" Since my last letter little has been done ; the
Whitsuntide holidays and festivals have interfered.
To-day the Major and I have to make calls (by
invitation) on several of the Ministers and others.
We hope to leave on Thursday; indeed. Sir Robert
has decided to leave then. He is now busy trying
to get a longer concession for the Obi. They have
given only one year, and it is hardly worth while
undertaking the additional risk and expense. Sir
Robert advises us not to go to the Obi, in the

SIR ROBERT 15. I>. tloRIER^ G.C.B., G.C.JI.G.

[To face p. 219.

XI.] IMPERIAL INTEREST 219

event of the Government not extending the time.
This is the point now under discussion. Major
Gaskell is very anxious to give up the Obi this
year because of our rather crippled means.

" We spent a pleasant evening at the Embassy
yesterday — dining at 7 p.m. Only Sir Robert and
Lady Morier, their daughter, and Sir Robert's
attache — young Mr Eliot — present. The Major
persisted in edging out all my escapades, and,
amongst others, the French attempt. Sir Robert
will have all out. During the evening a book was
handed to him. ' Ah ! ' said he, ' that's Eden's
" Frozen Asia," and the Emperor has just returned
it. You see, he has now read all about your
voyages ; and I am determined he shall know all
you have done for his Empire. What a pity it is
you were not here two months ago, for then the
Emperor had time to devote attention to your
work ; but now he is preparing for the summer
recess, and will retire to the country in a few
days.'"

In two or three days Sir Robert, Captain
Wiggins, and Major Gaskell went to England.
A few hours before his departure, the Ambassador
addressed the following despatch to the JMarquis
of Salisbury, then Prime Minister and JNIinister
for Foreign Affairs. Although this document — at
least, in its early paragraphs — travels over ground
with which the reader of these pages is already
familiar, it is desirable to reproduce it in its entirety,
for no summarising could do justice to Sir Robert

220 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

Morier's estimate of Wiggins, his work, and his
aims, as set forth in his despatch.

"St. Petersburg, June 30, 1888.

" My Lord,— For the last year and a-half I
have uninterruptedly laboured to procure the
success of an enterprise which, though at present
of very modest proportions, and having for its
sole basis the intrepidity, energy, skill, and per-
severance of a single British ship-master, is yet
potential with commercial revolutions, the im-
portance of which can hardly be exaggerated,
and which, by opening up new channels on a
vast scale for British imports and exports, is
capable in the course of time of the largest
results.

" For the proper comprehension of the scheme,
I must presuppose access to a large-scale Russian
map, giving both the European and Asiatic halves
of the Empire. It will be seen in such a map
that there runs out at the juncture of the two
halves what appears like a monster promontory,
crescent-shaped, between, speaking roughly, the
70th and 75th parallels of latitude. This apparent
promontory encloses a gulf, into which there pour
themselves, from far away south, two rivers, that for
size and volume of water have been compared by
M. de Lesseps to the gigantic streams of America,
navigable for vessels of deep draught up into the
very heart of Asia to the frontier of China — the
Obi, and the Yenesei. What I have described as

XI.] SIR ROBERT MORIER'S DESPATCH 221

an apparent promontory and gulf are really islands
and a sea, the former described collectively as
Novaia Zemlia, the other as the Sea of Kara.

" The promontory, when examined closely, is
seen to be pierced by three channels — one at its
immediate base, namely, the Yugorski (or Pet's)
Strait, a very narrow inlet; one further up and
much wider, called the Kara Gates, or also the Iron
Gates, from their supposed closure by ice ; a third,
the Matochkin Straits, narrow and tortuous. The
navigation of the Kara Sea had always been sup-
posed to be impossible owing to the ice. A serious
attempt was made by Admiral Liitke to establish
a regular passage out of the sea some forty years
ago, which did not succeed, and the theory was
set up that no commercial road could be established
across it to the west. The question, however,
had become one of those nautical puzzles which
ambitious navigators dream about and become
possessed by. This kind of possession laid a strong
hold, also about forty years ago, on the imagination
of Joseph Wiggins, a young English mate on
board a brig connected with the Archangel trade.
Learning that ' Kara,' in Tartar, meant ' black,' he
inferred that such a name could never have been
given to an ice-bound sea, and that therefore the
Kara Sea implied open water. The dream of being
the man who should open up this water-way never
left him. Having acquired extraordinary distinc-
tion in his profession (he was for six years
Examiner for the Board of Trade), and been

222 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [cHi^p.

successful in various ventures, he fitted out, as soon
as he had money enough of his own, a small Arctic-
built steam yacht of about 120 tons — the Diana
— with which he solved the problem brilliantly
in the year 1874, by sailing through the Kara
Straits to the mouth, first of the Obi, and after-
wards to the estuary of the Yenesei. The voyage
had no commercial character, and was exclusively
devoted to scientific exploration, with the result
that certain definite bases were once for all
established, which demonstrated by actual experi-
ence what, by a happy intuition, Mr Wiggins had
a priori laid down, viz. that at certain seasons
the Straits, the southern portion of the Kara Sea,
including the whole of the coast to both rivers,
and the estuaries of those rivers, must be free from
ice. These facts were, that the Gulf Stream, which
in previous voyages he had ascertained beyond a
doubt moved eastwards along the coast of Lapland
towards Novaia Zemlia, instead of, as formerly
supposed, going straight in a north-easterly direction
from the White Sea, would not all of it, with straits
to pass through, run round to the northern end of
the promontory. Given the entrance of the Gulf
Stream through the straits into the Kara Sea, and
the immense volume of water carried down from
south to north by the two giant rivers, he concluded
that, when these two forces had had time to do
their summer work, the ice would be driven to the
north of the gulf, and kept there till the winter
again established its doininion over the entire

xr.] SIR ROBERT MORIER'S DESPATCH 223

region. It was, thanks to this first successful
voyage by the Diana and to the principles thus
laid down by Mr Wiggins, that Nordenskiold was
enabled the following year (1875) to make his first
voyage to the Yenesei, and ultimately his celebrated
journey, through the Behring Strait, round the
world.

"A scientific expedition of this kind, fraught
with the greatest commercial possibilities for the
future, undertaken, entirely at his own expense, by
a man of small means, ought to have met with far
other encouragement amongst mercantile classes in
England than I regret to say it did. Mr Wiggins,
however, was not to be daunted. He had exhausted
his means in the Diana expedition. He could
only afford next year to make the attempt in a
sailing-cutter of 25 tons, and a crew of eight men.
He was blown back in his attempt to pass the
Kara Straits, but, nevertheless, did invaluable work
during six weeks by taking soundings this side of
the Straits, and proving that all the approaches
were free of ice. At last, in 1876, a Russian mine
proprietor in Siberia — M. SibiriakofF — offered to
contribute £1,000 for the accomplishment of the
voyage through the Kara Sea into the Yenesei,
and a similar sum was forthcoming from an English
yachtsman who had come across Mr Wiggins in
northern waters, and had learnt to appreciate his
work. A 100-ton steamer (the Thames) was fitted
out, and with her Mr Wiggins not only crossed the
Kara Sea, but ascended the Yenesei for nearly

224 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

1,000 miles. The ship was laid up for the winter,
but unfortunately came to grief with the breaking
up of the ice and the rush of the mighty ice-laden
river in the following spring. However, there
could be no doubt that the problem had now been
solved, and that there existed a navigable water-
way, if one only knew how to navigate it, from the
heart of Asia and the untold mineral and agri-
cultural storehouses of Siberia, 2,000 miles inland,
to the markets of Europe.

" Accordingly, next year (1879), a Liverpool
firm placed the Warkworth, a 500-ton steamer, at
the disposal of Mr Wiggins, who successfully
carried a cargo and brought one back from Nadim,
at the mouth of the Obi. But the postulate, ' if
you know how to navigate it,' was not afterwards
borne in mind. Five steamers were next year
freighted from England for the Obi, and one by
M. SibiriakofF for the Yenesei. Mr Wiggins was
offered the charge of the British expedition, but
refused it, and condemned the ships as completely
unfit for the work. On the other hand, he offered
to take charge of M. Sibiriakoff's ship, who, from
patriotic motives, wishing to do the work with
Russians, refused. All six ships came to grief.
The result was universal disappointment, both in
England and on the Obi. Merchants from the
inland Siberian towns had been induced to send
goods down the Obi for ships which never arrived,
and British houses had consigned goods which were
never delivered. The theory that the Kara Sea

XI.] SIR ROBERT MORIERS DESPATCH 225

might now and again be free of ice, but could not
be depended on, and that Mr Wiggins had just
had a run of luck and no more, firmly established
itself. He, however, stuck to his theory, and, to
make a long story short, he finally succeeded last
year in finding a few bold spirits, who, having
formed themselves into a small hmited Company,
and assumed the name of ' The Phoenix Merchant
Adventurers,' bought an iron steamer of 400 tons,
freighting her with a cargo of samples, with which
Mr Wiggins started from Newcastle-on-Tyne for
Yeneseisk — the first large town on the Yenesei,
some 2,000 miles froin the mouth of that river,
and within a few hundred versts from the Chinese
frontier. For a very long way from the mouth up
the river the navigation was practically unknown,
and Mr Wiggins, with a ship drawing eleven feet of
water, had to pick his way as best he could, and
with such shifts as he was able to have recourse
to, not the least interesting the having been
piloted for a considerable distance by the blind
Chief of a Samoyede tribe, whose accurate descrip-
tion from memory of the landmarks enabled the
Phoenix to ascend in safety.

"On the 9th October 1887, for the first time,
a sea-going steam-ship, carrying her own cargo
from across the ocean, cast anchor and landed
her goods in the heart of Siberia. She was
received with enthusiasm by the population, from
the Governor downwards, and every kindness
and encouragement shown to Captain Wiggins

^26 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

and his crew. Nor can this be wondered at,
when we reflect that the sentiments evoked could
not have been different in kind from those which
would be felt by men buried alive suddenly see-
ing themselves brought into contact with the
rest of the world. I had at an early date, and
when the Company of ' The Phoenix Merchant
Adventurers ' was first formed, been in communi-
cation with the Russian Government as to
facilities for the enterprise. These stout-hearted
and independent north-countrymen asked for no
subsidies, monopolies, or special privileges, nor
did Mr Wiggins claim any recompense for the
boon conferred, by his self-denying labour and
skill, on Russia. They only urged that, seeing
the enormous risks and difficulties of the venture,
they should not be charged duties for the goods
they had successfully conveyed through the
dangers of the Arctic region. I met with a very
warm response on the part of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, not only from M. de Giers and
M. Vlangaly, but more particularly from Baron
Osten Sacken, the head of the Commercial
Department, who, being one of the Vice-Presidents
of the St. Petersburg Geographical Society, had
from the first followed Mr Wiggins' career with
the greatest interest. I said that, as it was not
in accordance with the views of Her Majesty's
Government to associate themselves directly with
any private commercial enterprise, I did not wish
to urge the cause of ' The Phoenix Merchant

XI.] SIR ROBERT MORIER'S DESPATCH 227

Adventurers ' in my official capacity, but, seeing
the very great international importance, and the
special advantages to Russia of opening up a
commercial waterway between the heart of her
Asiatic possessions and Western Europe, the
extraordinary sacrifice of time and money, and
the skill, judgment, and perseverance displayed
by my countryman in solving this great question,
I was convinced that the Imperial Government
would regard it as quite natural that I should
throw myself heart and soul into the scheme.

" I will not trouble your Lordship with the
long negotiations carried on through the Foreign
Office, which did everything to assist me, with
the various Ministries called upon to deal with
the matter. I succeeded in getting the whole of
the cargo of the Phoenix admitted free of duty,
and am now in a position to state with great
satisfaction tliat I have obtained a five years'
concession for the free entry of certain classes of
merchandise up the Yenesei, and a similar con-
cession of one year for the Obi.

" The greatest difficulty I have had to contend
against, however, was obtaining permission for
the Phoenix to navigate the 2,000 miles of river
from Yeneseisk to the mouth of the Yenesei. By
Russian law riverian navigation is the exclusive
right of Russian subjects under the Russian flag.
The whole enterprise, however, would have fallen
through if the Phoenix had not been allowed to
take a return cargo down the river and meet the

228 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

fine Arctic wooden steamer, the Labrador, fitted
out for this year's venture, and which is to bring
a cargo from Newcastle-on-Tyne to exchange at
Golchika, at the mouth of the Yenesei, with that
from Yeneseisk, for there are as yet no Russian
steamers on the river of sufficient draught and
power, or with the necessary fittings, to convey
the machinery and other heavy goods which
constitute the bulk of the imports. I have only
obtained the permission for this year, but I have
every hope of its being continued until the
Siberians have themselves organised a river service
to Golchika.

" The additional risk and expense of the river
navigation constitutes a heavy strain upon the
limited resources of 'the Phoenix Merchant
Adventurers,' of which they would gladly be
relieved. Accordingly the Manager of the Com-
pany, when at Yeneseisk last year, offered the
Phcenix for sale if the buyer would establish
a regular service with her to meet the ocean
ship. But with the shrewdness which strongly
characterises the Siberians, the answer returned
was : ' We have seen the Phoenix safely navigated
up the river; we will wait and see how she gets
down.'

" If this year's operations succeed, and confidence
in the undertaking is once firmly established, I
feel no doubt that the great Siberian mine
proprietors, who are a patriotic and enterprising
body of men, will organise an efficient steam

XI.] THE LABRADOR 229

system to Golchika, and establish warehouses
there for the storing up of goods, leaving to the
Phoenix Adventurers the task of transporting
them across the Arctic Seas. — I have, etc.,

"R. B. D. MoRiER.

" P.S. — I enclose a small scale Map, by
Mr Eliot, which will facilitate the comprehension
of Captain Wiggins' route.

-R. B. D. M."

The centre of interest was now changed from
St. Petersburg to Newcastle, whither Sir Robert
Morier had come to inspect the Labrador^ lying at
South Shields, and to bid farewell to his son, Victor
Albert, who was to accompany Captain VA^iggins as
a passenger. This promising young man, just
twenty-one, impelled by the love of adventure, and
by the prospect of an unconventional holiday in
regions far beyond the beaten track of tourists,
expressed an earnest wish to take the voyage.
Influenced mainly by their high esteem for Captain
Wiggins, his parents needed but very little persua-
sion to give their consent to the proposal. Lady
Morier consented, " only on account of the absolute
trust she placed in Captain Wiggins," and " on the
condition that he (Victor) engages solemnly to obey
the Captain implicitly, and to be guided by him."

Sir Robert, in a letter, furnished the Captain
with instructions as to the supervision of his son.
He v/ished him, if opportunity offered, to be taught
the rudiments of navigation, and the Captain was

230 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

to insist that he wrote up his diaiy daily. The
young man was to be at hberty to complete his
journey in the Labrador, or to return overland to
St. Petersburg. " Remember," says Sir Robert, in
concluding his letter, " that I wish you to regard
yourself as my boy's friend, and, to a certain extent,
mentor. I now commend my boy to you. He is
my only son, and I should not have let him go,
much as he wished it, if I had not believed that his
going would largely aid an undertaking in which I
take a very keen interest — first, because it is worthy
of the best traditions of our national history ;
second, because it is a great humanising effort to
bring into close and friendly relations two great
Empires, that ought to be friends, not foes ; third,
because of the very great personal interest with
which you inspire me. God speed you."

On July 14 a select party, consisting of Sir
Robert Morier and his son, Captain Wiggins, Mr
Sulivan, several of the leading men of Newcastle,
and Mr Philip Sewell, a botanist — who was going
out in the Labrador to collect specimens — set off
from Newcastle Quay in a steamer, lent by the
Tyne Commissioners, for the purpose of inspect-
ing the Labrador. Luncheon was served on the
journey down the river, and speeches were made.

Sir Robert Morier expressed the pleasure it gave
him to be present to witness the inception of their
enterprise. He said they were now only putting on
their armour, and there was an old adage warning
us we should not boast until that armour was put

XI.] A MOMENTOUS VOYAGE 231

off*. He should tlierefore speak as cautiously as
possible. But, looking calmly at this occasion, the
fact of a vessel leaving an English port and travel-
ling to the mouth of the Yenesei, there to meet
another ship that had travelled 2,000 miles down
the river in order to exchange cargo, was a very
important and noteworthy event. He thought it
quite possible that, modest as that undertaking
was, Newcastle men might look back to that day
as a very important one m its annals. Just let
them think and consider what it meant — it meant
the first regular commercial voyage from any port
in the world to the heart and centre of Asia ; to
within a few hundred miles of China ; to what had
been described by Monsieur de Lesseps as the
" treasure-house of the world." That vast basin of
the Obi and the Yenesei, abounding, as it did, in
mineral and agricultural and every description of
wealth, had been till now closed to commercial
enterprise from the impossibility of carrying its
wealth away to the civilised parts of the world.
This was the first regular voyage. It was not
a voyage of exploration ; it was not a voyage of
discovery. It was a voyage which was the result
of voyages of discovery and exploration, and it was
the beginning of the establishment of a regular
commercial undertaking — an undertaking which
commercial men would regard with interest, as the
first of a series of commercial journeys. We had
not yet arrived at that position that Mr Cook
might issue return tickets to Central Asia — that

232 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

would come in time ; but at any rate we had got
to the point of beginning a regular series of voyages
upon a commercial route that had been marked
out, as it was now, as a completely accomplished
fact. This had been achieved, as they all knew,
through the genius, the energy, the perseverance,
and the seamanship of one man, namely. Captain
Wiggins. It was the confidence which Captain
Wiggins' name inspired which constituted the heart
and soul of the entire undertaking. He (Sir
Robert Morier) had proved the personal confidence
he placed in Captain Wiggins and in the safety of
the route established by him by unhesitatingly
allowing his own son to join the expedition.

If this voyage was successful, it would be the
bringing together of the productive forces of Russia
with the productive forces of England. This was
a very important point, because this exchange of
merchandise and produce was believed to be, by
old Cobdenites like himself, the greatest force for
repelling the evils of war, and the negative forces
of the world. Every voyage made by Captain
Wiggins to Siberia had been so much towards
bringing together two nations, well fitted to com-
plement each other, and amongst whom, if they
knew each other properly, most kindly and cordial
relations must always exist. He could speak from
personal experience, and Captain Wiggins, who
had been amongst the people, and who knew and
understood them well, would bear him out. They
were a simple people ; there was much natural

XI.] THE AMBASSADOR'S SPEECH 233

sympathy amongst them with Enghshmen, whom
they regarded with the greatest kindness, and every
effort made to increase the intercourse between the
individuals of the two nations was a step made in
the direction of the maintenance of good and
friendly relations. If tlie enterprise of the pro-
prietors of that vessel was looked at from a mere
geographical and mercantile aspect, the revolution
which was that day commenced would be the
greatest that had been accomplished in the century.
M. de Lesseps spoke of the extraordinary
natural feature of three great rivers, going from the
south to the north, through a country where lay
abundant wealth. The great difficulty to be solved,
he said, was to estabhsh sea communication between
these rivers and the rest of the world. Establish
that, he remarked, and tlie commerce of the world
would have added to it untold wealth. Under the
reign of Ivan IV., Chancellor and his brother
navigators opened up European Russia to com-
merce by the discovery of Archangel. If, under
the reign of Alexander III., Captain Wiggins
accomplished a corresponding work in the opening
out of Asiatic Russia, thus bringing two of the
greatest countries of the world into the friendly
relations of commerce, he would have done some-
thing of which every Englishman would feel proud.
Sir Robert, in conclusion, took the opportunity of
wishing success to JNIr Sulivan, as representing the
owners of the vessel, and to Captain Wiggins as
its commander, and he wished the ship God-speed.

234 INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT [chap.

Captain Wiggins briefly responded. He said
what first set him to this work was the knowledge
that these rivers existed, and it seemed to him a sin
to know that trade might be done there and not
make use of the knowledge. Twenty or thirty
years ago he conceived the idea of making a
voyage to the Yenesei, and about fifteen years
ago the means were at his command, and nothing
could hold him. He went out, and he had found
no difficulty in reaching these places ever since.
Captain Wiggins went on to describe the various
voyages he had made to the Yenesei, down to the
successful trip of 1887. They were now going to
try again, and he was convinced the route would
be open. He had no doubt they would make the
voyage in safety, barring legitimate accidents. He
could not guarantee absolute immunity from risk,
but barring accidents, they should have no trouble
in getting the Labrador safely to her destination.
He had a nice selection of general cargo, and he
had that better sort of cargo — some passengers.
He never expected to have the honour of carrying
to Siberia the son of the British Ambassador at
St. Petersburg. Mr Morier had a rough-and-ready
journey before him, but he might depend upon
having a very enjoyable trip, and that he would
return from it with a new stock of experience and
improved health.

Mr H. N. Sulivan also replied, and said that at
a meeting of the Tyneside Geographical Society,
on the previous day, a resolution was passed

CAPTAI.V \VI(;(;1NS IN THE CABIX OF THE L.lDUADOn.

()LI> CHl'RC H AT KHAliAROVA.

[To face p. 235.

xj.] PREPARING TO SAIL 235

wishing God - speed to Captain AViggins, and
hoping they would have him back soon in the
Tyne to lecture on his journey. He had to ex-
press the deepest thanks to Sir Robert Morier for
the aid he had given them in obtaining from the
authorities in St. Petersburg freedom from duty
for five years, and he proposed Sir Robert's health.

When the visitors stepped on board the
Labradoi', they found all hands busy getting in
cargo, stores, and coals, but, in spite of the con-
fusion, they managed to make a satisfactory
examination of the vessel and her fittings ; the
steam - launch and three whale - boats attracting
special attention.

She was manned by a crew of about twenty.
Captain JM'Clelland, an old Arctic sailor, had
agreed to accompany Wiggins, and Mr John
Crowther, of Peterhead, who was a member of
the Bell-Smith expedition to the North in 1881,
had been appointed mate.

CHAPTER XII

ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED

Sailing of the Labrador — Bad news from the Yenesei —
Waiting at Vardoe for the Seagull — Mr Victor Morier
and Mr Philip Sewell — Starting from Vardoe — The
expedition doomed — Labrador at Khabarova — Rescue
of shipwrecked seamen — Mr Morier's sledging adventure
— In the Kara Sea again — Tantalising news — Robert
Wiggins and the Phcenix — Sir Robert Morier's sympathy
with the Captain — The Anglo-Siberian Syndicate — The
Captain at the Society of Arts — Commerce "travelling
hand in hand with Peace" — The friendship of Russia
— A " lion " of the season — Audience at Marlborough
House — " A great historical man " — The Labrador starts
again — The fiasco — Mismanagement and muddle — The
Captain's defence — Too many masters.

The Labrador left the Tyne on July 16, 1888,
and arrived at Vardoe on August 3, after a
fairly good passage. At this place the ship coaled,
and was on the point of sailing for Siberia,
when a telegram from Newcastle reached the
Captain to inform him that the Phoenix was
hopelessly stranded in the Yenesei, and he was
to wait at Vardoe for further instructions.

The Directors of the Company were almost at
their wits' end. A vital link in the arrangements

236

CHAP. Ml] WAITING AT VARDOE 237

had failed. Without the Phoenix, or a small
steamer of the same class, the cargo of the
Labrador could not be carried up the river. The
JLahrador herself was far too heavy a vessel for
that purpose ; probably she would have been
stranded at the very entrance of the river.

The Directors did the best they could to meet
the difficulty. Their funds were low, and they
were unable to buy or charter a thoroughly suitable
vessel of shallow draught to replace the Phoenix.
They secured a small paddle - steamer, named the
Seagull, and sent her off to Vardoe with all speed,
intending that she should accompany the Labrador,
and take her cargo from the mouth of the river up
to Yeneseisk. A month passed before the Seagull
reached Vardoe.

We get a few glimpses from Wiggins' letters
of the occupations and diversions of the passengers
during that wearisome month of waiting. " My
* Boy ' (Mr Victor Morier) is splendid — no sign
of ailment — knocks about in true sailor fashion —
looking a young giant amongst the men — and so
genial. We have, by chance, an old Portuguese
cook, shipped in London. The ' Boy ' talks to
him in his own lingo, and as the poor old chap
can't read or write, but has letters from friends at
Goa (in the Portuguese Indian settlements), the
' Boy ' has won him over by reading his precious
letters to him, and writing home for him. It was
the Goa Railway that Sir Robert arranged when
he was Ambassador at Lisbon.

238 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

"August 30. — Vardoe. We are still here —
grass on ship's bottom some six inches long!
Seagull expected to-morrow. I fear the end of all
this delay will be inability to land my cargo at
Golchika, sending only some sixty tons up in the
Seagull. Mr Sewell has had a good time dredging
and botanising, but has exhausted this place now.

" September 4. — Just off. Sorry to say Sea-
gull is a poor affair, with paddles ! Should there
be ice, she can't follow us. Shall perhaps have
to send her back. Hope for best. Our ' Boys '
all well. They have made every one here fall in
love with them, because of their kindness and
goodness. There will be a scene at parting, for
the Consul's dear old lady is so fond of them. Our
cabin full of flowers, sent on board yesterday.
Fear L>abrador will have to bring back her cargo."

Evidently the Captain had but little hope of the
Seagull accomplishing the work for which she had
been sent. Before the ships left Vardoe, Wiggins
gave her Captain explicit instructions how to act
should the vessels separate and lose sight of each
other. In such an emergency, certain places were
appointed where the ships were to look out or
wait for one another.

On the second night after leaving Vardoe a
severe gale, accompanied with fog, drove the ships
apart, and the Labrador saw no more of her humble
little consort. The Seagull managed to make her
way as far as Kologueve Island, where she found
shelter. The crew took fright ; ice-floes, fogs, and

xii.] RESCUE OF NORWEGIANS 239

gales dispersed the last shreds of valour, and they
refused to proceed further: the expedition of
1888 was doomed. The Captain turned west-
ward, reached Vardoe in safety, and sent his crew
home.

In the meantime the Labrador cruised about
in search of her missing companion. Finding no
signs of her in the neighbourhood of Kologueve
Island, she headed for the Yugor, or Pet Straits,
meeting with a large quantity of drift-ice on her
way. At this second appointed meeting-place she
sought in vain for the Seagull. Here the Labrador
anchored, on September 11, for the Captain feared
a disaster had happened to the frail craft amongst
the ice, and half expected to see her crew arriving
in their boats.

The place of anchorage was near a little settle-
ment, named Nikolovski — also called Khabarova
— consisting of a few huts, a tiny church, and a
large storehouse, all built by M. SibiriakofF. He
used the storehouse as a depot for his merchandise,
coming to and from the Obi. The Labrador's
detention proved a God-send to some twenty Nor-
wegians, whose little whaling vessels had been
crushed by the ice. They took to their boats, and
reached land safely. They now found refuge on
the Labrador, and were ultimately carried home
to Norway.

]Mr Sewell embraced the opportunity of explor-
ing the coast in search of flora, and his fine
collection of specimens was afterwards presented

240 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

to the Herbarium of the Royal Botanical Garden,
Edinburgh. He was much interested in the
Samoyedes, and stated, in a lecture delivered at
Dundee and Aberdeen in 1889, that "the men
had an oily joviality about them. Though small
of stature, they looked a strong race of hunters.
The women were evidently more phlegmatic, and
were seen sewing pieces of reindeer skin together
into the picturesque and comfortable garments
needed for the winter, or engaged as the hewers of
wood and drawers of water. The curious tents,
covered in winter with reindeer skin, or in summer
with birch bark, are picturesque in the extreme,
though dark and dismal in their interiors." Mr
Sewell made excellent use of his camera, as some
of the illustrations in this book testify.

On September 25 a small steamer arrived
from Vardoe, bringing the news that the Seagull
had reached that port, all well. Captain Wiggins
now fully realised that, owing to the failure of
both the Phoenix and the Seagull, he must return
to England with his cargo. But the Kara Sea
was before him ; he had only to slip through the
Yugor Straits to get there. The temptation to
demonstrate yet once more that the Sea was
navigable was too strong to resist ; so he decided
to get under weigh and go forward.

But before proceeding he had to lose one of his
passengers. Mr Victor Morier, disappointed that
the voyage was broken, determined to see some-
thing of Siberia before returning to St. Petersburg.

SAMOVEDK \V(».AIA.\.

[To face p. 240-

XII.] TANTALISING NEWS 241

He induced three Samoyede families, encamped
near the village of Khabarova, and about to start
for their winter quarters on the Petchora, to change
their destination and go with him on sledges as
far as Obdorsk, on the Obi, a distance of about
600 miles. He also persuaded Mr Crowther, the
mate of the Labrador^ and one of the crew, a
pardoned exile, to accompany him.

The journey which he proposed had never
been accomplished by any Western European.
The large party set off, with all their belongings,
including three hundred head of reindeer, skirted
the northernmost spur of the Urals, crossed the
Yalmal isthmus, and reached Obdorsk in safety.
After a short rest, Mr Morier resumed his sledge
journey, travelling along the valley of the Obi
as far as Tiumen, where he took train for
St. Petersburg. A full account of this exploit,
from Mr Morier's pen, was published in Murray's
Magazine for August 1889.

When Captain Wiggins reached the Kara
Sea he found a wide, open channel between the
Samoyede coast and the ice. Proceeding towards
White Island, he found the water entirely free
of ice, and could have gone on without difficulty
to the mouth of the Yenesei. On October 1 he
turned homewards, and, on reaching Vardoe, heard
tantalising news. The Phoenix had been got off
easily from the sandbank upon which she stranded :
she had proceeded down the Yenesei to Golchika,
and had waited there until the approaching winter

242 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

season compelled her to return to Yeneseisk,
which she reached without accident, much to the
credit of her commander, Captain Robert Wiggins.

On Captain Wiggins' arrival in the Tyne,
towards the end of October, he found many
letters of sympathy from attached friends await-
ing him. Amongst them was one from Sir
Robert Morier. " I most sincerely sympathise
with you in your disappointment," he wrote,
" which is equally a very grievous one to me.
1 have no wish, because I think it would lead to
no good, to enter into a discussion of the causes
of the failure. . . . There is no use to cry over
spilt milk, but there is great use in resolutely
looking into the future and putting all our
shoulders together to make success next year
certain." After expressing satisfaction with the
measures taken by the Captain to guard against
risk in the overland journey of his son, Sir Robert
concludes by bidding the Captain not to be dis-
heartened. " We will make an excellent start
next year if you come to St. Petersburg to help
me, and, if necessary, go on to Yeneseisk and
Irkutsk, and settle matters there yourself."

It is clear that, even at the beginning of 1889,
the sting of failure still rankled, and the Captain
was half inclined to withdraw from the Siberian
work, leaving others to prosecute the enterprise
of which he was the pioneer. " I see you are
losing courage," Sir Robert Morier wrote on
January 14, " and getting overwhelmed by the

xn.] THE ANGLO-SIBERIAN SYNDICATE 243

undoubtedly very great difficulties with which
our undertaking is surrounded. Now, I cannot
tell you how deeply I sympathise with you, and
how I understand your phrase that 'these things
make me cry out with pain ' ; but, remember,
you have got a soimd friend in me — that my
whole heart is in the enterprise, and that it will
take a great deal to beat me. . . . And now,
my dear friend, cultivate patience, and, knowing
that you are a God-fearing man, I bid you trust
in God. Even in this bad world an honest en-
deavour to carry out a noble object bears fruit."
Sir Robert's exhortations had their desired
effect, for the Captain braced himself for the
task of finding an " open channel " amid the
ice-floes of difficulty by which he was surrounded.
He worked in every legitimate way, encouraged
and advised by his " true and steadfast friend "
at St. Petersburg, to advance the great cause, in
the interests of which he was still ready to devote
the rest of his life. It is needless to enter into
all the difficulties of the moment ; a bare indica-
tion of them will suffice.

The Phoenix Company succumbed to its heavy
losses and went into liquidation. A new concern,
named the Anglo - Siberian Syndicate, Limited,
with its headquarters in London instead of in
Newcastle, took over its liabilities and assets,
almost the only asset being the ship Phoenix,
which was lying at Yeneseisk, with Robert
Wiggins in charge, and the crew clammering
for their wages.

244 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

The transference of the management of the
enterprise to the Syndicate was not accompHshed
without considerable friction and working at
cross - purposes. Supporters in the North and
those in London held certain views about a new
company and its arrangements which did not
harmonise with views and opinions urgently
advocated by Sir Robert JNIorier ; whilst Wiggins
himself had strong views of his own, shared by
some of his friends and opposed by others. With
these conflicting elements around him, Wiggins
was placed in an awkward and painful position.
He was most anxious to defer to Sir Robert's
judgment, but he felt, at the same time, that
the wishes and suggestions of other supporters —
practical men of business — had a strong claim to
consideration.

On one subject, amongst others, he determined
to be entirely guided by Sir Robert. He wished
to be appointed a director of the Syndicate, and for
two reasons — that he might have some control in
the choice of ships, and obtain additional prestige
in the eyes of the Russian Government, with the
object of helping forward the Siberian work. Sir
Robert reminded him that, as he was "hard up,"
he would probably have to borrow money — a most
undesirable step to take — in order to qualify him-
self for a directorship ; and, moreover, he showed
him conclusively that a directorship was irrecon-
cilable with the post of " executive hand " of the
Syndicate, as much so as the post of a general in

XII.] "THE NORTHERN WATERWAY" 245

command of an army with that of a Minister of
War. He added, about the question of prestige,
" Your name is all, and more than all, that is
wanted. Joseph Wiggins is an historical character,
and your name, and not your title, will everywhere
command respect, admiration, and attention."

The Captain accepted Sir Robert's advice, and
also wisely determined t'^ have nothing to do with
the formation of the Company, or witli its com-
mercial and financial arrangements. He consented
to serve, for twelve months, as master of any vessel
which the Company might decide to send out.

Whilst the Syndicate was in process of forma-
tion, and Mr Sulivan and others were busy seeking
support for the new undertaking, the Captain did
his part to draw attention to the importance
of establishing a trade route with Siberia through
the Kara Sea. He lectured in London and in
various provincial towns, and, on April 30, read a
paper on " The Northern Waterway " before a dis-
tinguished audience in the rooms of the Society of
Arts. After relating the story of his voyages to
Siberia, he emphasised the object which he had in
view, namely, the extension and strengthening of
commercial relations with Russia, and drew atten-
tion to the mission of commerce in promoting and
fostering international peace. " The brightest side
of commerce is the fact that it travels hand in hand
with peace. What is it that makes this England
of ours so essentially a peacemaker? Is it that
we have less of the fighting spirit in us ? Our

246 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

history answers that question for us. Or is it that
we have loftier principles than our neighbours ? 1
think even we Englishmen must admit that others
may have reached to our standard of perfection.
The only answer to these important questions is
the fact that so large a part of the intelligence, the
vigour, and the perseverance of our great nation is
engaged in commerce. We build ships, fit them out,
fill them with our manufactured goods, send them
to open out new regions, to find fresh markets,
bringing back to us the products of other men's
industry. Millions of toilers in our great hives
of industry are day by day forging links in the
great chain which is to bind nation to nation and
race to race. And if only those of us who require
to work for our daily bread could realise this fact
in all its significance, our meanest task would
become sublime in our eyes. No treaty of
commerce, or diplomatic arrangement, can bind so
closely as mutual interests in a common cause.

" Now, undoubtedly, owing to reasons geo-
graphical and historical, a great portion of public
opinion in England and Russia regards these two
countries as natural rivals, whose rivalry must some
day or other lead to drawn swords. This idea I
repudiate, and those who hold this opinion will
perhaps bear with me if I speak a little from my
own experience."

The Captain then went on to describe the
hospitality, kindness, and consideration which he
had received on every occasion of his visits to

XII. ] THE CAPTAIN'S PAPER 247

Russia. " Thus it will be seen," he continued,
" that my own experience makes it difficult to share
the feeling of those who regard Russia in any other
light than that of a friend ; and I confess my
inability to sympathise with those who suffer their
prejudices and fears to warp their judgment to such
an extent as to give rise to unnecessary panic — for
it is easy in the times of panic to ' let slip the dogs
of war. . . .'

" We must disabuse our minds of preconceived
ideas, and keep our judgment unbiassed by pride,
passion, or prejudice ; then the great tyrant. War,
will call to us in vain, and the peaceful voice of
Commerce will surely find a willing ear. Let us
listen to its teaching as it fell from the lips of one
of our greatest living statesmen : — ' The ships which
travel between this land and that are like the
shuttle of the loom, that is weaving a web of con-
cord between the nations.' Surely, we would all
like to take some part in keeping this shuttle flying,
by furthering every effort in the direction of peace-
ful commerce, thus adding a thread of our own to
this grand and beautiful web.

" Speaking on behalf of our Company, which is
formed for the purpose of trading with Siberia by
sea, I wish to point out that in this higher aspect
our small venture is not without its significance,
and, should our good vessel once more sail those
seas, she will again carry with her what is dearer
to my heart than any other token of the kind —
excepting only our national flag — viz., the flag

248 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, the
emblem of which is — not the dark angel of death
with brooding pinion — but a pure white dove on
buoyant wing, carrying with it on its flight the
olive branch of peace ; and so even the Labrador
will 'take a text,' and preach a sermon from the
sweetest words that ever were said or sung —
' Peace on earth and goodwill towards men.' "

The Pall Mall Gazette states that the Captain
was accorded an enthusiastic reception, and speaks
of the deep interest excited by the exhibition of
lantern slides, after the reading of the paper, show-
ing strange scenes, peoples, and animals of the far-
away land of exiles. " Captain Wiggins," quoting
the same journal, " if he will permit us to say it, is
an excellent showman, clear and concise in descrip-
tion, and full of quaint, pithy sayings and humorous
remarks. A map of the Eastern Hemisphere (on
which the course of the Labrador and the new
route to Siberia were traced) evoked a heavy fire of
questions — some intelligent and pertinent, others
uncalled for, and wide of the mark. The Duke of
Westminster exhibited great curiosity as to the
ultimate fate of the Phceiiioc.'"

Captain Wiggins figured as one of the " lions "
of the season of 1889. He was received by the
Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough
House, and afterwards attended a garden-party,
given by the Prince, to meet Queen Victoria.
The Duke of Westminster, the Marquess of
Ormonde, Lord Wynford, Madame NovikofF, and

xii.] A GREAT HISTORICAL MAN 249

many other distinguished people, welcomed him
to their houses to hear from his lips particulars
of his work, his adventures, and aims. As the
time drew near for another voyage, select parties
of fashionable folks journeyed down to St
Katharine's Docks to inspect the Labr-ador^ and
to see the Captain "at home." The newspapers
talked about him, in leading articles, special
articles, and "interviews." Even the Siberian
dogs, which the Prince of Wales had accepted,
seemed to reflect the mariner's fame in the Press
and West End circles ; whilst, at the same time,
they created curiosity, consternation, jealousy, and
profound antipathy in the kennels at Sandringham.

All this publicity was scarcely to the " humble
mariner's " liking, but he regarded it as contribut-
ing to the final success of his projects in Siberian
waters. He would much have preferred going
to work quietly, leaving the world to wake up
some day to find the ocean trading route per-
manently established.

When the summer was close at hand, the
Syndicate had not succeeded in completing its
arrangements. Wiggins got impatient, and began
to think that he might do better for the great
cause without a company at his back. Sir
Robert JMorier — who, it should be remembered, as
a public officer of the Crown, could not invest
in the Company — was still working hard on behalf
of "a great liistorical scheme," as he termed tlie
Siberian project, and on behalf of "a great

250 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

historical man" — on getting an inkling of the
Captain's mood, used many a weighty argument
in urging him to remain steadfast to the new
organisation. He told him he was indispensable
to the scheme, because he had "the key of the
Kara Sea in his pocket," and that he (Sir Robert)
believed in the enterprise because he believed in
him. These arguments could not have carried
much weight with the Captain, for he had said
on more than one occasion, and he continued to
say in later years, that any careful navigator with
some experience in battling with ice, could easily
conduct a ship through the Kara Sea to the Obi
or the Yenesei. However, trying to repress
impatience, he waited until the Syndicate had a
ship ready for him.

At last the Labrador was chartered for her
second voyage, and rapidly loaded with a costly
cargo. In a few days she was ready for sea,
and she left London on August 5. After a
fine passage, and meeting with no difficulties
from ice, she arrived at Golchika, at the mouth
of the Yenesei, on September 4.

According to the Captain's verbal instructions,
he was to anchor at Golchika, tranship his cargo
into a small steamer, which was to be sent from
Yeneseisk, arriving at Golchika on September 1,
and take home a cargo which the steamer would
bring. The steamer did not reach the port, and
Captain Wiggins, after waiting until September 16,
returned home without getting into touch with

xii.] A FIASCO 251

her. He had discharged a portion of his cargo
at Golchika, placing it in a store-house, for con-
veyance up the river during the following season.
This fiasco was the result of misunderstand-
ing and mismanagement. Some 200 miles from
Golchika, up the river, was a place called Karaoul,
where the Russian Government had decided that
cargoes were to be exchanged. A shallow-draught
steamer, with a cargo for the Lctbrador, arrived
here from Yeneseisk. This river expedition was
under the direction of a Mr Lee, who had been
appointed by the London Syndicate to represent
them on the Yenesei. Captain Robert Wiggins
was on board, but not in command. Mr Lee
had arranged for an old steam-launch, lying at
Karaoul, to be sent to Golchika, as soon as the
expedition reached the former place. But the
pilot refused to go down in the launch. Robert
Wiggins and some of the crew volunteered to
set off in her, but the proposal was not accepted.
He then ofifered to take the steamer herself to
Golchika, but her Captain, adhering strictly to
the terms of his contract, and, intimidated by a
strong wind which was blowing, would not allow
the boat to go an inch further than Karaoul. The
splendid steam-launch presented to the Phoenix
Company by Mr Gardiner was left at Yeneseisk,
and it is inexplicable why she was not carried
with the steamer, for the purpose of connnuni-
cating with Golchika. It is evident, moreover,
that Mr Lee's instructions were confusing and

252 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

contradictory, leaving him in doubt as to the best
course to adopt.

Returning to Captain Wiggins, it is easy to
see, in his case also, that he was the victim
of bungling and mismanagement. His verbal
instructions were, as already stated, to go to
Golchika, and tranship his cargo into a steamer
which would be awaiting him there, or would
reach the port soon after his arrival. Now comes
what may be termed " The Comedy of a Linen
Parcel." On his way down the river Thames,
some Russian money, sewn up securely in linen,
was placed in his hands for the purpose of paying
expenses at Golchika. He locked up the packet
in a drawer in his cabin, and thought no more
about it until he wanted the money at Golchika,
on the point of his departure, to pay for about
a ton of flour which he intended to take home.
On opening the parcel, he was surprised to find
a letter, as well as money. The letter advised,
or instructed him, to go on to Karaoul, or towards
that place, in the event of no steamer turning
up at Golchika.

Had the Captain known of the existence and
the contents of the letter when the packet was
handed to him, he would have stopped the ship
in order to assure his employers — an assurance
which they ought not to have needed — that it was
quite impossible to take the Liobrador, which drew
sixteen feet of water, further up the river than
Golchika without the certain prospect of her being

xii] THE CAPTAIN'S DEFENCE 253

wrecked. When he opened the letter it was too
late to attempt any measures to communicate with
Karaoul, for some natives who had arrived from
that place brought the news that the steamer had
returned to Yeneseisk.

The Captain was asked, on reaching home, why
he had not tried to send a message to Karaoul
when he found no steamer or steam launch await-
ing him at Golchika. His answer ought to have
been satisfactory to every one inclined to blame
him for the ^' Labrado?^ fiasco." For some days
the non-arrival of the steamer created — in the face
of his instructions — no anxiety, being aware of the
delays which might easily have occurred on her
journey down the river. When he did begin to
feel anxious, he had to consider that there was no
practicable and safe means of sending to Karaoul.
He had no steam-launch, and to send one of the
Labrador's boats up the river, against a swift current
and a strong southerly wind, spelt disaster. More-
over, his small crew were fully employed in prepar-
ing the cargo for transhipment, and in the midst
of this work the ship dragged her anchors in a
gale, and got fixed on a bank.^ This little mishap
involved a large amount of additional labour, day

1 The Captain afterwards accounted for the failure of anchorage
from the fact of the muddy hottom of the river heing only a surface-
covering of a bank of ice, a fact which could not possibly be found out
or demonstrated until the anchors, one after the other, had slid home.
"The lesson to be learned," added the Captain, "was to anchor further
out in midstream, where the bottom is probably not frozen, say a
quarter of a mile, or still further, from the shore." The Captain had
kept as close as possible to the shore — consistently with safety, as he
thought — in order to lessen the arduous duties of his crew.

254 ATTEMPTS THAT FAILED [chap.

and night, in shifting the cargo, and taking a
quantity on shore in the ship's boats. This work
occupied seven days ; on the seventh day the ship
floated. Apart from the risk of sending up the
river, had the Captain told off a number of his
crew for manning a boat for Karaoul, the reduction
of his helpers would have imperilled the safety of
the Labrador.

Sir Robert Morier thought that the Captain
ought to have used " every means in his power, at
whatever risk," to get into touch with Karaoul.
When Sir Robert wrote those words he was
labouring, very naturally, under intense chagrin —
perhaps too intense to be fully realised by others,
except those holding high positions similar to the
position which he held. For some three years he
had laboured, with enthusiasm almost equal to
that shown by Wiggins, to promote the success
of the Siberian scheme. The Russian Court, the
English Court, his distinguished circle of friends,
and all who had recognised his great abilities
as an ambassador, had followed his support of
Wiggins and his advocacy of the Captain's pro-
jects wdth keen interest, and were waiting, in
various moods, to see the results of his eloquent
advocacy. And now it probably seemed to him
that he might become the subject of private
ridicule for pinning his faith to a scheme which,
to some, had appeared impracticable, if not fan-
tastic. Sir Robert may be excused if, in the
extreme disappointment and irritation of the
moment, he failed to apprehend all the circum-

xii] CAUSES OF THE FIASCO 255

stances of difficulty and responsibility in which
Wiggins was placed ; but he certainly did not
mean all that Wiggins inferred in using the term
"at whatever risk."

The Captain assured Sir Robert that it had
been his aim to devote himself and his services,
to the best of his ability, to his wishes, without
in any way considering his own personal cost.
" But I did not think it was to be done," he
writes, " ' at whatever risk.' That might mean the
ruin of the cause which you have so generously
espoused. Besides my loyalty to yourself, I must
consider my own overpowering sense of what will
best serve the cause. Then there are my moral
obligation to the Syndicate, my legal duty to
my owners, my responsibility to the merchants
who own the cargo, and my accountability to
the Board of Trade, to whose penalties I am
liable, in the event of accidents occurring through
running unwarrantable risks."

The fact is, Captain Wiggins was saddled
with too many masters in this business, and hence
sprang misunderstanding, conflicting instructions,
and muddle. We may safely assert that if the
ocean and river arrangements had been entrusted
entirely to the hands of Wiggins and his brother,
this expedition of the L,ahrador would not have
proved a lamentable failure.

CHAPTER XIII

BIDING HIS TIME

Welcome to the Captain after defeat — A question of ways
and means — Earl Grey on the Captain's qualities —
Voyage to South America — Expedition of the Biscaya,
the Thule^ and the Bard — The pioneer's assertions
verified — Voyage to the Amazon — Death of Victor
Morier — His appointments in South Africa — Death of
Sir Robert Morier — Respect for his memory shown by
the Czar — His warm feeling for Wiggins — A memento
of "infinite kindness" — Mr F. W. Ley borne - Popham
— The Blencathra and the MimcsinsJc — Miss Helen
Peel decides to go to the Kara Sea — Mr F. G. Jackson
— Commission from the Russian Government — Material
for the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Captain Wiggins reached the London Docks on
October 16, the voyage from Golchika having
taken just a month.

The hearty welcome which he received from
old and trusty friends, as well as from influential
circles into which he had been drawn in the
early part of the year, was a source of deep
gratification to him. The welcome accorded by
these friends and acquaintances assured him that
he was held free from blame for the Labrador

256

xiii] THE APPRECIATION OF FRIENDS 257

fiasco, whatever may have been the opinion of
some of the speculators who had joined the
Syndicate for the sole purpose of making money.
Other members of the Syndicate — perhaps only
a minority — shared in the Captain's higher aim
— the "weaving of a web of concord" between
England and Russia — and entirely exonerated
him from blame. In their eyes fiasco, failure,
and loss were not in the least surprising when
the pioneering character of the work, with all its
difficulties and uncertainties, was taken into con-
sideration. They saw that a large amount of
capital must inevitably be sunk before so great a
scheme as the ocean route could be estabUshed,
and that the ultimate aim in view was well
worth such sacrifice.

So enthusiastic were some of the Captain's
wealthy friends, who admired the man, and
heartily approved of his aims, that it seemed
probable another company might have been
formed easily, to enable him to renew the prose-
cution of his enterprise, had he but expressed
a wish in that direction. But his keen sense of
honour and duty deterred him from encouraging
a new effort, for it would certainly have come
into rivalry with the existing, though impoverished.
Company to which he felt he was morally, yet not
legally, bound.

The condition of the Kara Sea of course would
not permit the Syndicate to despatch another
expedition until the following summer. In the

^58 BIDING HIS TIME [chap.

meantime the Captain, having no funds to fall
back upon, had to consider how he was to get
his daily bread. The Syndicate stated that they
would be glad to avail themselves of his services
should they arrange for another voyage, but their
finances would not allow them to pay him a retain-
ing fee. That settled the question. The Captain
must look elsewhere for subsistence. There is
every probability that he might have gained a fair
income for nine months by stumping the country
— and America, too — lecturing, for he was one of
the most entertaining and magnetising lecturers
of the day. But such a way of earning a liveli-
hood was not a congenial one, and it is question-
able whether, by that means, he would have
helped the cause which he still most earnestly
desired to serve.

Many seafaring schemes were simmering in
his mind when the owner of the Labrador offered
him a voyage in this ship to South America,
and the offer was at once accepted. The Captain
hoped to return in time to take command of the
Syndicate's expedition in the summer of 1890, but
was unable to pledge his services. Before leaving
England he had to deliver several lectures, one
of them before the Tyne Geographical Society
in the Northumberland Hall, Newcastle. Earl
Percy presided, and at the close of the lecture
Mr Albert Grey (now Earl Grey), in moving
a vote of thanks, said that Captain Wiggins
was made of the same stuff that the men

xiii] EARL GREY'S TRIBUTE 259

who had built up England were made of.
Conceiving a great idea, he had the pluck, in
spite of every sort of difficulty, to keep pegging
away until he realised that idea. He had done
in this generation what Christopher Columbus did
three hundred years ago ; and it only remained
for capital to come to his aid, to enable him to
lay the foundation of a great beneficial intercourse
with the continent of Siberia.

We need not follow Captain Wiggins on his
voyage to the tropics — in singular contrast with
his journeys to the regions of ice. He was
heartily glad to be fi*ee from the " constant fret-
ting and worry and anxiety of all the conflicting
circumstances that attend the Syndicate's efforts,"
and " could not indulge other feelings than intense
regret that affairs connected with so grand a work
were so wretchedly muddled up, and such heavy
losses consequently accrued." " For Sir Robert
Morier," he wrote in another letter, " I would
have stayed ashore even if I had starved to do
so. After the treatment of the present Syndicate,
I do not feel the slightest interest on their behalf.
They lost faith in me, and I in them." " And yet,"
he adds, " my only desire is that the good work
may progress, no matter who does it." He then
refers to the attitude of one of his supporters —
" the truest man he had ever known " — who, in-
dignant at the treatment of Wiggins, had offered
to pay a considerable sum to qualify him for a seat
on the Board.

260 BIDING HIS TIME [chap.

The Captain had intended to be back in
England again in four or five months, but the
voyage was considerably prolonged, owing partly
to the Labrador having to lay up for repairs.
From South America he took the ship to the
Cape, and had the satisfaction of making this
long voyage profitable for his owner. He left
England in January 1890, and did not return
until the beginning of 1891.

During his absence a notable success was
achieved. Mr Albert Grey and Mr John D.
Milburn, of Newcastle, came to the relief of the
Syndicate. They formed a small committee,
under the title of " Local Committee for the
North of England." Subscriptions were invited
from private persons, and a large sum was raised for
another expedition. Two ships of light draught,
the Biscaija and the Thule, with valuable cargoes,
and a powerful tug, the Bard, were despatched
from I^ondon. Mr Julius M. Price accompanied
the expedition as special artist for the Illustrated
London News. The vessels reached Karaoul
safely, and transhipped their cargoes into the river
steamers, whilst the Bard was handed over to the
agent of the Syndicate, for use on the Yenesei.
The river craft returned to Yeneseisk, where the
goods from England were landed and warehoused.
Unhappily, during the passage up the Yenesei,
Mr Lee, the Syndicate's agent, fell overboard and
was drowned. The Biscaya and the Thule, loaded
with Siberian produce, returned to London without
accident.

xm.] SUCCESS OF THE SYNDICATE 261

Although Captain Wiggins, through his deten-
tion in the tropics, was robbed of the laurels which
were rightly his, it was a satisfaction to him that
his brother Robert commanded the tug, and a
former mate of the Labrador, Mr Cordiner, had
charge of the Thule, whilst another former mate
of the Labrador, John Crowther, was ice-master
on board the Biscay a.

The Spectator, in an article on this successful
expedition, remarked : " That Fate, with the smile
of irony on her face, who presides over explorers
and inventors, has refused the opening - up of
Siberia by sea to the man who has spent his life
in trying to get a deaf world to understand that
a waterway exists into the heart of Northern Asia
if seamen would only use it. Instead of Captain
Wiggins being the first man to effect the junction
between the sea-going ships and a steam flotilla
on the Yenesei River, it has fallen to the lot of
another navigator. ... It is almost impossible
to overestimate the geographical and commercial
significance of the news that the English ships
belonging to the Syndicate, started by Mr Albert
Grey and Mr Milburn, sailed from London to
Karaoul — a port 160 miles up the Yenesei, where
they discharged their cargoes into the river flotilla
— in thirty-nine days. . . .

" Captain Wiggins, no doubt, will take a large
share in tlie future development of the traflic
between England and the Siberian river. Never-
theless, the fact remains, that at the moment when

262 BIDING HIS TIME [chap.

it was most fitting that he should have been present,
the irony of circumstance operated to rob him of
his due. He has been forced to watch as a spectator
an act which would never have been accomplished
but for him. It is as if Stephenson, for some
reason, had been obliged to mingle in the crowd
while a more fortunate man inaugurated the first
railway in England."

But the Captain's enforced exclusion from this
prosperous venture was not the gall and wormwood
to him that some people imagined. He had solved
the Kara Sea problem, and if others reaped the
fruit, he could only feel gratified that his assertion
— that the Sea could be navigated by any skilful
seaman who had some knowledge of the vagaries
of ice — was proved correct.

The years 1891 and 1892 were barren as regards
the prosecution of the ocean route enterprise to
Siberia. The Captain spent most of this period
on shore, but towards the close of 1891 he took a
little ship, of about six tons, to the Amazon for
the Brazilian Government. In 1892 he deeply
regretted to hear of the death of his " Boy,"
Victor Morier. After his broken voyage in the
Labrador^ and his adventurous sledge journey, the
young man enlisted in the South Africa Chartered
Company's Police Force, when his knowledge of
Portuguese proved of great service to the Com-
pany. A little later he was appointed Assistant
Civil Commissioner to the Anglo - Portuguese
Delimitation Commission, and on his journey to

xni.] DEATH OF SIR ROBERT MORIER 263

begin his duties in Manicaland succumbed to an
attack of fever.

His father, Sir Robert Morier, died in the
following year, partly the result of strenuous
devotion to his work at St Petersburg — the climate
of which undermined his constitution — and partly
from grief at the loss of his only son. His death
deprived England of one of her most sagacious
diplomatists, and of one of her most popular and
successful Ambassadors to Russia. It is worth
remembering that, had it not been for his influ-
ence with the Czar and his Ministers, Russia and
England would probably have been plunged into
war in 1885.

The Russian Government, in compliance with
instructions given by Alexander III., shortly before
his death, testified its respect for Sir Robert's
memory by sending a cross to be erected over his
grave in Northwood churchyard. The cross was
made of Siberian jasper, for the purpose of com-
memorating the Ambassador's energetic efforts
to open up Siberia to British commerce by the
ocean route through the agency of Captain Wiggins
and others.

With regard to Sir Robert's relations with
Wiggins, the failure of the Labrador, in 1889, to
accomplish her task rankled in Sir Robert's memory
for a long time. He feared that it would certainly
cast a reflection upon his reputation both in Russia
and in England, because of his persistent support
of the Captain's scheme. But in the closing

264 BIDING HIS TIME [chap.

months of his life his judgment of that unfortun-
ate affair underwent a change ; he was ready to
exonerate the Captain from blame, and he enter-
tained for him the same warm feelings which
his early intercourse with him had awakened. A
touching proof of his abiding regard, in spite
of conflicting views on the I^ahrador question, is
in existence. A few months after the death of
his son he sent a portrait of the young man to
the Captain, on which he wrote — " Presented to
Captain Wiggins, in remembrance of his infinite
kindness, and tender care of my boy on board the
Labi^ador, by R. B. Morier. — Batchworth Heath,
September 5, 1892."

In January, 1893, at the close of an address by
Dr Nansen before the Royal Geographical Society,
on " How can the North Pole be reached ? "
Wiggins made an interesting speech on the route
chosen by Nansen for his approaching cruise, and
on the possibility of raising a ship on to the ice,
instead of allowing it to be frozen in.

That year was memorable for one of the
most successful of Wiggins' voyages to the Kara
Sea and the Yenesei. Mr F. W. Leyborne-
Popham, an enthusiastic yachtsman, desired to
make a sporting and exploring voyage to the Arctic
Seas in his steam-yacht, the Blencathra, about 400
tons burden, but afterwards decided to combine
business with pleasure, and take advantage of the
opening of the Yenesei to commerce. In February
he entered into negotiations with Captain Wiggins,

XIII.] THE BLENCATHRA 265

with the result that a private sj^ndicate was formed,
in which Mr Leyborne - Popham held the chief
pecuniary interest. The Captain undertook, for a
stated remuneration and a small share of profits, to
select suitable ships and cargoes, conduct the vessels
to Siberia, and keep himself in touch with the
Russian Government and Siberian officials and
merchants, in order to secure the development of
trade for the benefit of the syndicate.

The Blencatlira was originally the gunboat
Newport. She became the property of Sir Allen
Young, who renamed her the Pandora and used
her for Arctic work. When bought by Mr
Leyborne-Popham, she was greatly strengthened
at Appledore, Devon, and fitted with an ice-ram.
A shallow-draught steamer, named the Minusinsk
— after an important town on the Yenesei — was
also bought, to proceed up the river with gold-
mining machinery and other goods.

The Blencathra was to carry four passengers —
Mr I^eyborne-Popham, Miss Peel — one of the
daughters of the late Sir Robert Peel — and Mr
and Mrs E. C. F. James. "Youth, and love of
adventure," writes Miss Peel in her account of
the voyage — " Polar Gleams " — " inspired me
with a longing for new experiences, regardless of
unforeseen perils and private warnings." She
longed to be the first of her sex "to sail through
the icebergs of the Kara Sea, up the mighty
Yenesei River."

Mr Frederick G. Jackson intended sailing in

^66 BIDING HIS TIME [chap.

the Blencathra as far as the Yugor, or Pet Straits,
thence returning homeward by sledge. His object
was to gain experience, in view of his projected
Arctic expedition of 1894. Nansen, who was to
leave Europe in advance of the Blencathra on his
Polar cruise in the Fram, hoped to leave despatches
at St. Nicolai (Khabarova) at the Yugor Straits,
which Wiggins undertook to call for and carry
home.

In June, when arrangements were nearly com-
pleted, the unexpected happened, and forced a
change of programme. The Russian Government,
thoroughly roused at last to the importance and the
convenience of the ocean route to the Czar's Siberian
dominions, requested Wiggins to convey a cargo of
rails — the first instalment of material for the Trans-
Siberian Railway. " To carry rails half round the
world to Vladivostok, and then overland into the
interior," said the Captain to an interviewer, " was
obviously absurd, when there was a splendid water-
way from the north, navigable right up to the
centre of the projected railroad. One day they
wired me fi'om St. Petersburg : ' Can you bring
2,000 tons of rails up the Yenesei to Krasnoiarsk ? '
I wired back : ' Twenty thousand, if you like.' "

A large steamer, the Orestes, of 2,500 tons
burden, was soon chartered, and taken to Middles-
brough to load the railway material. The Russian
Volunteer Fleet Company had given orders to a
firm at Dumbarton for the construction of a paddle
steamer, a twin-screw steamer, and a strong barge.

XIII.] THE NEW EXPEDITION 267

which were named the Malygiiine, the Offtzine, and
the Scuratojf. These vessels, for service on the
Yenesei, were commanded by Russian officers, and
manned by Russian sailors, and, with Lieutenant
Dobrotvorsky in chief command, were to accompany
the three English vessels. The Blencathra was to
be commanded by Captain Brown, and the Orestes
by Captain Wiggins, who was also pilot of the
whole fleet. The six vessels were to meet at
Vardoe, and to sail together to the mouth of the
great river.

CHAPTER XIV

ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION

Sailing of the Orestes, the Blencathra, the Minusinsk, and
three Russian vessels — The Samoyedes of Khabarova —
Miss Peel's sledging experiences — The " great Ice-
Cellar" like the Lake of Geneva — Recreations of the
pleasure party — Rejoicings at Golchika — Transhipment
of rails — Return of the pleasure - party — Miss Peel's
impressions of her trip — Wiggins goes up the Yenesei
once more — Excitement at Yeneseisk — Thanksgiving
Service in the Cathedral — Banqueting — Wiggins in St
Petersburg — Causes of failures — Presentation of silver
plate to the Captain by order of the Czar — The Times
on the Presentation — Neglect of the British Government
to support the Captain's projects — Presentation to
Wiggins of the Murchison Grant — Speech at the
Geographical Society's Dinner — The Windward —
Another Commission from Russia.

The Blencath^a sailed from "the little white
fishing village" of Appledore on July 25, 1893,
and reached Vardoe on August 7, where the
Minusinsk was awaiting her. A few hours later,
Wiggins arrived in the Orestes from Middles-
brough— his ship loaded with 1,600 tons of rails —

and the Russian contingent on August 17. At
268

CHAP. XIV.] THE FLEET SAILS 269

a lively dinner-party on board the Blericathra^
hearty congratulations were exchanged between
the English and the Russian officers on the bright
prospect of the development of commerce between
the two nations. The diversions of the ladies
during their fortnight's stay at Vardoe are fully
described in Miss Peel's fascinating book.

On August 22 the Russian fleet, accompanied
by the Minusinsk, left Norway, followed, the next
day, by the Orestes and the Blencatkra. Captain
Wiggins gave the Russian officers explicit direc-
tions in writing, so that, in the event of fogs
or gales separating the ships, they would know
the best route to take.

The imposing fleet of six vessels — the most
important expedition that had ever attempted to
navigate the Kara Sea — reached the Yugor Straits
without mishap, and anchored in the shelter of
a creek in the island of Waigats. The organisa-
tion of the expedition seems to have been perfect.
An Imperial Russian corvette had been sent from
St. Petersburg to the Straits, to receive despatches
from Lieutenant Dobrotvorsky, and to tranship
stores to the Russian flotilla. Having fulfilled
her mission, she returned to St. Petersburg.

On August 29 the whole fleet weighed anchor
and set off*, the Orestes and the Blencatkra leading
the way, for the 2,000 miles journey across the
dreaded Kara Sea. Anchor was dropped for a
few hours at St. Nicolai (Khabarova) to enable
Mr Jackson to land, and to enquire for Dr

270 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

Nansen's despatches. It was found that the
Arctic explorer had passed into the Kara Sea
in the middle of August, but had left no
despatches. He sent them home overland, as
Captain Wiggins learned on returning to
England.

Many of the Samoyedes — men, women, and
children — put off in boats to greet their old
friend, the Enghsh mariner. Clambering on to the
Orestes, they clustered round the Captain, show-
ing exuberant delight at the pleasure of seeing his
face again. Miss Peel, who went ashore, made
the acquaintance of some of the natives, and
was persuaded to indulge in a rollicking, bumping
sledge drive. To avoid being pitched from the
sledge, she had to cling, she says, with both arms
round the driver's neck. Not intimidated by this
rough experience, the plucky lady yielded to the
importunate entreaty of another prepossessing
Russian to take a second drive. It was certainly
a case, as Miss Peel wittily explains, of " admira-
tion conquering fear."

When the fleet entered the " great Ice-Cellar,"
as the Kara Sea was termed by Von Baer, a few
ice-floes were to be seen, but a wide, open space
of clear water stretched far to the eastward. The
fleet went ahead with full steam on. The sun shone
in a cloudless sky, and so mild was the temperature
that the passengers on the Blencathra slept with
the port-holes of their cabins open. " Our naviga-
tion through the Kara Sea was perfectly delightful,"

xiv] REJOICINGS AT GOLCHIKA 271

writes the entertaining lady-chronicler. The water
was so quiet that she could imagine she had been
transferred to the Lake of Geneva. The lady
describes her light summer attire, as well as the
musical evenings on board the Blencathra, and
a battle with walruses, led by the intrepid Mr
Leyborne-Popham.

On rounding White Island, the Russian
paddle - steamer was told off to survey the strait
between the island and the northern extremity
of the Yalmal Peninsula. Wiggins, on his
previous voyages, had found the strait useless
for navigation, owing to its swift currents, winding
channels, and dangerous shoals, and his observa-
tions and conclusions were now verified by the
commander of the Malyguine.

The remaining vessels steered for Thames
Haven, an island of the Dickson Haven group,
discovered and named by Wiggins in 1876. On
September 2 the high mainlands to the north-
east came in sight, and on the following day the
fleet was steaming up the Yenesei Gulf— keeping
a few miles from the shore — the smaller ships
leading the way. Slow progress was compul-
sory, owing to the varying depths, and the lead
was kept going constantly. On the evening of
September 3 — the moon shining brightly — the
whole fleet dropped anchor off the little island-
village of Golchika, amid the loud cheers of the
crews, caught up and returned again and again by
the crews of the river-craft, waiting at the port

272 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

for their cargoes. The firing of guns and of rockets,
and a display of Bengal lights helped to celebrate
an event long to be remembered in the island.

For the first time in history, Russian steamers
had crossed the Kara Sea and entered the mouth
of the Yenesei. For the first time it was proved
that a vessel as large as the Orestes, of 2,500 tons,
could reach Golchika safely ; whilst it was shown,
for the enhghtenment of lovers of yachting, that
ladies might safely indulge in an enjoyable and
invigorating summer trip across the Kara Sea.

Nineteen years had passed since Captain
Wiggins ventured on his pioneer voyage, and
demonstrated the inaccuracy of Admiral Lutke's
pessimistic conclusions. At last Russia had made
up her mind to utilise the Captain's observations
and discoveries. With a well-arranged Govern-
ment enterprise, she had proved that his proposals
and efforts were not the mere "dreams and
phantasies " of an over - sanguine and impulsive
nature. Wiggins had prophesied that many years
must pass before the advantages of the sea-route
would be realised and practically appreciated by
Russia. That time seemed to have come. The
indomitable Captain's unwearying efforts were
bearing the fruit which he had so long desired to
see. The successes of previous voyages, organised
by private persons, were but the promise of what
could be done by efficient Government enterprise,
and now it only remained for Russia to continue
the task which she had begun.

XIV.] DIVERSIONS ON SHORE 273

Although the 1,600 tons of rail and many tons
of miscellaneous goods had been safely carried to
Golchika, they had yet to be carried up the river —
1,800 miles — to Yeneseisk. The work of tranship-
ment to the river barges and steamers called forth
the energies of the various crews, and of a number
of exiles, brought down the river to help. Opera-
tions were delayed again and again by severe gales,
and two of the Siberian barges proved unequal to
resist wind and waves, and broke asunder. They
were allowed to drift ashore, to remain there until
the following season, when the rails with which
they were loaded would be unshipped. The
Blencathra and two or three of the Russian
steamers dragged their anchors, and had to take
refuge on the western shore. On occasional fine
days the pleasure party, led by Mr Leybome-
Popham, took the opportunity of landing, to
explore the village, and inspect the natives,
whose habits and curious customs are described
by Miss Peel's ready pen. The gentlemen of
the party usually had their guns with them, and
managed to bag quantities of ptarmigan.

The transhipment of goods was completed, at
least so far as it could be done, for, owing to an
insufficient number of barges, about a thousand
rails had to be taken in the Orestes to Archangel,
in accordance with alternative instructions of the
Russian Government. A proposal for the ladies,
Mr Leyborne-Popham and Mr James, to accom-
pany the steamers up the river caused " a

274 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap,

considerable ebullition of spirits," says Miss Peel.
She looked forward to a wider insight into the
life of the Siberians, and to the excitement of
a sledge journey home from Yeneseisk. Greatly
to her disappointment, the proposal fell through,
and it was decided for the pleasure party to
return by the way they had come.

Captain Wiggins decided to go up the river,
to help in the pilotage of the Russian craft, and
gave over the command of the Orestes to Captain
Furneaux. The Orestes and the Blencathra
weighed anchor on September 20 for the home-
ward voyage. In three weeks the temperature
in the Kara Sea had undergone a considerable
change, and Miss Peel noted in her diary twenty
degrees of frost. Quantities of drift-ice were met
with, and gales were frequent, but the two ships
reached Archangel on September 30, all well.
After a short stay at this place, they proceeded
on their way, and arrived home without accident,
concluding a voyage which, to Miss Peel at least
— to quote her own words — "opened out a new
sphere in my life, enlarged my mind, stimulated
my enthusiasm for the beauties of nature — in short,
I have reaped from it benefits that will never
die."

The 31inusinsk, now put under the command
of Robert Wiggins, who had come down from
Yeneseisk, was the first vessel to be despatched
up the river. She carried valuable gold-mining
machinery and other goods. In five days the

XIV.] WELCOME AT YENESEISK 275

other steamers and barges started on their river
journey, Captain Wiggins being on board the
Offlzine.

The flotilla reached Yeneseisk on October 23.
" Thousands of people," writes Wiggins, " lined
the shore, and rent the air with their hearty cheers,
which were answered by the tars on board our
flotilla, and by the firing of signal guns." A large,
shallow- draught steamer, the Russia, of Krasnoiarsk,
gaily decorated, and with hundreds of passengers
on board, came alongside the OJftzine. Lieutenant
Dobrotvorsky was invited to meet the Governor,
and other notables, on the Russia's deck. A letter
of welcome was presented to him, as well as a large
iced-cake, crowned by a silver salt-cellar. The
national custom of partaking of salt having been
complied with, the Lieutenant conducted the city
magnates, including the Bishop, to the cabin of
the OJftzine, whilst merchants and ladies and a
troop of other people soon crowded the decks.
Congratulations, cheering, and health - drinking
followed, and then the visitors returned to the
Russia, " leaving the mariners at leasure to realise
the fact that, for the first time, a Russian fleet,
flying the Imperial flag, had safely anchored in
view of Siberian citizens."

The next day a thanksgiving service was held
in the Cathedral, attended by the officers and
their crews, and the citizens of Yeneseisk. A
banquet was held in the evening, and illuminations
blazed on the river promenade. A few days later

276 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

the celebrations came to an end with a grand
ball at the mansion of one of the leading
merchants.

Towards the end of November, Lieutenant
Dobrotvorsky — afterwards promoted to the rank
of Captain for his exertions on this memorable
voyage from Britain — and his brother officers gave
a farewell banquet and a ball to the ladies and
gentlemen who had so heartily welcomed them.
The Club House, engaged for the purpose, was
artistically decorated in sailor fashion, whilst the
ladies wore favours, with miniature anchors and
sledge bells, which had been made by the seamen.

In Captain Wiggins' detailed and picturesque
account of all these festivities he keeps himself
in the backgi'ound, making it appear that Lieu-
tenant Dobrotvorsky was the sole recipient of the
honours. As a matter of fact, the Captain was
as much the hero of the hour as the gallant
Russian officer ; and the merchants were not
slow to realise that, but for the prolonged efforts
of the English mariner, no such expedition would
have been originated and carried out.

The rails having been sent on to Krasnoiarsk,
and the river-craft safely placed in winter quarters,
Wiggins started for home by sledge on December
20. One incident of this winter journey deserves
to be recorded, especially as it can be told in
the Captain's picturesque language.

" The morning was bright and sunny, with
intense frost, when, to our amazement, we suddenly

KKATKRIXBl'RG.

(View from Czar's Bridge.)

i,AM)M.\ni\ DniDiM. i:i |{(ii>i:a\ and Asiatic siiseria.

[To face p. 276.

xiv] A CURIOUS CARAVAN 277

overtook the most extraordinary caravan, or rather
cavalcade, that it has ever been my lot to see.
A large number of huge camels were drawing
monster sledges laden with tons of massive
machinery. An immense sack or cloak, made of
thick hair-felt, enveloped each beast from stem
to stern, coming down from the top of its
unsightly hump to the lower part of its body,
or the middle of its lanky legs. To see such
animals, denizens of warm climates, quietly stalk-
ing along, their bare, soft feet all exposed to the
sharp, cutting ice of those frozen roads, icicles
pendent from their highly-elevated nostrils, was
a curious sight indeed.

"Each animal was attended by its quiet and
quaint - looking Tartar leader, walking demurely
by the side of the outlandish - looking animal,
making a never-to-be-forgotten picture of patience
and endurance. Surely no hot sands of the arid
desert could ever produce the suffering and pain
which these patient creatures were now called
upon to endure ; yet they were doing their work
as quietly and unconcernedly as though in their
own warm climate of the southern steppes. It
was hard to decide which was the more deserving
of praise — the patient, weird-looking Mongolian
leader, or the ungainly brute that he led, which
had drawn its heavy burden hundreds of miles.
Passenger and mail posting are also carried on
by the same primitive means, but most of this
traffic is now confined to the bye-routes/'

278 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

The Captain reached St. Petersburg on January
22, 1894, and stayed there nearly a month. He
was busy reporting the recent voyage to the Czar's
Ministers, making prehminary arrangements for
another expedition, and attempting to secure a
cargo. Mr W. T. Stead happened to be in St.
Petersburg, and interviewed the Captain at the
Hotel d'Angleterre. He found him not look-
ing much the worse for his arduous overland
journey. " He looks nearer fifty than sixty-two,
is bronzed and weather-beaten, and in every sense
a thorough ' salt ' — worthy to be compared with
his Elizabethan predecessors." It was at Sir
Robert Morier's suggestion that the Russian
Government despatched the expedition which had
now been completed so successfully. " I spoke
to Sir Robert a few months before his death,"
said Mr Stead, "and learned from his own lips
how much he had the success of the enterprise at
heart, and he hoped the financial failures of previous
English expeditions would be avoided." The news
of the flotilla's arrival at Yeneseisk reached him
about a fortnight before he passed away.

Replying to a question as to the causes of
failure, the Captain said that the English Company
did not see their way to follow his advice, which
was, "not to pass by the local merchants, and
not to carry on business with an eye solely to
their own ends. Siberian merchants are not so
ignorant as some people imagine. They are
shrewd business men of great wealth ; and as

XIV.] GIFT FROM THE EMPEROR i^79

soon as they realised the fact that the Enghsh
Company intended to pass them by, and to
monopoHse the whole trade, they simply stood on
one side and refused to do any serious business
with it. Another cause of non-success was the
ignorance and lack of judgment shown in choos-
ing the goods for the Siberian market. The
English Company did not send what the Siberians
required, but what it thought would suit them.
The result might have been foreseen, and was a
great trouble to me."

The most interesting incident of this visit to
St Petersburg was the presentation to the Captain,
by order of the Emperor Alexander III., of a
gift of solid silver plate, elaborately worked, and
weighing nearly four hundred ounces. It con-
sisted of a large punch-bowl, a salver, a ladle, and
twenty-five mugs, each article being ornamented
with an antique Russian design. An appropriate
proverb, in ancient Slavonic characters, was
inscribed on each mug, whilst the magnificent
salver bore an inscription stating that the gift
was an acknowledgment of services rendered to
Russia. The following letter from the Marine
Minister accompanied the gift :

"St, Petersburg, January 21, 1894.

" To Captain J. Wiggins.

" Sir, — I have great pleasure in forwarding to
you, with the authorisation of His Majesty, the
Emperor, the accompanying box, which I beg

280 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

you to accept from the Russian Ministry of
Marine, in remembrance of your last summer's
voyage, in company with three Russian warships,
to the Yenesei River, and also as an acknowledg-
ment of the valuable services you rendered during
that expedition, as testified by the commanding
officer, Captain Dobrotvorsky. — Believe me to
be. Sir, yours truly,

"N. TCHIHATCHOFF."

This handsome presentation, as a practical ac-
knowledgment of the disinterested efforts — during
the greater part of twenty years — of a foreign
seaman, stands out as a unique event in the
annals of Russia. The Times correspondent at
St. Petersburg thus concludes his report of the
presentation : — " Captain Wiggins, who has now
made nine voyages through the dreaded Kara Sea,
is at present being consulted by the Russian authori-
ties as to continuing his voyages to the Yenesei.
To those who know the history of British efforts
to create commercial interests with the northern
coasts of Russia, now more than three centuries
old. Captain Wiggins appears as a worthy successor
to Richard Chancellor, who first opened up trade
at Archangel in 1554 ; and, without in the least
detracting from the value of the gift as a personal
one, and the first of its kind ever presented by the
Russian Government to a British seaman, it may
well be regarded as an official recognition of the
persevering energy and eventual utility of British

f:;

en
C5

a
a
>

XIV.] ENTERPRISE AND NEGLECT 281

maritime adventure in Russian waters. In this
light, perhaps, the British Government may see
fit to thank the Russian Admiralty for the honour
shown to a British sea captain."

Had the British Government thanked the
Russian Admiralty, it would have been almost
like slapping its own face. It would have been a
self-reproof for neglecting the merits and the work
of an Englishman who had striven as much for the
benefit of his own country as for that of Russia.
The British Government had never lifted a hand
to help the hardy, ingenious seaman in his efforts
to extend commercial relations between the two
Empires. It had voted £38,000 for an expedition
to the Pole, which had no practical and beneficent
end in view ; but it could not spare a penny for
furthering the great and useful projects of the
" humble mariner." When a British subject, with
no selfish ends in view, devoted his all for the
promotion of commerce, the man and his project
were too unconventional and unusual to call for a
moment's consideration. The least that the British
Government could have done was to place a ship
at the Captain's disposal until the practicability,
or otherwise, of the ocean route had been incontest-
ably demonstrated. The Captain asked only for
the loan of instruments for taking surveys and
observations ; but even this modest request was
refused.

After reaching London, towards the end of

282 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap.

February, Wiggins was soon busy looking out
for a ship to take a cargo to the Yenesei in the
summer, and in fulfiUing lecturing engagements.

In May he was the recipient of the " Murchison
Grant" — a high honour, conferred by the Royal
Geographical Society on distinguished explorers.
It consisted of a handsome gold pocket chrono-
meter, bearing the inscription : " Presented to
Joseph Wiggins, by the Royal Geographical
Society, for his services in opening up the Kara
Sea route to Siberia— 1874 to 1894."

The presentation was made by Mr (afterwards
Sir) Clements R. Markham. At the annual dinner,
held at the Hotel Metropole, the Captain had to
respond to the toast " Recipients of the Society's
Awards." He said that, although his labours had
lain chiefly in the direction of commerce, yet science
must always lead the way in exploration. He
hoped that whatever might be the achievements
of science, commerce would not be forgotten.
Africa had been popular of late years, and gallant
adventurers had accomplished much in that quarter
of the world ; but he trusted that the Arctic Circle,
which was his own sphere, would not suffer neglect,
and that Jackson would rival the achievements of
Nansen. If the North Pole was to be reached,
he hoped the discovery would fall to the lot of a
British explorer. Mr Jackson was going to try
the route of Franz Josef Land, and he (the Captain)
highly approved of his method of leisurely observa-

xiv.] THE STJERNEN PURCHASED 283

tion, which was preferable to the pursuit of a
preconceived hypothesis. He also trusted that, for
the future, expeditions would not be required to
learn the fate of explorers who had gone to the
North and had never returned.

The Captain had bought the fVindward, an
old Arctic steamer, on behalf of Mr Leyborne-
Popham ; and it was proposed to load and take her
to the Yenesei, and bring her back with a cargo
of Siberian produce. But the ship soon changed
hands. Mr Jackson, unable to find an Arctic
vessel for his Polar expedition, begged the Captain
to let him have the Wiiidivard. His wish was
gratified, and thus another ship for the Yenesei had
to be found.

Events happened which somewhat changed the
plans of Mr Leyborne - Popham and his trusty
captain. The Russian Government, represented
by the Board of the Siberian Railway, were
having two paddle - steamers — the Pervoi and
the Vtoroi — built at Newcastle by Sir W. S.
Armstrong, Mitchell and Co., and Wiggins was
requested by the Board to convoy these vessels
to the Yenesei. It was therefore necessary to
obtain a good convoy steamer, and at length Mr
Leyborne-Popham bought the Stjernen^ a screw
steamer of 700 tons. She was to pilot the Russian
vessels and keep them supplied with coal.

Every voyage made by AViggins across the
Kara Sea had features of interest peculiar to itself ;

284 ANGLO-RUSSIAN EXPEDITION [chap. xiv.

and the voyage, and the fate, of the Stjernen,
together with the rough experience of the Captain
and her crew, form one of the most stirring episodes
in connection with the opening of the Kara Sea
route.

CHAPTER XV

ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA

Departure of the Stjemen^ the Pervoi^ and the Vtoroi — A
remarkable wedding trip — Arrival of the ships at
Lokovoi Protok — The Stjernen homeward bound — Fog,
treacherous currents, and misleading soundings — On a
reef — Saving the crew — Camping on the tundra — Mr
Hugh Popham's plucky venture — Scaring the natives —
Koshevin, the " good Samaritan " — Making up a rescue
party — Searching for natives and reindeer — Incidents of
the journey to St. Petersburg — The food of reindeer —
Attacked by wolves — Twenty-five miles a day — Samo-
yede women's kindness — Frost-bitten seamen — Telegram
to England — From Pustozersk to St. Petersburg —
Reindeer exchanged for horses — In the forest — Scaring
away wolves — Accidents — Reception at Archangel — A
hundred and eleven days over the snow — Welcome
at St. Petersburg — Russian search expeditions — The
Russian Press on Wiggins — Interview with the Grand
Duke Michaelovitch — Meeting of the Imperial Societies
to hear the Captain's account of his work and aims — An
historical gathering — Counte Witte and Wiggins — The
Emperor's interest and support — "A great Yes, or a
great No."

The Stjernen, the Pervoi, and the Vtoroi left the

Tyne on August 8, 1894. The Bkncathra, Mr

Popham's yacht, with her owner and his wife on

285

286 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

board, accompanied the ships as far as Vardoe.
The Stjernen carried three passengers — Mr Hugh
Leyborne-Popham, a brother of Mr F. W. Leyborne-
Popham, and Mr and Mrs Wostratine. The latter
couple, Siberian gold-mine owners, were completing
a remarkable wedding tour from their native city,
Yeneseisk. They had proceeded from that city
overland by sledge, during the winter. After visit-
ing Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, and London,
they were now on their way home, and, on reach-
ing Yeneseisk, would complete a trip of something
like 10,000 miles.

The three ships left Vardoe on August 26, and
safely reached their destination — Lokovoi Protok,
500 miles up the Yenesei — on September 13.
Mr and Mrs Wostratine joined a passenger boat,
going to Yeneseisk, and the two Russian steamers
were delivered to the representatives of the Board
of the Siberian Railway. The Stjernen discharged
her cargo, and, on September 15, sailed for home,
carrying, in addition to her own captain and crew,
and Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham, the captains
and crews who had taken out the Pe?^voi and
the Vtoroi, the total number of persons on board
being forty-nine.

All went well as far as Dickson's Haven. On
turning westward the Stjeimen encountered dense
fogs, with strong northerly winds, but only a little
ice. What happened later is taken from accounts
written by Captain Wiggins, some of his officers,
and Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham. Dense fog con-

XV.] ON A REEF 287

tinuing, the ship steamed slowly, the lead being
kept going constantly. The ship was drawn, by
unknown currents, some thirty or forty miles out
of her course, into a locality, where, as it was after-
wards found, deep soundings existed close to the
shore.

Early on the morning of September 22 a cast
of the lead was taken, but no bottom was touched
at fifty fathoms, which confirmed the opinion of the
ship being in a safe position, about twenty miles
from the shore. About an hour later. Captain
Cameron reported to Wiggins that the ship was
going dead-slow, and heading south by the compass,
with thick fog, and no sign of land. A few minutes
later the mate shouted, " Land close by ! " Over
the port side breakers were seen close to leeward.
" The helm was put hard-aport, without reversing or
stopping engines, and five or ten minutes' precious
time was thus lost before Captain Wiggins could
rush on to the bridge and telegraph, ' Full speed
astern.' The ship immediately shot astern, but,
being broadside on to the swell, it proved too late.
She suddenly struck on the outermost barrier of
reefs, and remained fast, the heavy swell afterwards
driving her over the barrier into shallow water,
where the rocks tore her bottom, and caused her to
become a regular wreck. The largest anchor was
quickly run out to seaward by Captain Brown at
great risk, and every effort was made to get the ship's
head round to seaward, but without success. ..."

" The saving of the lives of our crew was

288 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

effected with the gi-eatest difficulty, on account of
the heavy seas rolhng on to the rocky coast, and,
but for the aid of our splendid lifeboats and picked
crew, and the usual Board of Trade equipments, we
might have perished. About ten men succeeded in
getting ashore a mile eastward, but Captain Brown,
who had charge of the party, signalled that no more
could be landed there, on account of the heavy
breakers. As luck would have it, we were all safely
landed by four o'clock in the afternoon, together
with a large quantity of sails and spars, which we
used for erecting tents on the shore. A quantity
of provisions, much damaged by water, was also
landed. Strong gales continued from the north-
east, and heavy seas were breaking over the vessel,
and her bottom was breaking up. Tents were put
up, fires lighted, and food cooked."

On September 24 the fog lifted, and it was
then discovered that the ship had stranded about
four or five miles to the east of the Yugor Straits,
about three from JMastnoi Island, and forty-five
from Khabarova village. " With, at most, only a
few hours of daylight, often interrupted by fog, no
one appeared over the dreary, silent, snow-covered
tundra to lend assistance ; and, with these miserable
surroundings, the crew spent several days, or rather
nights, for darkness reigned over the greater part
of each twenty-four hours."

It was impossible, owing to the gales and heavy
seas, to communicate with Khabarova by boat.
But it was absolutely necessary to seek relief, in

XV.] WALKING UNDER DIFFICULTIES 289

order to escape long exposure, with insufficient
clothing and food, and prevent loss of life. Some-
thing must be done to obtain help from the
Samoyedes and the Russians at the village. The
difficulty was soon solved. Mr Hugh Leyborne-
Popham volunteered to walk the distance — forty-
five miles — accompanied by three of the men.

" After walking some hours," writes Mr
Leyborne - Popham, " we found we had under-
taken a tough job, as the country was so wet,
and we had to wade through marshes and small
rivers, it being necessary to keep a straight course.
It was bitterly cold work, for it was freezing all
day, and snow came on in the afternoon. Our feet
and legs got coated with ice after each swamp.

" About 5 P.M., after having walked hard, with
barely a rest, all day, we sighted a Samoyede's
choom, in which was a boy, who pointed to his
ears and tongue, from which we imagined he was
deaf and dumb. We found afterwards he only
meant he could not understand Russian. However,
he conducted us to another choom, about a mile
off*, where we discovered a woman, a small child,
and a girl, who had just driven in with a sledge-
load of firewood. As soon as they saw us coming,
the woman picked up the child, and they all made
off as fast as their legs would carry them ; so there
was nothing for us to do but to take possession of
the choom,, and make ourselves as comfortable as
possible, with a small white dog, who had not
been scared by the new-comers.

" VV^e made up the tire, and attempted to dry

S90 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

some of our wet things, and get our feet warm.
After a couple of hours, two Samoyedes turned
up, quite drunk. It really seemed hopeless to get
any one to understand us ; but, later on, several
Russians arrived. One of them, Ivan Alexand-
rovitch Koshevin, knew Captain Wiggins very
well, and our Finn, who could speak a little
Russian, made him understand that the Captain
wanted sledges sent to the wreck, which he agreed
to do in the morning. On the following day five
sledges were despatched to the camp of the ship-
wrecked seamen."

The story can be resumed by Captain Wiggins,
who was delighted to see his old friend Koshevin
approaching.

" After due consideration, it was decided to
proceed at once to Khabarova, and procure assist-
ance from the villagers, in order to bring in the crew,
some provisions, and other articles from the vessel.
My old friend immediately conveyed me to the
village, which I reached in the evening of the next
day, to find that Mr Popham and his men, com-
pleting their long and exhausting tramp, had arrived
there a short time before us.

" Twenty-six sledges were immediately sent off
to the scene of the wreck, under the charge of
the Russians and their Samoyedes. By October 4
they managed, with great difficulty, to bring thirty
of our crew to Khabarova, together with a large
quantity of provisions."

Another expedition, of about twenty sledges,
was despatched. Four more men were brought to

XV.] A RUSSIAN SAMARITAN 291

the village, together with numbers of packages of
provisions and baggage, which had been saved from
the ship in brief intervals of fine weather. And now
it was feared that the reindeer would be knocked
up, and be unable to take back the natives to their
homes. Communication with the ship by boat
was now rendered impracticable by the ice which
blocked the Straits. It was necessary to scour the
country in search of more natives and more reindeer.

" This extremely hard task was undertaken and
well carried out by the merchant Koshevin, who,
luckily for us, had great influence over the natives.
On October 14 this good Samaritan, after sledg-
ing day and night, and having succeeded in
obtaining the services of a number of natives, with
their reindeer and forty-six sledges, arrived at the
scene of the wreck. On the following day he
quitted the ill-fated spot, taking the remnant of
the crew, and some more provisions." Captain
Wiggins speaks of the "voluntary and almost
superhuman exertions" of the Russian merchant,
"to whose care and prolonged efforts the party
most certainly owe their lives."

Preparations had now to be made for the
journey to Archangel — about 2,000 miles — by
sledge. Some of the sledges were loaded with
provisions and baggage, and others with sealskins
and oil, which the natives intended to sell in the
inland towns. Considerable time was taken up in
preparing fur clothing for the men. Only a few
ready-made garments could be obtained, and the
women were set to work to make more clothing

292 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

from fresh reindeer skins, hastily dressed. With
the prospect of having to face fifty, if not more,
degrees of frost, every precaution had to be taken
to keep out the cold.

On October 20 the party set off There were
eighty - seven sledges, with about two thousand
head of reindeer. A sledge could carry only two
persons and the driver. Two of the drivers were
girls, and one a woman. The snow was about
eight inches deep, and the ground very uneven.
About dusk on the first day the party separated
into three sections, each section now taking a
different course. This division was necessary, in
order to enable the reindeer to find sufficient food
— the moss of the tundra— when turned adrift at
night. On being unharnessed from the sledges,
they were allowed to follow their own instincts in
searching for food and bed. They can find the
lichen, which usually grows in mounds, even
though covered with four or five feet of snow.

At daylight the animals were hunted and
lassoed, and driven by men and dogs into a rope
enclosure, and harnessed for their day's work. On
one occasion during this journey two of the
reindeer were seized and devoured by a pack of
ravenous wolves, only the heads and a few bones
being left to tell the tale.

The time of travelling was restricted to day-
light, which, during the journey to Pustozersk, on
the river Petchora, varied from three and a half
to five hours each day. The progress, especially of
one section of the party, was extremely slow. The

XV.] INTENSE COLD 293

average daily distance covered was only from
twenty to twenty-five miles. Thus no less than
thirty - two days were occupied in reaching
Pustozersk, which is about 600 miles from
Khabarova.

Every night the tents were reared, fires lighted,
and tea and food prepared. The stores saved from
the ship were used at first, and when they were
exhausted, reindeer flesh and frozen fish comprised
the one meal a day. The Samoyedes indulge but
little in cooking. They eat reindeer flesh and fish
raw. The Englishmen had skins to lie upon at
night, but could get but little sleep, because of the
intense cold. The Samoyede women treated the
sailors as if they had been their own sons, trying in
every way to protect them from the effects of the
bitter weather. In spite of their care, and of all
Captain Wiggins' precautions, two or three of
the men suffered from frost-bite, and on reaching
Pustozersk one of them had to lose some of his
toes by amputation.

At this place the Mayor sent on an express
messenger to Archangel, with a telegram announc-
ing the safety of Wiggins and his men. This good
news was received in England on November 21.

The Samoyedes and the reindeer were now
exchanged for Russians and horses. The tempera-
ture had fallen so low that the barrels of the ouns
could not be touched without the fingers being
burned, and wood could not be touched with the
bare finger without some of the skin being left

294 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

behind. The sun shone brightly by day, and the
moon by night, " with splendid northern lights and
streamers, which seemed to hang down close to
the roofs of the houses." The endless stretch of
dazzling snow was exchanged, after leaving
Pustozersk, for vast pine forests, which were
infested with wolves. The tinkling of the sledge-
bells was supposed to scare away the beasts. One
night a wolf attacked a horse, but was promptly
disposed of with a well-aimed shot.

The party now travelled by night as well as by
day, only stopping at stations for fresh teams of
horses. Fallen branches and stumps of trees often
caused a spill, but the pitching-out of a man or
two now and then was regarded as a little
diversion on this trying journey.

When the travellers reached Archangel, on
December 15, they were heartily welcomed by
Mr Henry Cooke, British Vice-Consul. Seven of
the men were suffering from frost-bite and lung
complaints, and had to be carried to the Hospital,
where they were most kindly treated. In a few
days the journey was resumed, some of the party
leaving Archangel on December 18, others on
the 24th, and the rest a few days later. About
twelve days were occupied by the sledge-journey
to St. Petersburg, where Captain Wiggins arrived
on January 11, 1895, but little the worse for his
hundred -and-eleven days' ride over the snow. The
welcome news soon spread, and the Captain was
overwhelmed with congratulations from England,

XV.] RUSSIAN SEARCH EXPEDITIONS 295

Russia, and Siberia. Mr Hugh Leyborne-
Popham went ahead of his companions from
Archangel, and, sledging to Vologda, hurried
home by way of Moscow, Berlin, and Hanover.
" A little twelve- year- old fox-terrier of mine," he
writes, " successfully weathered aU our misfor-
tunes."

It should be remembered that Captain Wiggins
was in no way to blame for the loss of the
Stjernen. The dense and long-continued fog, a
strong and unusual current running to the south-
west, an unknown reef three-quarters of a mile
long, with more than sixty fathoms of water
close to it, a high wind from the north-east and
a heavy sea — these were the circumstances which
inevitably rendered a ship liable to accident on
any coast unprotected by lighthouses and fog-
signal stations. No one had a word of condem-
nation, and the Press both of England and St.
Petersburg united in a chorus of sympathy with
the Captain on his loss, and in congratulations
on the return of himself and his party.

When the Stjernen was considerably overdue,
and fears were entertained that she was ice-bound
in the Kara Sea, with only a slender stock of
provisions, the Russian Government, at great
expense, sent out two search expeditions. The
Lindesnaes was despatched from Vardoe on
November 2, with provisions, clothing, sledges,
dogs, and everything that, by any chance, might
be required. She went to the Yugor Straits, found

296 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

them blocked by ice, and returned to Vardoe
without seeing any traces of the missing vessel.

The other relief expedition started from
Yeneseisk, in charge of Captain Zeleffsky and
Lieutenant Baron Maidl. Mr James H. Lloyd-
Verney, son of Colonel George H. Lloyd- Verney,
gallantly accompanied it as a volunteer. The
arrangement was to steam down the river until the
ice stopped the way, and then search the Siberian
shores on sledges. This progi-amme was carried
out at great risk, and the plucky party returned
safely to Yeneseisk towards the end of January.

An extract from the Novosti will serve to
indicate the state of feeling in Russia towards
Wiggins. " However costly the relief expedition
may prove, it will be, nevertheless, but a trifle in
view of the services which Captain Wiggins has
rendered to Russian commerce in the north. He
was the first, after three hundred years of silence,
to pass the Kara Sea in his yacht, the Diana,
which was afterwards followed by Nordenskiold.
He was the first to bring a steamer with a
cargo to the Obi. Captain Wiggins was also
very useful in last year's expedition in assisting
Lieutenant Dobrotvorsky. We are glad that the
Captain has been found, and that the reason
of his long disappearance has been made clear.
Otherwise this route — of such great importance to
the whole of Siberia — which in former centuries
was utilised by Russian traders, might again have
fallen into disuse for many years."

XV.] A MEMORABLE MEETING 297

A few days after his arrival in St Petersburg,
Wiggins was invited to lay before the Grand Duke
Alexander Michaelovitch, the Czar's brother-in-
law, in a private interview, his plans for the
prosecution of the sea route. This interview was
followed on January 26 by a meeting, specially
convened by members of the combined associations
of the Imperial Russian Technical, Geographical,
Commercial Encouragement, and Commercial
Navigation Societies, to hear the reading of a
paper, written by Captain Wiggins, on the mari-
time route to Siberia. The meeting was crowded,
and there were present on the platform, on either
side of the Captain, tlie Grand Dukes Constantine
and Alexander Michaelovitch, General IgnatiefF,
M. SemenofF, President of the Imperial Geo-
graphical Society, the Ministers of Finance and
Ways of Communication, M. Kazi, the head of
the Navigation Society, who presided, together
with several members of the British Embassy. A
host of other well-known persons were also present.

M. Kazi read Captain Wiggins' paper in a
Russian translation, in which was explained the
feasibility of the sea-route, and its great importance
as an auxiliary to the Siberian Railway. The
railway alone, the Captain argued, would be
unable to satisfy all the needs of the certain
revival of all branches of human activity, which
its construction would rapidly develop in the
vast and wealthy regions of Siberia. The sea
route would become absolutely necessary for the

298 ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap.

transport of low-priced and heavy wares, which
could not be conveyed cheaply enough over such
great distances by the railway. During the past
twenty years no fewer than twenty-four expedi-
tions, with thirty -seven vessels altogether, had
been made through the Kara Sea without any
difficulty from ice, and without the loss of a
single ship, until the recent wreck of the Stjernen,
which was mainly due to fog. References were
then made to the many hundreds of Norwegian
vessels that had freely navigated these waters
during the same period ; to the particular kind
of vessels required, and, generally, as to the
importance, to both Russia and England, of
permanently establishing this maritime route to
the great river outlets of Northern Siberia.

The Captain made suitable acknowledgment
for the prompt measures taken by the Russian
Government to send out the search expeditions,
and also to all officials for their attention and
kindness to himself and his men on the sledge
journey from Khabarova.

M. Kazi, in a brief speech, pointed out the
importance of the sea route in connection with
the project of constructing a new Russian naval
port on the Murman coast. There was much
applause for Captain Wiggins at the end of the
proceedings, when he and Mr F. W. Leyborne-
Popham were elected members of the Imperial
Technical Society.

Although twelve years have passed since the

XV.] " A GREAT YES, OR A GREAT NO " 299

Captain faced this distinguished audience, it is
even now too soon to appreciate the full signifi-
cance of the remarkable gathering. With a more
distant perspective, and the almost certain march
of events in connection with the sea-route, future
chroniclers alone will be in a position to do
adequate justice to this historical scene in St.
Petersburg. A humble British mariner, with a
genius for pegging away and overcoming obstacles,
pursued a great object — of but little, if any,
practical advantage to himself — which could not
be realised completely, as he was fully aware,
for many years to come — perhaps not in his own
lifetime. At last he so impressed the highest
authorities in the Russian capital that they gladly
listened to the story of his efforts on behalf of
the commercial interests of their country.

The only historical parallel of this event was
the welcome accorded by Ivan the Terrible to
Richard Chancellor, in 1553, who received
privileges and concessions for establishing an
ocean trade with Russia via Archangel.

Two days after the meeting in St. Petersburg,
M. de Witte, the Minister of Finance, reported
to Wiggins a conversation which had passed
between the Emperor Nicholas and the Minister.
In reply to the Emperor's questions about the
Captain's address, M. de Witte stated the argu-
ments which had been advanced, and assured his
Imperial Majesty that he was convinced of their
soundness and importance, and that the Govern-

fiOO ROUGHING IT ON THE TUNDRA [chap. xv.

merit ought to do everything in its power to
encourage and help in a practical way the develop-
ment of the sea route. " We must go to work at
once," he said, " and prove the route to be either
a gi-eat Yes or a great No."

The Russian Government, so far, had moved
slowly. It had granted concessions with regard
to duties on merchandise shipped from England,
permitted an English vessel with a cargo to go
down the Yenesei, placed additional steamers on
the river, and had given an order for a cargo of
rails, and for vessels, built in England for its use,
to be transported by the sea-route. Towards
ensuring safety in navigation, it had empowered
the Hydrographic Department to begin a survey
of the mouths of the Yenesei and the Obi, and
the adjacent coasts of the Kara Sea. The survey-
ing party was in charge of Lieutenant- Colonel
A. Vilkitsky, and operations were started in the
summer of 1894.

According to the St. Petersburg correspondent
of the Times, the authorities, apparently taking a
new lease of energy under the new reign, seemed
suddenly to have awakened to the fact that
millions of roubles were lying, so to speak, strewn
along the shores and tundra of Siberia.

CHAPTER XVI

CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER

At the London Chamber of Commerce — Conditions for
navigating the Kara Sea — Revolutionary effects of the
Trans-Siberian Railway — The cry for new markets —
Advantages of the ocean route — At the Society of Arts
— Erratic condition of the compass in Polar Seas —
Address at the Working Men's College — Meeting at
Birmingham — Nationalities represented in Siberia — The
exile class — An "old grandfather - admiral " — Lecture
at Newcastle — Carrying tea from China to Moscow —
Amongst his friends in Sunderland — On book-writing
— Peace promoted by commerce — At Middlesbrough —
Tour of the Czarevitch — Wealth of Yeneseisk — Two
lectures at Dundee — Kara Sea compared with Hudson's
Bay — Siberian compared with African mines — Education
in Siberia — At the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce —
The Jews of Siberia — Presentation by the British and
Foreign Sailors' Society.

On the arrival of Captain Wiggins in England
in the middle of February, 1895, his services were
soon in great demand for the purpose of delivering
lectures. It is needless to give a complete list
of these public engagements, in March, April, and
May. The more important were those at the
London Chamber of Commerce, the Society of

301

302 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

Arts, the Working Men's College, at Birmingham,
Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Dundee,
and Aberdeen. A few brief notes of these
lectures will introduce to the reader some phases
of the Captain's enterprise and aims not hitherto
mentioned, and will show the lecturer's ability
in varying his subject-matter, and rendering it
instructive and entertaining.

Sir A. Rollit, M.P., presided at the meeting
at the London Chamber of Commerce, and the
audience included prominent city merchants and
bankers, and representatives of the Russian
Embassy and of the Russian Consulate. The
Captain, after briefly reviewing his voyages to
Siberia, stated that at least thirty vessels had
gone out to the Kara Sea for trading purposes
since his voyage in the Diana in 1874, and that
every year about ten Norwegian craft had sailed
thither for the walrus - fishing industry, as they
had done some time before his first venture. All
ordinary steam trading- vessels, with a few additions
to equipment and construction, were suitable for
navigating the shores of Siberia ; but it was
essential that such steamers should be convoyed
by an Arctic steam-vessel, of special type and
build, for navigating and indicating the course
over the Kara Sea, and, in case of need, affording
assistance. Of this type were the Blencath^a and
the Labrador.

After referring to the warm interest taken in
the question of this northern passage by the late

CO
o

O
<

c
c

xvi] LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 303

Emperor, Alexander TIL, and to the Imperial
gift in recognition of his voluntary services, the
Captain spoke of the revolution which would
be effected by the great Siberian Railway,
which, when finished, would run over about six
thousand English miles, and complete the railway
belt round the world. It would infuse new life
into the region so generously endowed by nature.
People of all conditions would crowd to the
country, and enterprises of every kind would be
started. The productivity of the country would
rapidly develop with the growth of population.
But the question presented itself: would the
railway be capable of satisfying all the demands
of life, fast developing in all its manifestations ?
Looking at the immense growth of agriculture,
mining, and other industries, it was impossible to
avoid the belief that the railway would be quite
unable to meet the increasing demand for means
of transport. In particular, the increase in the
export of grain to Europe would be dependent
on a cheap sea-freight. It might be supposed
that the traffic of goods fi-om the Far East, such
as tea and other valuable and fragile articles, also
of mails and passengers, would prove so great as
to monopolise the whole capacity of the line.

Nature, having endowed Siberia with the richest
system of rivers, indicated, without ambiguity, the
sea route as the most suitable, and, economi-
cally, the most advantageous means for communi-
cations with Europe. When tlie Russian Ministry

304 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

of Marine had completed its survey of the waters,
the Kara Sea would prove perhaps even more
open and free for navigation than was at present
supposed.

Siberia was a veritable " Land of Goshen," where
a fine horse could be bought for five pounds,
calves at three shillings each, and grain was so
low-priced that it was not worth sowing the land
more than once in every three years, since one
harvest in three sufficed for the wants of the
people.

The Captain believed Russia was in earnest,
and had awakened to the fact that she had
important national interests at stake in those
long-neglected regions. The cry raised in England
for new markets and outlets for our stagnant and
depressed trade should surely call for a response
from such Chambers of Commerce as the one
which he had the honour of addressing, and he
believed that the Kara Sea route was fraught
with the possibility of infinite benefit to England,
if we were wise in time.

Sir Westby B. Perceval, K.C.M.G., presided
at the meeting of the Society of Arts. The
paper read by the Captain, for which he received
his second medal from the Society, contained a
description of his voyages, an explanation of the
causes which led to the wreck of the Stjermen,
and some particulars of Norwegian, Russian, and
German expeditions. The Captain enlightened
his audience with regard to the construction and

xvi] THE WORKING MEN'S COLLEGE 305

equipment of an efficient Arctic vessel. The fact
that he had taken out ladies to the Kara Sea,
" with pleasure and gratification to themselves,"
was, he thought, sufficient proof that the route
was open to the world.

In the course of the discussion which followed
the reading of the paper, the Captain summarised
his observations of the habits and customs of the
Samoyedes, and of the climate and natural pro-
ducts of Siberia. Referring to the erratic and
useless condition of the compass in the vicinity
of the Siberian magnetic pole at the northern
parts of the Kara Sea, he said that a traveller,
like Dr Nansen, would simply have to do without
a compass. Any good navigator could determine
his position by observations of the sun by day,
or of the stars by night.

An enthusiastic audience greeted the "gentle
mariner" at the Working Men's College. He
spoke in a modest fashion of the chief features
of his work, and reminded his hearers that, when
he first started on his voyages twenty years ago,
he was warned by friends that he might offend
the Russian Government, but that, on his return
to St. Petersburg, he was treated with the greatest
respect and honour. With regard to the exiles
sent to Siberia, they were not so badly off as
some people imagined, and any exile who con-
ducted himself properly was sure to succeed.
The schools and the universities were admirable

in every respect, and everything was done by

306 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

the Russian Government to spread the cause of
education.

The meeting at Birmingham, organised by-
members of the Royal Geographical Society resid-
ing in the city and district, and held in the
Birmingham and Midland Institute, had the
pleasure of listening to a deeply interesting and
racy lecture, in which the characteristics of the
various nationalities represented in Siberia held
a prominent place. It was asserted, the lecturer
said, that " if you scratch a Russian you find a
Tartar " ; but, as a matter of fact, the Tartar
was not what he was popularly supposed to be.
He was a scrupulously honest and peaceful man,
otherwise Siberia would not have been taken
from him. The inhabitants of the country, for
the most part, lived frugal lives, and but few
were in a position of absolute poverty, whilst
many had acquired great wealth. They were
allowed to practise their various religions without
hindrance, and lived quietly and peacefully under
Muscovite rule. The Mongolian tribes, in the
northern parts, lived by fishing and trapping, and
selling furs to Russian merchants. It was to
these people that he (the Captain) and his crew
owed their lives after the recent wreck.

No doubt the sufferings of criminals in former
times, owing to the crude means of transport to
Siberia, must have been terrible. But the means
at the disposal of a more enlightened Government
enabled those unhappy mortals to be deported with

XVI.] TREATMENT OF EXILES 307

considerable ease and comfort. Large steamers on
the rivers were available for the purpose, whilst
the great railway to Vladivostok would further
lessen the hardships of their journey. Although
thousands of criminals had to be handled, and kept
in durance, whereby they could not be a terror to
the State, yet about two-thirds of the exiles, with
their wives, families, and other relations, were
allowed comparative liberty. It was an economy
of the Government not to put those people in
prison. The object was to colonise Siberia.

The Captain then described the sea route, with
the aid of lantern views, and, as he was address-
ing a Birmingham audience, laid emphatic stress
upon the commercial aspects of the route. He
testified to the esteem in which he had been held
by the Russians when piloting them through some
of their own territory, and observed that he was
looked upon amongst Russian naval officers as a
sort of "old-grandfather admiral." Referring to
the drinking habits of the people, he said that
he "found only one teetotaler in Siberia besides
himself, and he was a bishop." As to the gold
and other mineral wealth of the country, he ex-
plained that capital was plentiful, and the only
lack was labour and machinery, in order to work
the mines.

In his lecture at the Lovaine Hall, Newcastle,
under the auspices of the Tyneside Geographical
Society, and witli Mr Henry F. Swan as chairman,
tlie Captain described in graphic terms the wreck

308 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

of the Stjernen, and the long journey of the crew
over the frozen tundra. Amongst other topics to
which he drew attention was the Siberian Railway,
and the wonderful changes which it would bring
about. At the present time, he said, hundreds
and hundreds of sledges might be seen slowly
carrying tea from East to West. It took from
eighteen months to two years to bring tea from
China to Moscow. But the railway would revolu-
tionise this antiquated method of transport.

In Sunderland, where the Captain had so many
personal friends, he took the large and sympathetic
audience into his confidence. During the twenty
years of his Siberian work he had addressed, he
said, many hundreds and thousands of people.
He had not written his book yet, although he
had been teased very much about it. He had a
prejudice against book-wi*iting, for he thought that
a man had no occasion to write of his deeds until
he was about to finish his work. Then, when he
had nothing else to do, he could sit down and
detail what he had tried to accomplish. He had
preserved many records of his voyages for that
purpose. He then proceeded to give an outline of
his experiences in the Kara Sea and in Siberia.

In responding to a vote of thanks, he assured
his hearers that he thoroughly believed in his own
work. He had asked no man's advice, and none
were responsible for his ideas but himself If the
work came to a final success, as he hoped it might,
he would have helped to bind two nations together

xvi] LECTURE AT MIDDLESBROUGH 309

in harmony and peace. He knew of nothing more
effective than commerce to promote that relation-
ship. He repudiated the suggestion, which he
had heard, that commerce created antagonism.
Commerce, pure and simple, never did that.
There were three C's that he firmly believed in,
namely, Christianity, Commerce, and Civilisation.
Nations were bound to be benefited when those
three C's were in harmony. Commerce must not
be blamed for the selfishness of human nature.

The lecture at Middlesbrough was delivered in
aid of the Nursing Association and Friends' Social
Club. The Chairman, Colonel Sadler, reminded
the meeting that Captain Wiggins had pursued
his investigations and discoveries in the face of
difficulties and discouragements which would have
broken the hearts of most men. He was the sort
of man Avho had made England famous in past
centuries, and he could not be classified otherwise
than a hero.

The Captain spoke of his first visit to Middles-
brough, in the days of his youth, when there was
no railway communication with the town, and he
had to be jolted to Stockton on a horse-tramway.
Middlesbrough had the honour of supplying the
first cargo of rails for the mighty track — the Trans-
Siberian Railway. The western portion of the
railway could be constructed with materials got
from the Ural district, where there were iron
manufactories ; but the central portion could not
be supplied from that source except at a vast

310 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [,hap.

expense. The Russian Government had asked
him, therefore, to take out a cargo of rails by the
ocean route, and run them up by hghters to
Yeneseisk. The Russian officers, who were with
him on that occasion, expressed the greatest surprise
to find such a city as Yeneseisk — so little did
the Russians know of distant parts of their vast
Empire. The present Emperor Nicholas, before
his accession, had crossed from Vladivostok to St.
Petersburg, and, realising the wealth of the country,
soon persuaded the late Emperor to undertake
the construction of the railway. Yeneseisk was so
rich that it could probably buy up St. Petersburg.
Many of the wealthy men did not want the place
opened up, but the majority of the people were
anxious for the development of commerce.

Although only a master- mariner, who had been
poking his nose into a foreign country, and telling
the Government of that country what they ought
to do, yet he had been treated with the utmost
consideration by the highest people in the land.
He was to have had an audience of the late Czar,
but his Imperial Majesty's illness prevented this
arrangement from being earned out.

At Dundee the Captain addressed in the
afternoon the members of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and in the evening a large meeting at the
University College, convened by the Dundee branch
of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and the
Dundee Naturalists' Society. He referred to his
first voyage in the Diana to Siberia, when he sailed

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[To face p. 310.

XVI.] AT DUNDEE 311

from Dundee, with a "send-ofF" of doubtfullooks
and deprecatory expressions of opinion from well-
meaning friends. In that voyage he demonstrated
that the Kara Sea was a mere bagatelle when
compared with Hudson's Bay. The man who lost
his ship in it owing to the ice would be an idiot.
A great deal had been heard about Mashonaland,
but mines were never seen there such as those
to be found in Siberia. Some of the merchants
charged for the transit of goods at the rate of
from £20 to £30 a ton, whereas the same goods
could be conveyed along the sea route for £5
SL ton.

He thought that the Russian Government had
entered upon the Siberian Railway scheme more
for strategic than for commercial purposes. When
the Russian authorities were waking up to the
importance of the sea route, he thought it was
about time that British shipowners, merchants,
and capitalists made up their minds to take action.
The ocean route ought at once to be prosecuted
in connection with the railway. A hundred ships
might just as easily make the voyage in the summer
months as one.

At the evening meeting, at which Sir John
Leng, M.P., presided, the Captain spoke chiefly
about the trade possibilities and the educational
system in Siberia. Scattered over the land, of
5,000,000 square miles, and with more than
5,000,000 inhabitants, there were centres contain-
ing large populations, and it was these centres

312 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

that were tapped by the Yenesei River. The
people in these regions required everything that
could be brought to them from England. He
believed that the inhabitants were more civilised
than the people of Russia proper, taking European
Russia as a whole — a circumstance which was due
to the fact that the flower of the Empire had been
exiled to Siberia, who had exercised an educational
and uplifting influence upon the lower orders. A
system of compulsory free education was established
in the university towns twenty years ago, and
there were schools for the training of female nurses
long before similar institutions were established in
England. With its enormous internal wealth,
Siberia was a country which was bound to come to
the fore, and that in the not very distant future.

The lecture at Aberdeen, delivered by invita-
tion of the Chamber of Commerce, consisted of a
skilfully-arranged epitome of the Captain's Siberian
work. In the course of the lecture he referred to
the disastrous Kara Sea venture of speculators in
1879. Contrary to his advice, four or five Baltic
steamers, of eighteen and sixteen feet draught, were
fitted out to go where there was only twelve feet of
water. The inevitable failure of the expedition,
and the return of the vessels, stopped all further
enterprise for several years.

He made a humorous reference to the Czar's
gift of a silver punch - bowl service to a rigid
teetotaler. " For fear he should not have enough
of it, there were added no fewer than twenty-

XVI.] THE JEWS OF SIBERIA 313

five silver mugs, for drawing off from the monster
bowl."

He had a few words to say about the Jews of
Siberia. There had been a great deal of mis-
representation with regard to them. He had
found them magnificent fellows — agriculturalists,
miners, and officials, and thoroughly contented. In
describing the natural resources of the country, he
said that on entering the Yenesei, the traveller
struck, first, the fur districts, then the great timber
districts, with their thousands of miles of primeval
forests, and, last, the vast agricultural districts in
Central Siberia, where every kind of cereal was
produced.

All these lectures were delivered gratuitously,
and in some cases the proceeds were given to local
charities. No two lectures were alike. Taking
them altogether, they present not only a history of
the Captain's Siberian work, but also a clear view
of Siberia, in its geographical, ethnological, com-
mercial, and social aspects. Wiggins seldom used
a manuscript, and sometimes not even a note. He
could command the attention of the members of
Chambers of Commerce and of learned societies
equally with audiences less critical and exacting.
Never indulging in rhetorical flights, he presented
facts and incidents in plain, terse English, drawn
from liis own experience and knowledge.

He had always taken a lively interest in the
work of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, of
which he was a Director. Its international basis

314 CAPTAIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap.

was one of its great attractions to him. His
brother Directors had followed his efforts in Siberia
with keen attention and warm admiration, and it
was decided to present him with a testimonial, as
a token of the regard in which he was held by the
Society and by all British sailors. The testimonial
was in the form of an Address, written on vellum,
beautifully decorated, and appropriately illustrated
with scenes indicating the character of the Captain's
enterprise. The public were invited to express
their appreciation of his " great and heroic services "
by contributing to the " Sailors' Bazaar Fund."

This grand Bazaar was held at the Cannon
Street Hotel, on March 27, 1895, and was chosen
as the occasion for the presentation of the address.
It was handed to the Captain by Countess Spencer,
wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty, who opened
the Bazaar. Its contents were as follows : —

PRESENTED TO CAPTAIN JOSEPH WIGGINS, F.R.G.S.
KARA SEA ROUTE TO SIBERIA.

Dear Captain Wiggins, — A Royal visit to the
City of London by H.R.H. Princess Louise,
Duchess of Fife, accompanied by the Duke of
Fife, K.T., and the Countess Spencer, supported
by the First Lord of the Admiralty, to open a
Sailors' Grand Bazaar on behalf of the above
Society, of which you are an honoured Director,
affords your brother Directors and friends an oppor-
tunity to publicly express their appreciation of your
gallant conduct, your sterling character, your sailor-

xvi] PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS 315

like capacity, and your Christian faith, as witnessed
by your successful efforts to open up the great Kara
Sea Route to the Yenesei River, and thereby intro-
ducing into the very heart of the almost closed
Siberian continent the humane and civilizing influ-
ences of commerce.

We beg to express the hope that your splendid,
self-denying service will yet receive from your own
countrymen, as it has already received from the late
lamented Emperor of Russia, his Government, and
people, the generous recognition it deserves. That
first Sunday morning service under the Society's
flag, which led to the entrance into the Kara Sea,
is a happy memory, and indicates the object of the
Society, which is to produce sailors loyal to God,
to duty, to Queen and country. Praying that you
may be spared to see the desire of your heart, and
that this service to commerce and humanity may
be blessed of God, both to your own country, and
to vast Siberia,

We have the honour to be, on behalf of the
Society and friends,

Fife, Vice-Patron.

Brassey, President.

Joseph C. Diaisdale, Treasurer.

Henry D. Grant, Chairman.

(Also the signatures of twelve other Directors,
and the Secretary.)

The Captain, in returning thanks, said tliat he
had carried the Society's flag — the emblem of peace

316 CAPl^AIN WIGGINS AS A LECTURER [chap. xvi.

and goodwill — nearly all over the world, and, if he
had not as yet planted it in Central China, he had
at least taken it with him up the Yenesei, to
Central Siberia.

One of the most attractive exhibits at the
Bazaar was Captain Wiggins' Siberian stall, where
photographs, models, and costumes, illustrating the
life of the Samoyedes, were shown. The silver
punch-bowl service, presented by order of the
Emperor Alexander, was also exhibited.

The salver belonging to the service now hangs
in the library of the Royal Geographical Society.

CHAPTER XVII

LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK

Voyages of the Lorna Doone and the Bumoul — Support of
Siberian merchants — Caught in the ice — Adventure of
Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham — Another sledge journey
across the tundra — An early winter — Banquet to the
Captain at Yeneseisk — Speeches of Siberians — The wizard
and the bag of wind — The Kara Sea unknown to Siberians
before the Captain's voyage — "A true cosmopolitan" —
Presentation from the Yeneseisk Town Council — The
Ladies' Gymnase — In St. Petersburg again.

Although public engagements occupied much of
his time, Captain Wiggins was busy in the early
months of 1895 preparing for another voyage to
the Y^enesei. The Stjeimen belonged to Mr F. W.
Leyborne-Popham, and she was not insured. In
spite of his heavy loss, he determined to buy
another ship, and send her out under the charge
of Wiggins.

The Loima Doone, a barque-rigged trading
ship of about 700 tons, was bought at Dundee,
and taken to Aberdeen to be transformed into an
Arctic steam- vessel by Messrs A. Hall k, Co. She
was fitted with the latest appliances for navigating
and working ships at sea, including the newest

317

318 LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK [chap.

apparatus for saving life and for heating the ship ;
also an ice-ram, and a propeller capable of being
fixed and unfixed at will. It was intended to
proceed under canvas as far as practicable.

A full cargo was booked, consisting of pro-
visions— tinned fruits and fish, biscuits, fifty tons
of cured herrings, and large quantities of mining
machinery, agricultural implements, locomotive
boilers, furniture, Sheffield goods, etc. Cured
herrings had been introduced into Siberia by
Wiggins on one of his previous voyages, and
they were so much appreciated that the people
begged him to bring out a large supply on his
next visit.

So great was the demand for space, owing to
a glut of orders from Siberian merchants, that a
second vessel had to be obtained. Mr W. Willett,
of Chislehurst, joined Mr Leyborne-Popham in
his venture, and the Buimoul, a screw - steamer
capable of carrying about two hundred tons of
cargo, was bought, hastily equipped and loaded for
the voyage. Being of light draught, she was to
be sent up the river to Yeneseisk with her cargo.
After all, when the ships were loaded to their
utmost capacity, it was found that many tons
of goods would have to be left behind.

Captain Cameron, who had accompanied
Wiggins on his previous voyage, was placed in
command of the Buimoul, and received instruc-
tions to bring home the Loima Doone, Captain
Wiggins having agreed to go to Yeneseisk in the

(Al'TAI.N \M(;(;l\s.

[Tvfacep. 318.

xvii] THE LORNA DOONE 319

Burnoul, spend some time in that town, and
establish business relations with the merchants,
in view of a larger expedition in the following
season. The mercantile arrangements of the pre-
ceding voyage had been in the hands of Mr W.
Byford, of Monument Square, London, an old
friend, and the business agent of Captain Wiggins.
Mr Leyborne - Popham had now enlisted the
services of Messrs R. M. Moir h Co., of St
Swithin's Lane, and had appointed Mr H. Lister,
who was going out in the Lorna Uoone, as per-
manent agent at Yeneseisk for the Syndicate.
This agency for tlie sale and purchase of goods,
had been carried on hitherto by Captain Robert
Wiggins and Mr W. Potts.

The obtaining and fitting of the Burnoul
caused a delay of about three week, and it was
not until August 12 that the two ships left the
Tyne. They reached Vardoe on August 24, and
Golchika on September 13, after meeting with a
good deal of ice. The merchandise carried by the
Lorna Doone was transferred to river steamers,
and a cargo of flour, graphite, and other goods
taken on board as speedily as possible, in order
that the ship might get away before the ice
closed in.

She left Golchika on her return journey, in
cliarge of Captain Cameron, on September 22.
When she approached the Yugor Straits ice
blocked the way, and there seemed every prospect
of the ship being surrounded, and having to winter

320 LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK [chap.

in the Kara Sea. In addition to her own crew,
she carried the crew of the Buriioul, and the latter
were not provided with fur clothing. Mr Hugh
Leyborne-Popham, who had gone out overland to
Yeneseisk in the spring, and was now returning to
England, volunteered to go ashore, with three or
four men, to buy furs from the Samoyedes, and to
see if arrangements could be made for some of the
crew to spend the winter with the natives. It
seems to have been Mr Leyborne - Popham's
intention to make the journey homewards by
sledge after carrying out his self-imposed and
gallant commission.

The volunteers reached land, partly by walking
over the ice and partly by boat. In their absence
from the ship, the ice suddenly began to break up.
A channel was formed, clear and wide enough for
the ship to proceed. Captain Cameron, seizing
the chance of deliverance, steamed away, leaving
the volunteers behind. He reached England
safely on November 15.

Mr Leyborne-Popham soon obtained sledges,
reindeer, and Samoyedes, and set off with the three
men to Archangel, where Christmas Day was
spent. The party reached England, without
suffering any serious mishap, about the middle
of January, 1896.

In the meanwhile Captain Wiggins had gone
up the Yenesei with the steamers to a village, some
two hundred miles from Yeneseisk. At this village
he was stopped by the early winter and the low

xvii] BANQUET AT YENESEISK 321

condition of the water. The merchandise was
landed, and forwarded to Yeneseisk by sledges,
and the Captain reached that town towards the
end of November, to find a most hearty welcome
awaiting him.

Immediately after his arrival he was entertained
at a banquet given by the Mayor, M. Wostrotine,
and the Municipality. A few ingenuous and ex-
pressive sentences from the speeches delivered on
that occasion will show the Siberians' warm feeling
for the man and their estimate of his work.

" You devoted yourself, with praiseworthy energy
and ardent love, to this question of the ocean route,
and you settled it. It seems as if Fate watched
over you, and spared you to discover this route.
The Kara Sea, as if satiated with the many victims
of bygone years, took you caressingly into its cold
arms, and the waters carried you, a conqueror, to
your goal.

" Ah'cady the inhabitants of our town look for-
ward to your arrival as a necessary event in our
autumnal hfe. 'Well,' people say, 'the steamers
from Yeneseisk have left Turukhansk on their
return journey ; the swans are on their way to
the south ; now Wiggins is sure to come. With-
out Wiggins there would be something wanting
on the Yenesei.' You, Captain, are our beloved
guest, and I am sure that I am expressing the
wish of all present in saying to you — do not forget
us in the future, and be sure to come again to
partake of our hospitality."

322 LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK [chap.

" ' And what a lucky fellow is Captain Wiggins ! '
say the Siberians. ' How many navigators of this
route there have been ! One came just once, and
there was the end of him. Others were surrounded
by ice, and returned, without touching the Kara
Sea. But Wiggins — once he has started — is sure
to arrive.' What is the reason of this ? In a
Danish expedition of ancient times there was a
doctor, who arrived at the Kara Sea. He wrote
in his book that the expedition bought from an
old wizard some knots of wind, contained in a
bag. When there happened to be a calm, the
seamen opened the bag, let out some wind, and
the ship moved on again. Does not Captain
Wiggins also possess such a bag, with the help
of which he conquers the Kara Sea and us ?

" Yes, Captain, you do possess that bag. We
ourselves have seen it. In it there are different
little things, such as unquenchable energy, pro-
found devotion to and unshaken belief in your
enterprise, thorough experience and knowledge of
navigation, and, above all, an amiable character.
When you meet with some difficulty, you take
out of your bag one of the things which it contains ;
but it is with the last of them that you achieve
most wonders. It is that amiable character that
has won our hearts. He who knows you will
not only respect, but also love you with all his
heart.

" You came to us an unknown Captain, who
had navigated a sea, which was also unknown to

xvir.] "A TRUE COSMOPOLITAN" 323

us, except from the little we had read about it
when learning geography. In some of our books
it was not even mentioned. But now, thanks to
Captain AViggins and other mariners, all that has
been changed. We know much about the Kara
Sea, the Waigats Straits, and the white Yalmal
land. They seem quite near to us now. We
wish that by this route, which Captain Wiggins
has prepared for us, many Siberians may go to
and fro. We have as yet no steamers to send
to Europe ; but let us express our most profound
gratitude to him who opened this route, if not for
us, for our posterity.

" The North-east Route forms the object upon
which you have expended not only your strength
and the best years of your life, but also your
personal means. In our eyes you appear as a true
cosmopohtan, who formed a great idea for the
benefit of humanity. You are indifferent as to
who shall profit by this route ; for you are just as
ready to take a voyage through the Kara Sea for
the benefit of a Russian naval expedition as for
an English mercantile one, your one endeavour
being to prove the practicability of this route.
Your name will always be dear to Siberia, and
we welcome you again, after the anxiety of last
year — delighted to see you in our midst. We
drink the health of dear, indefatigable Captain
Wiggins, and wish him all success in his difficult
work, giving him our heartfelt thanks for estab-
lishing the Kara Sea route."

324 LAST VISIT TO YENESEISK [chap.

Unfortunately, there is no available record of
the Captain's reply to these simple and sincere
expressions of regard, which came from the lips
of Siberian merchants and gold-mine owners in
the heart of the Russian Empire.

The Captain was also the recipient of an
illuminated and illustrated addi-ess from the Town
Council. The artistic features^ — sketches of scenes
on the Yenesei and emblematic designs — were
executed by a talented artist-exile. The pupils
at the Ladies' Gymnase also presented a gift and
an address of welcome. " Your bold journeys on
the Northern Ocean," said the ladies, "prove to
the world that, with knowledge and persever-
ance, there is little in the world that can be
considered impossible. Europe and Asia have
become neighbours, not only on firm land, but
also by the sea."

During this visit to Yeneseisk — which extended
to nearly two months, and proved to be his last
— the Captain made every effort to promote and
foster business relationships between the merchants
and English manufacturers. When he left the
town, towards the end of January 1896, the
prospects of commerce were extremely bright.
He returned to Europe by sledge and railway —
this being his sixth sledge-journey across Siberia —
and spent more than a month in St. Petersburg,
consulting with Ministers, the Imperial Societies,
and various merchants about future business.
He obtained orders for the purchase of steamers

XVII.] MANY RUSSIAN FRIENDS 325

in England, and for taking them through the Kara
Sea to Siberia. He also obtained concessions for
working gold-mines, and entered into negotiations
with a mine-owner for the transfer of his property
to a Syndicate in London. The conditions of sale,
however, were not acceptable to the Syndicate,
and the project fell through.

Social engagements claimed a considerable
portion of the Captain's time. His company was
eagerly sought by a large circle of Russian friends,
for whom his vivacity, intelligence, and trans-
parency of character had a powerful charm.

CHAPTER XVIII

A BROKEN VOYAGE

Mismanagement and its result — Flotilla of six steamers —
Arrangements for the voyage to the Yenesei — Captain
Wiggins and the Glenmore — A preposterous order from
London — The predicament at Vardoe — The Captain
refuses to proceed — His attempts to avert failure — His
final decision — Voyage of the Lorna Doone and the
Dolphin — The Captain's devotion to the interests of
Mr Leyborne-Popham — Newspaper rumours — " Serious
allegations" — Vindication of Wiggins by Lieutenant-
Colonel Vilkitsky.

Soon after returning home in March 1896,
Captain Wiggins lectured at Norwich, Harrogate,
London, and elsewhere. One of his lectures was
delivered, very appropriately, before the Anglo-
Russian Literary Society, the chief object of the
Society being to promote friendly relations between
England and Russia. Mr Edward A. Cazalet
presided, and the interest of the meeting was
strengthened by the presence amongst the audience
of several representative Russians and Siberians,
some of whom took part in the proceedings. The
rest of his time, until August, was fully taken
up in arranging for another journey to the Kara
326

FERRY OVf:R THE ANGARA AT IRKUTSK.

OX LAKE BAIKAL.

\Toface:p. 327.

CHAP, xviii.] SIX VESSELS 327

Sea, projected by Mr Leyborne-Popham's Syndi-
cate. This voyage, in a pecuniary sense, promised
to be the most important which he had ever
undertaken. The expedition was to consist of six
vessels, some of them conveying valuable cargoes,
and Wiggins was to be responsible for the safety
of the entire flotilla. Owing to mismanagement,
three of the vessels were unable to leave Vardoe,
and thus various parties were involved in heavy
losses. It was the occasion of inexpressible dis-
appointment, vexation, and even distress to the
Captain, especially as he was made the scapegoat
for a time for other people's blundering. It is
necessary to enter into a little detail in order to
place the Captain's position in its true light.

By the end of July arrangements were con-
cluded for sending out the six vessels. They
comprised two paddle - steamers — the Glenmore,
costing nearly £13,000, and the Scotia; a screw-
propeller steamer, tlie Dolphin; the twin-screw
yacht, Father John ofCronstadt; the screw-steamer
Mulu, and the Lorna Dooiie. The last vessel —
the only one fitted and equipped for cutting a
passage through the ice — was to carry a cargo
of about 1,000 tons, and to act as convoy to
the other vessels. The Glenmo7'e, bought by
M. Wostrotine for service on the upper reaches
of the Yenesei, and the Father John, bought by
another Siberian merchant for service on Lake
Baikal, were to be delivered to their respective
owners at the mouth of the river. The Dolphin

328 A BROKEN VOYAGE [chap.

and the Scotia were to carry merchandise up to
Yeneseisk. The Mula was to be loaded with a
supplementary cargo of coal for the whole flotilla,
and also a quantity of coal to be discharged at
Khabarova for the Russian Government. It was
arranged that all the vessels — some starting from
the Thames and the Tyne, and others from
Scottish ports — should meet at Vardoe and pro-
ceed together, with Wiggins as Commodore, to
the Kara Sea and the Yenesei.

Wiggins undertook to supervise the repairs
and alterations to the G-lemnore — can'ied out at
Glasgow — and then take the ship to Vardoe.
Considerable delay occurred in executing these
repairs, and also from other causes, for none of
which Wiggins could be held responsible, and
the Glenmore was not able to leave Glasgow
until August 18. By that time the Lorna JDoone
had reached Vardoe. The DolpJdn, the Mula^
the Scotia, and the Father John arrived two or
three days later.

The Syndicate's agents suggested to Wiggins,
before he left Glasgow with the Glenmore, that
the other steamers should proceed on their voyage
and wait for him at Khabarova, in the Yugor
Straits, and thus probably save time, as the Grlen-
morc was a boat of higher speed than the other
steamers. The Captain did not approve of the
suggestion. He was convinced that it would
be safer to carry out the original plan. When
the agents again urged the proposal, he gave

xviii] A PREPOSTEROUS ORDER 329

way, and said he would do his best to overtake
the other steamers in the Glemnore.

On reaching Vardoe on August 25, he was
greatly astonished to find that only the Lorna
Doofie, the Dolphin, and the Mnla had gone on
to the Straits. The two frail vessels, the leather
John and the Scotia, were left to be escorted by
the Glenmoi'e, herself only a paddle - boat. But
another circumstance caused still greater astonish-
ment. He found that the captains of the Lorna
Doone and the Dolphin had received orders from
London to proceed from the Straits across the
Kara Sea to the Yenesei, in the event of Wiggins
not reaching Khabarova by the time the Mula
had discharged the coal ordered by the Russian
Government.

Not a hint of such a preposterous order had
reached Wiggins. Had he been consulted, he
would have refused, without a moment's hesitancy,
to agree to such an arrangement ; and if the
agents had persisted, he would have thrown up
his command. It must be remembered that the
Lorna Doone was the convoy ship — the only
vessel out of the six specially fitted to encounter
ice, and to ensure the safety of her companions.
There was but little prospect of meeting with
any serious difficulty from ice on tlie west of tlie
Yugor Straits. It was at the Straits, and eastward
in the Kara Sea, where the danger lay. And yet
Captain Wiggins was expected to go forward with
two paddle - boats and a yacht, not only to tlie

330 A BROKEN VOYAGE [chap.

Straits, but across the " great Ice - cellar " to
Golchika. Probably at the first contact with ice
the paddle-wheels would have been smashed to
fragments.

There are other circumstances to be borne in
mind in passing judgment upon this preposterous
order from London. The Syndicate was under
contract with Mr Thomas Wardropper, the repre-
sentative of the owner of the Father John, to
convoy that yacht by the Lorna Doone to the
Yenesei. Moreover, it was essential that fur
clothing should be ready for the use of every
seaman, in the event of severe frost, and the
Lorna Doone carried the fur clothing for the crews
of all the vessels. No furs could be obtained at
Vardoe, and if the Captain had proceeded to the
Kara Sea without such provision against cold for
the men of the three steamers he would have
incurred serious responsibility. With regard to
the question of coaling, it is true that the Captain
. of the coal-tender, the Mula, had been ordered to
wait at the Yugor Straits until Wiggins arrived.
The Qlenmore, the Father John, and the Scotia
could carry fuel for only six or seven days' steam-
ing. Had Wiggins gone forward and failed to
meet with the Mula — a contingency not at all
unlikely — he would have been unable, from lack
of coal, either to proceed to the Kara Sea or to
return to Vardoe. The three vessels would have
been forced to winter at the Straits.

Instructions were awaiting Wiggins at Vardoe,

XVIII.] A CONVOY-VESSEL WANTED 331

to proceed on his voyage at once. This he
absolutely refused to do, and, under all the cir-
cumstances which have been detailed, his refusal
was perfectly justifiable. Nevertheless, he did his
utmost to avert the disastrous consequences of the
acts of others. He telegraphed to several places
in Norway for an Arctic vessel to serve as convoy
in place of the Lorna Doone, but failed to secure
a suitable ship. Still unwilling to abandon the
slightest hope of getting away and crossing the
Kara Sea, even in the face of great risk, he made
a vigorous effort to secure a coal steamer to
accompany the Glenmoi'e and the other two vessels
on their voyage. But he found that it would be
impossible to get a tender loaded and brought to
Vardoe for at least ten days. It was now about
September 5, and by the time the tender arrived
the season would be too advanced to start for the
Yenesei. Moreover, no ice-master could be found to
accept the responsibility of going with the paddle-
steamers to the Kara Sea without a suitable convoy.

In spite of all the objections and difficulties
which stood in the way, the agents kept urging
the Captain to proceed to the East ; but he
resolutely declined to imperil life and property
on a foolhardy voyage. " Y'our persuasions or
requests," he telegraphed, " fail to influence me to
do wrong. I therefore repeat I decline proceed-
ing across the Kara Sea with these steamers alone,
or to Khabarova with the certainty of returning."

No doubt the agents, in ordering the Lorna

332 A BROKEN VOYAGE [chap.

Doone and the DolpJiin to go forward to the
Yenesei, were actuated by motives which had the
interests of the expedition in view. But it is
quite impossible to account for the short-sighted
vision which the order betrayed — the failure to dis-
cern the inevitable consequences of carrying out
such an order. The ocean arrangements were
under the control of Captain Wiggins, and it was
impressed upon him that he was responsible for
the safety of all the vessels. Looking at all the
facts squarely, the action of the agents was a rash
and unwarrantable interference with the marine
arrangements, and it destroyed the prospect of an
entirely successful expedition.

In the end the Glenmore and the Father John
were laid up until the following season, and the
Scotia returned to Dundee with her cargo.

It was fortunate for Captain Basil Jones, of the
JLorna Doone, that he was able to obtain directions
and charts from officers of Russian ships whom
he met at Khabarova. A^'^ith this help he success-
fully navigated his ship to Golchika, and sent the
Dolphin up the Yenesei. The captain of the
Mula waited at the Straits for some days, amusing
himself by taking bearings, soundings, etc., and
then returned home by way of Archangel.

Captain Wiggins seemed more concerned about
the loss which would fall on Mr Leyborne-Popham
and his partners than about his own loss and dis-
appointment. He had loyally done his utmost in
the interests of his " patron," who had risked such

xviir.] FALSE STATEMENTS 333

a large amount of capital to establish a regular
steamship service to the Yenesei. His energetic
and faithful efforts to render the latest venture
remunerative to the Syndicate had now been
foiled, at least to a large extent, by the indiscreet
act of persons who showed by their action how
little they knew of the conditions for safely navi-
gating the Kara Sea.

The Captain's reputation was soon endangered
by false rumours, spread abroad by newspaper
telegrams and paragraphs, in both England and
Russia. The St. Petersburg journal, the Novoe
Vrernya, reproduced from the Gazette of Commerce
and Industry — the official organ of the Russian
IMinistry of Finance — the substance of an article
which made " serious allegations " against the con-
duct of the Captain. He was said to have com-
pelled three steamers under his charge to put back,
after going no further than Vardoe, thus " obliging
the Captains of the Loima Dooiie, the Dolphin^
and the Mula, whom he had arranged to meet in
the Kara Sea, to continue their voyage to the
Yenesei at their own risk and peril, seeing that
they had no knowledge of the route." The base-
less character of these allegations is evident from
the facts already stated. It is not clear, however,
from what source the Ministry of Finance received
this report, which it too hastily credited.

A Yeneseisk journal — representing certain
Siberian merchants, who had made fortunes out of
the overland route, and consequently, as already

334 A BROKEN VOYAGE [chap.

intimated, were not favourably disposed towards
the question of the development of trade by the
sea route — ascribed the Captain's conduct to um-
brage at the fact of any vessels attempting to
make the voyage through the Kara Sea without
his services. This assertion was ridiculous, in
the face of the Captain's often-repeated assurance
that any skilful seaman, with some knowledge of
Arctic seas, could easily navigate the Kara Sea
in safety with a suitable vessel.

The Captain maintained a dignified silence,
making no attempt, through the Press, to defend
his conduct. This was not the first time that,
when unjustly and falsely accused, he took no
measures to put himself right in the eyes of the
public. He had a strong and splendid faith in the
power of truth to assert itself, but seemed forget-
ful that truth takes time to win supremacy, an
envious and captious world, in the meanwhile,
readily accepting a lie. He was fully convinced,
with regard to the latest reports and rumours, that
people who knew him, and whose friendship or
regard was worth having, would refuse to credit
the charges now advanced. Some of his friends,
however, took up the cudgels in his defence,
and in letters to newspapers made known to the
world the actual facts of the affair at Vardoe. By
this means misapprehensions, entertained by many
people, were dispelled, and the cloud over the
Captain's reputation passed away.

One, at least, of the vindications which appeared

xvin.] COLONEL VILKITSKY'S LETTER 335

in the Press should be quoted, especially as it
came from the pen of a fair-minded, sympathising
Russian, and was published in the Government
journal, the Novoe Vremya^ which had helped to
spread abroad too hastily the " serious allegations."
The letter, a translation of which follows, was
written by Lieutenant-Colonel \^ilkitsky, the head
of the Russian Surveying Expedition in the Kara
Sea, who has been mentioned akeady in these
pages.

" While on my way back from the Yugor
Straits Expedition, which had been placed under
my charge, I met three vessels of the Wiggins'
expedition — the Lo7iia Doone, the Dolphin^ and
the MiUa — which had then been waiting for some
days in the Straits for the arrival of Captain
Wiggins with three ships. Having asked some
questions as to the building of the vessels which
were being waited for, we were astonished that a
seaman as experienced as Captain Wiggins should
have sent on the three ships named above, and
should have decided to proceed himself, without
escort, with three other small vessels, which could
not carry more than an eight days' supply of coal.
It was then explained to us, however, that the /
order to go on had been given, not by Captain
Wiggins, but by a London firm.

" We informed the three vessels, which passed
several days more with us, that the passage to the
Yenesei was free from ice, and they asked us to give
them our charts and all useful indications for the

336 A BROKEN VOYAGE [chap.

voyage in that direction. It was the more agree-
able to us to render this service, as we thus had
the opportunity of making a return to Captain
Wiggins for the services he had rendered us
previously, and, knowing the Captain, we never
thought for a moment that the sailing of the
ships in question towards the Yenesei would
arouse in him any feeling of jealousy. In this
we were not mistaken. Soon after our arrival at
Archangel, we received from him, as in past years,
a telegram from Norway — whither the Lorna
Doone had then had time to return — a telegram
filled with the most cordial sentiments towards us.

*' Captain Wiggins, it appears, on arriving in
Norway, had found his large ships no longer there,
and had set to work to procure an escort. Tele-
grams had been sent all over Norway, but no
escort could be got, and the Captain, naturally,
had to give up the idea of continuing the voyage.

" Knowing Wiggins, I can say with certainty
that he could not have acted otherwise in regard
to this matter. Having devoted the best years of
his life to the task of establishing maritime relations
between Europe and Siberia, he warmly appreciates
any step, by whomsoever taken, for the advance-
ment of that work, and that is why our own
Expedition, from the first days of its existence,
enjoyed his notice. He hastened to share with us
the fruits of his vast experience, chiefly by giving
us information regarding navigation through the
ice, and regarding points on which we should, above

xviix.] A RUSSIAN TRIBUTE 337

all, fix our attention when drawing up charts. He
desired that the feasibility of sailing to the mouths
of the Yenesei and the Obi might become public
property as soon as possible. All this we certainly
could not have expected from a man said to be
doing his best to retain the exclusive privilege of
such navigation."

CHAPTER XIX

CLOSING YEARS

The Captain's retirement from Siberian work — Seeking his
fortunes again — Three years in the Craigmullen —
Lecture before the Edinburgh Geographical Society —
Chart of the Yenesei — Discussion on the shape of
the earth — Expeditions of Mr Leyborne - Popham's
Syndicate — Glasgow Exhibition — Admiral Makaroff s
project — The "ancient mariner" goes to sea again —
"Poor little Ko7i" — Lecturing in Melbourne — On
Board the Snevic — Death of Mrs Wiggins — Her
character and influence — Summons from St Petersburg
— Russian project for relieving starving Siberians —
Appointment offered to the Captain — In St Petersburg
— Searching for vessels — The Imperial Commission —
The Captain's illness — Transacting business in the sick-
room— Rising and falling hopes — Sailing of the fleet
without the Captain — A bitter disappointment — The
irony of the situation — Death of the Captain — Con-
dolence from Russia — Success of Russian expedition —
Mr W. Byford.

Before Wiggins left the Clyde for Vardoe he
had already intimated to the London agents his
intention to retire from the Siberian work, at
338

CHAP. XIX.] A NEW START 339

least in connection with Mr Leyborne - Popham's
Syndicate. He disapproved of certain methods in
the management of the concern, and felt that he
could no longer co-operate without considerable
friction. He had decided, therefore, to sever his
connection at the close of the expedition, and
the unfortunate events at Vardoe hastened the
separation by a month or two. Twenty -two
years had passed since he discovered the open
sea, and demonstrated the fact to the world. He
hoped that, at no distant period, a favourable
opportunity might occur for resuming his enter-
prise, and helping to keep alive the interest in
the ocean route. But his hope was not realised.
He was never to cross the Kara Sea again.

On reaching England he was forced to look
out for employment. He had no means of his
own to fall back upon, and as long as health and
strength remained he would not rely upon the
means of others. Most men at sixty-four have
either put off the harness, or think it high time
to do so, and to pass the rest of their days in
mental and bodily quiescence. Captain Wiggins,
now that his sun had long crossed the meridian,
and after a life so strenuous, useful, and eventful,
certainly deserved a period of rest at eventide.
But it was not to be. At the age of thirteen
he first went forth to " seek his fortunes," and at
three-score years and four he set himself to the
task again, his determined spirit as strong as ever.
The Siberian passion was still hot within him.

340 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

and, had he chosen to do so, he might have
raUied a few friends around him, and with their
aid taken a shipload of goods to the Yenesei in
the following summer. But a chivalrous feeling
towards his late chief — Mr Leyborne-Popham —
forbade such a project. He must look for employ-
ment in other seas.

About the end of November he received the
offer of a lucrative post as commander of a large
steam - ship, the C7^aigmulle7i, owned by Mr W.
Goodall. She was to trade between South
Africa and West Australia. The Captain hesi-
tated to accept the offer, for the appointment
necessitated separation from home and friends for
two or three years. His brave, self-sacrificing
wife — ever ready to forego personal wishes that
the call of duty might be obeyed — at length
shared with her husband the conviction that " the
Divinity which shapes our ends " ordained this
removal to the south, and cheerfully submitted
to the long separation.

The Captain lectured before the Edinburgh
Geographical Society early in the winter of 1896,
and sailed for Natal on January 7, 1897. He
did not return home until the end of 1899. It
is needless to follow him in his trading journeys
between South Africa and Australia. His heart
being still in the Siberian work, nothing delighted
him more than to describe his experiences in the
Kara Sea and the Yenesei to public audiences,
or to little groups of acquaintances in Natal, Cape-

xix] IS THE EARTH FLAT? 841

town, and Australian ports. One of the pleasant
occupations of his leisure hours was the prepara-
tion of a revised chart of the Yenesei, with
corrections made from his observations, which he
sent home to the Hydrographic Department of
the British Admiralty.

At Durban he indulged, somewhat rashly, in
a pubhc discussion, in the Town Hall, with a
sturdy advocate of the theory that the earth was
flat, not round. But he was scarcely prepared
for the rhetoric, eloquence, and the algebraic
formula of the " flat " theorist, who was an expert
orator on the subject. On the audience being
invited to express an opinion as to who had the
best of the argument, the show of hands was
decidedly in favour of Wiggins' opponent. This
was the first and last appearance of the Captain
as a platform duellist.

On reaching England again, he naturally
welcomed the quiet and rest of home life, and
made no attempt for some time to find an
appointment as commander of a ship.

The development of the sea route to Siberia
had continued since his retirement from that work.
In 1897 Mt Leyborne - Popham sent out the
Lorna Doo?ie, the Glen more, the Scotia, and the
Father John, with the Blencathra as convoy, the
latter vessel carrying Admiral JMakaroff" from
Vardoe to the Yenesei. He also despatched in the
same season six steamers, carrying about 5,000 tons
— chiefly tea — four to the Obi, and two to the

342 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

Yenesei. These ships brought back to England
cargoes of wheat.

In 1898 the Russian Government raised the
duty on tea, but the " Enghsh Sea - Trading
Expedition of Francis Leyborne - Popham " per-
severed with its operations. Four steamers were
sent out to the Obi with about 3,000 tons of tea,
and a quantity of machinery. On returning home,
one of the steamers was lost in the fiords of
Norway. The Lorna Doone went to the Yenesei
in the same year, convoying a schooner, for work
on the river.

Emboldened by two years' success, the Syndi-
cate despatched four steamers in 1899. They
reached Khabarova, where one of the ships ran
into the ice and sank. Whether this accident
arose from lack of experience, or from reluctance
to wait at the Straits until the ice had cleared
away, there is no available testimony to show.
Some of the cargo was saved, and the three
remaining steamers put back to England. Their
cargoes had to be landed and bonded at a heavy
cost, and the serious loss occasioned by this expedi-
tion appears to have stopped any further operations
of the Syndicate.

The Russian Section of the Glasgow Inter-
national Exhibition of 1901 naturally excited
Captain Wiggins' warm interest. He took an
active part in spreading information concerning
the vast resources of the Czar's Empire, and
read a paper at the Exhibition on " The Com-

ANflKNT SACHKU STONi:, IIAHKIMi Till: IturNDAHV BK r\\i;KN TWO

NATIVr, THIItKS.

(South Veiiesei Govcrinnent.) [To face p. 342.

xix] TH£ "ANCIENT MARINER" 343

mercial Routes of Siberia, by Land, River and
Sea." In November he delivered the same lecture
at the Imperial Institute, London, before the
members of the Anglo-Russian Literary Society.

In the same and the following year his time
was much occupied in ship-surveying, and giving
expert advice on marine matters. Though anxious
to sail again to Siberian waters, no opening pre-
sented itself for the renewal of his gallant enter-
prise. Various plausible schemes of exploration in
southern seas were put before him, with the object
of securing his co-operation and leadership ; but
none of them seemed substantial and promising
enough to win his support.

Towards the end of 1903, Admiral MakarofF
proposed to organise an expedition for the Kara
Sea, and Captain Wiggins was invited to place
his services at the Admiral's disposal. The expedi-
tion was to start in the summer of 1904 ; but the
imminence of war with Japan summoned the
Admiral to take up sterner duties, and his project
was abandoned.

The Captain, although seventy-one, and now
called by many the " Ancient Mariner," was eager
to get to sea again. He accepted an offer, made
by Major W. Cooke Daniels, to take out the
yacht Kori, of sixty tons, to Australia. The Kori
was intended for the service of a scientific expedi-
tion to New Guinea, one of the members of which
was Dr C. G. Seligmann. Wiggins contracted to
take the little yacht to Sydney, and deliver her

344 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

to the Captain, who had been engaged to command
her on the cruise round the great island of savages.
Leaving England at the end of 1903, the Kori
called at the Cape, and on her journey thence to
Australia was caught in a terrific gale, and had to
put into Hamelin, West Australia, for repairs.
She reached Sydney at last, and was handed
over to her new captain. Speaking of the " poor
little Kori,'' in a letter to his wife, Wiggins says,
" I had to carry her in my arms, as it were, across
the stormy deep."

He spent a few weeks in Australia, and visited
Melbourne, where he came across several old
friends hailing from the mother-country. His
fame had reached the Antipodes long since, and
the Royal Geographical Society of Melbourne
prevailed upon him to deliver a lecture on his
Siberian voyages. The Lieutenant-Governor, Sir
John Madden, presided, and at the end of the
meeting the Captain was elected a Life Member
of the Society.

He returned to England in the " noble monster-
ship," the Suevic, destined to meet with a tragic
fate three years later on the English coast.
Expecting that the ship would stop for a few
days at the Cape, he had undertaken to lecture
there ; but she stopped only an hour or two, and
the lecturing project was abandoned.

A few weeks after reaching home he suffered
the severest loss that had ever come into his
experience. His devoted wife, whose health had

xix] DEATH OF MRS WIGGINS 345

been failing for a considerable time, died on
August 13, 1904. For forty-three years she had
shared his hopes and aspirations, and to her
influence the development of many of the fine
qualities which distinguished him was largely
due. Her removal was keenly felt, not only
within the circle of close relationship, but also
far beyond it. Her sympathetic and unselfish
nature awakened warm regard and affection
amongst a multitude of persons — in Newcastle,
Sunderland, Harrogate, London, and elsewhere —
who were privileged to enjoy her acquaintanceship,
and at her departure they knew they had been
deprived of a real and trusty helper in the toil
and stress of life. Charm of character and charm
of manner were irresistible attractions to all with
whom she came into contact.

With the shadow of his heavy loss upon him.
Captain Wiggins passed several months almost in
seclusion. His seafaring life seemed to be ended,
and his Siberian projects transferred to other hands.
In his quiet retreat at Harrogate he reviewed his
work, and set his hopes on its completion by enter-
prising men as enthusiastic as himself But in April,
1905, he was suddenly roused from his reflective and
restful mood by a summons from St. Petersburg.

Whilst the Russo-Japanese War was in progress
vast numbers of the poorer population of Central
Siberia suffered from famine. The lack of food
arose partly from the Siberian Railway being
entirely used for the transport of w^ar-material.

346 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

partly from greedy merchants raising the prices of
food, and also from the non-arrival of supplies by
the sea route. In this distressing emergency, the
Russian Government proposed to fit out a fleet in
Europe, for the purpose of carrying, via the Kara
Sea, some 50,000 tons of provisions. The original
plan embraced the purchase of twenty steamers and
forty iron barges. The latter, capable of carrying
about 1,000 tons each, were to be towed up the
Yenesei to Yeneseisk.

As soon as this humane expedition was pro-
jected, the Russian authorities communicated with
Wiggins, and offered him a large sum of money if
he would conduct the expedition from Hamburg,
through the Kara Sea, and up the Yenesei. In a
financial view, the appointment promised to be the
most remunerative by far that the Captain had ever
held. But this little prize, at the close of life, was
destined to slip from his grasp.

On April 17 he received a telegram from Prince
HilkofF — who was responsible for the organisation
of the expedition — begging him to come to St.
Petersburg at once. He started the same day,
going straight to the Russian capital. He had
a hurried consultation with Ministers, and was
deputed to look out for ships and barges suitable
for the enterprise. With this object in view, he set
off to Hamburg, and afterwards visited Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Dantzic, Stettin, Lebau, Copenhagen,
and Revel. In about a fortnight he was back in
St. Petersburg again, taking up his quarters at his

xix] TO HELP THE STARVING 347

favourite hostelry, the " Hotel d'Angleterre." From
this place he wrote a letter in a strain which showed
that the energetic, buoyant spirit of the "ancient
mariner " was almost as exuberant as in the far-off
days when the Diana " danced " over the billows to
the Kara Sea.

" If the Government should finally decide to
go in for this good work," he wrote on May 9,
" I shall have to spin over England and Scotland,
to seek up steamers and barges. ... I warned the
Government in 1894, when my paper was read
before the Imperial Societies, and urged them not
to cease constructing the railway until a double
line was laid, and also — which was of greater
importance — to encourage and assist us in opening
out the rivers Yenesei and Obi to European com-
merce. Neither of these things has been done, and
now, in their need, and at the last moment, when
there remains hardly time to arrange for a few
thousand tons to be taken out, I am called upon
to do my utmost to lead this huge relief expedi-
tion, providing, first, that it is possible to carry
out 50,000 tons to Yeneseisk and Krasnoiarsk, and,
second, that the necessary money can be raised.

" To accomplish the task in such haste, they
will have to pay very high prices for everything, for
the withdrawal of such a number of steamers and
barges upsets the trade. I believe tliat no less than
£600,000 will be required to carry it all through.

" One good result — if the work should be done
— will be the location at Yeneseisk and Krasnoiarsk

348 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

of a fine, powerful flotilla of steamers and barges,
capable of running 50,000 tons of manufactured
goods outward, and the same amount of cereals
and other produce from Siberia to European and
home markets every year for years to come. And
thus I may yet live to see the day when the one
great desire of my heart — after thirty years of
irregular and costly attempts — is at last realised,
and through the sad necessities of a calamitous
war.

" I am now fully engaged in drawing up a long,
detailed report of how the work has to be done.
The huge cost of everything has to be reckoned
and laid before the Commission of Grand Dukes,
Ministers, etc. They will discuss the matter alone,
and then with me, and I hope that the matter may
not end in mere discussion.

"Another thing which the Government is
seriously considering is whether the time has not
now arrived to renew the duty-free concessions,
granted years ago to me, and stopped when I had
to abandon the work in 1896. If they would only
grant these concessions as an encouragement to all
European merchants, trade will flow in amain, and
the splendid riverside flotilla, which I hope to bring
out, will soon have plenty to do, and trade by the
Kara Sea route will become an established fact.

" From this letter you can explain to our friends
— who probably cannot understand why I should
assist this Government at such a time — the real and
humane reasons for my taking the work in hand."

xix] ILLNESS 349

On May 23 Captain Wiggins discussed the
great project with the Imperial Commission, and
received instructions to return home and look for
steamers and barges, and afterwards consult with
the members of the Commission, who were to
arrive at Glasgow in a few days.

He reached his home — Rossett View, Harrogate
— on May 28, in bad health. On his journey from
St. Petersburg he had contracted a severe chill,
which, together with symptoms of earlier origin,
proved the beginning of a fatal illness. In spite
of pain and weakness, he went to Glasgow on
May 30, and did his utmost to carry out instruc-
tions. His malady developing, he was unable to
wait in Glasgow for the arrival of the Commission,
and he reluctantly returned home. His work was
done. But he was not aware at first of the serious
nature of his illness, and he looked forward to
restoration within a week or two.

During the following six weeks he communi-
cated, almost daily, from his sick-bed, by letter and
telegram, with members of the Commission, and
with agents who were negotiating the purchase
of steamers. A packet amongst his papers, con-
sisting of telegrams received and despatched, with
letters, and copies of letters — some written by the
Captain and others dictated — is full of pathetic
interest. In some of the letters the veteran
advises Colonel Sergieff — the Russian Commander
of the expedition — with regard to the fitting of
the ships and barges, the engagement of pilots, the

350 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

quality of the tow-ropes, the fur clothing for the
seamen, and many other matters. In two or three
letters he reports an improvement in health, and
a definite prospect of joining the fleet at Bergen,
from which port it was to sail on July 25.

Many rallies were followed by relapses. Hope
rose and fell almost daily. July 25 arrived, and
the fleet sailed. The doctors hinted that the
Captain might be fit to travel within a few days.
He refused to abandon hope. He thought he
might overtake the fleet in North Norway by
starting in the mail-boat from Bergen in the course
of a week or ten days, and telegraphed to the
British Consul at Bergen for full particulars of the
sailing of the mail-steamers. Another alternative
was to charter a steamer at Hull, to convey him-
self, a relative, a doctor, and a nurse to Norway.

But it was not to be. Ten days passed, and
the doctors still refused to allow the invalid to
leave home. Then the final telegram was sent
from the sick-room to the agent of the expedition :
" Not allowed to leave my bed yet. Bitterly
disappointed not able to join Sergieff", Wishing
every success. — Wiggins."

To add to the irony of the situation, there were
several vigorous movements in commercial circles
for resuming trade by the Kara Sea route, and
Captain Wiggins' services had been sought from
three or four distinct quarters. A Company, with
a capital of £500,000, was in course of formation
for trading in the timber and working gold-mines

XIX.] DEATH OF THE CAPTAIN 351

of the Yenesei district. Valuable concessions had
been obtained from the Russian Government ;
Wiggins had given all the information at his
command, and was to be appointed to the control
of the ocean and river arrangements. Telegrams
came to him on his sick-bed, urging him to see
the directors in London at once. As this was
impracticable, the directors went to Harrogate,
and consulted with the Captain at his bedside.
The other enterprises in process of formation
were for the purpose of sending cargoes to the
Yenesei and the Obi, and bringing back cargoes of
Siberian produce.

Never, in the whole history of the Kara Sea
route, had prospects been more promising than
when the pioneer of that route lay hovering between
life and death. His prolonged hopes and expecta-
tions seemed about to be realised by the firm
establishment of a large and remunerative trade.
Yet everything slipped from his grasp. He reached
his Pisgah, and beheld and rejoiced in, the fair
prospect, soon to be veiled by the mists of death.

By the middle of August it became evident to
his medical attendants that there was no chance
of his recovery. He lingered on, suffering intense
pain, until September 13, and then quietly passed
away. On September 3 he had entered his
seventy-third year. The funeral took place at
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery, Sunderland, and was
attended by crowds of people, eager to testify their
respect, admiration, and love.

352 CLOSING YEARS [chap.

Letters and telegrams of condolence to the
relatives came from far and near. The following
telegraphic message shows the high estimate of
the Captain prevailing amongst naval men in
St. Petersburg, with some of whom he had
formed close friendship. " The members of the
late Hydrographic Survey of the sea route to
Siberia, and myself, hear with deepest sorrow of
the death of so well-loved and famous a seaman
as Captain Wiggins. I shall never forget how
gladly he welcomed our undertaking, the clear
head and fruitful ideas he brought to our assist-
ance, and the practical help he gave to our first
steps. — General Vilkitsky, St. Petersburg."

The last days of the Captain were clouded by
a rumour, which happily proved to be false, that
the Russian expedition to the Yenesei was a total
failure. It is true that there were several mishaps
on the journey, but the majority of the ships reached
their destination in safety. The original scheme
as regards the number of vessels was considerably
modified. Instead of ten steamers and forty
barges, only seven steamers and nine barges were
sent from Bergen.

Mention has been made, in earlier chapters of
this book, of Mr William Byford, a London ship-
broker, and the business agent as well as the life-
long friend of Captain Wiggins. He shared the
Captain's enthusiasm regarding the ocean route,
and was ready at all time and in every way to
promote the success of the Siberian enterprise.

XIX.] MR BYFORD 353

When the Captain was laid aside by his fatal illness,
Mr Byford, although himself in a precarious state
of health, watched over his friend's interests in
London with unwearied fidelity. He supplied, as
far as possible, the Captain's place at meetings of
the Directors of the large Company, to which
reference has been made, and exerted himself to
the utmost to render the Captain's position secure.
It was a singular circumstance that Mr Byford
died within a week of the famous seaman's death.
This slight tribute to the memory of a faithful
friend and an upright man of business will not be
deemed out of place here.

CHAPTER XX

CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES

A many-sided personality — Example of his repartee — Not
a man of mere ideals and phantasies — His practical
mind — Modesty — A bad man of business — The cant of
" charity beginning at home " — His love for young
people — The " boy man " — His powers of story-telling
— "The White Squall" — His love of animals — A
Siberian dog at Victoria Station — The end of "Lady
Chang " — The dogs at Sandringham — " Sailors' Knots "
— Impression created by Wiggins in Russia — Madame
Novikoffs testimony — The mainstay of his career.

Any attempt to summarise the Captain's traits of
character, some of which have been indicated in
various ways in this account of his life, must fail to
portray the man as known by his intimate friends.
The charm of his personality was so many-sided
that, wherever he went and in whatever society
he mingled, he left an impression not easily defin-
able. The entire absence of self-consciousness, his
breezy optimism, his wit and humour, his powers as
a raconteur^ his consideration for the opinions and
prejudices of others, as well as his sympathy, kind-
liness, courtesy, and chivalry, won for him hosts of
354

CHAP. XX.] SOUL OF SOCIAL INTERCOURSE 355

friends and admirers, each receiving impressions
according to individual predilections.

Although his mind was swayed by one great
idea for more than thirty years of his life, yet he
never incurred the odium of being a bore. He
seldom paraded his great idea, unless for business
purposes, or when drawn out by friends and
acquaintances. When he did refer to it in
private, he spoke in such a picturesque and vivid
style that his hearers were soon absorbed and
fascinated. He was as much at home, and spoke
with equal effect, in the drawing-rooms of the
West End of London as amongst a little group of
rough sailors. He was often the life and soul of
dinner-parties and social assemblies. His quaint
wit, shrewd observations, and smart repartee made
him a favourite guest in both England and Russia,
as well as in other countries which he visited. His
ability as a public lecturer has been referred to
already.

One example of his repartee may be cited. It
was sent by Mr H. N. Sulivan to the Daily News,
when that journal was printing examples from all
quarters. Visiting Krasnoiarsk, the Captain and
Mr Sulivan spent an evening with the manager of
a gold-mine. " The conversation had been running
upon the great pressure of business in England,
and the delightful contrast afforded by Siberian
life in winter. Our host blew his nose in a
primitive fashion, putting his finger first on one
nostril and then on the other. Seeing us watching

356 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap.

him, he said, through Mr Wardropper, who was
interpreting for us, ' I presume that is not your
custom in England ? ' ' No,' replied Captain
Wiggins, ' we have not time ; we do both at once,'
suiting the action to the word. This so delighted
the Russian that the story followed us wherever
we went. When I related it to Sir Robert Morier,
he remarked, ' Talleyrand would have given fifty
pounds to have said that.' "

Wiggins' strength of character lay, to a great
extent, in his stubborn will and clearly- defined
convictions. Having once made up his mind —
after careful deliberation — on any question of
moment, nothing could shake him. At the same
time, he was always grateful for advice and help
in doubtful matters, or with regard to questions
on which, from lack of knowledge or experience, he
had not the right to be confident. It is entirely
wrong to represent him as a man of mere ideals
and phantasies. He had no patience with mere
theories which had no definite and practical
objective, or were reared on ill-founded speculation.

His Kara Sea theory seemed to him, without a
doubt, to be fraught with vast practical develop-
ment, and he was right. He demonstrated over
and over again the soundness and absolute correct-
ness of his theory. He took up the work which
the demonstration opened out, because — as he
often expressed his view — he was " convinced it
ought to be done." He proved to the w^orld the
existence of an open sea, and was ever ready to

XX.] BUSINESS DETAILS 357

co-operate with others who had the necessary
means and enterprising spirit to encourage and
pursue the work and to reap the practical results.

Modesty and an unassuming manner were
mingled remarkably with the assertion of his
strong convictions. It was truly said of him, in
1887, that he was " absolutely incapable of doing
justice to his own achievements." He kept him-
self in the background, as far as it was possible to
do so, and was never weary of pointing out and
elaborating the work that might be done by others
in developing the resources of Siberia by means of
her mighty rivers and the ocean highway to
Europe.

Although "every inch a sailor," and a most
skilful navigator, endowed with wonderful presence
of mind, and cool, clear judgment when facing
difficulty and peril, yet his endowments and
acquirements did not include a capacity for
business, and he was quite sensible of this
deficiency. The petty details of business, to
which he had to attend sometimes, caused irrita-
tion, and he was always delighted — like a school-
boy let off from doing a slateful of sums — when an
opportunity offered for transferring such matters
ot routine to others. In important matters, as well
as in details, the same inability and reluctance
were shown. It was a supreme pleasure to him
to take a costly cargo through the great " Ice-
cellar" and up the Yenesei, but a serious misfortune,
in his view, if he was saddled with the responsi-

S58 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap.

bility of selling that cargo at Yeneseisk or
elsewhere.

Another source of irritation was the inabiUty
of men of business to see, as he saw, the vast
possibilities involved in the development of the
ocean route. When the cant of " charity be-
ginning at home " was put forward by millionaires
as an objection to investing capital, he could
scarcely find words to express his indignation at
their short-sighted policy.

Cautious, calculating, self- engrossed men of
business had but little liking for a man of Wiggins'
enthusiastic and sanguine temperament. Their
cramped horizon comprehending only solid, certain,
and quick profits, ** fantastic " was the mildest
term which they could apply to the Captain's
main object — welding a bond of friendship between
England and Kussia by means of commerce.

There is one feature of his character which
demands more than a passing allusion, because
of its prominence and widespread influence. His
love for young people formed not merely an
incidental phase of his life, but part of its fabric.
He had no family of his own, and he lavished
attention and kindness on other people's children
in England, Russia, Siberia, and other parts of
the world. He was often called by his equals
in age " the boy-man," so readily and naturally
did he adapt himself to the inclinations and
prepossessions of youth.

It was no uncommon event, when business

XX.] THE FRIEND OF YOUTH 359

engagements permitted, to devote hours at a time
in explaining to a lad the intricacies of a piece
of machinery, or in helping him to model or to
rig a ship, or to model some other object with
which he was familiar. It was no trouble, but a
pleasure, to be questioned and cross-questioned
for a whole morning by an intelligent youth on
some scientific, nautical, or historical subject. He
had a forcible and magnetic way of imparting
knowledge, and what he said was never forgotten.
Always anxious for the prosperity of his young
friends, he did his utmost to ensure for them a
good start in life after leaving school, and many
a man, now engaged in a profession or a business,
retains bright and grateful recollections of what
the Captain did for him. In some cases the
recipients of benefits sought to make some return
in after life. One of these was Carl Rosa, who,
when on the ladder of fame, tried strenuously to
further his old friend's interests.

Not only at home, but also abroad, was this
love for young people testified, and in many a
Russian and Siberian household, and even in the
chooms and huts of native families, the " Angless
Cap'n" will be long remembered with affection
and gratitude.

His powers of story - telling, so strong an
attraction to grown-up people, were used with
striking effect amongst the young. Unfortu-
nately, very few of his entertaining and rousing
stories have been preserved, except in the memories

360 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap.

of hearers. His ?^epe?'toire consisted of two classes
— sea stories and animal stories. A record of one
or two specimens of each class will be appreciated
by men and women who sat at his feet years ago,
and listened with bated breath to his tales of
adventure, peril, and heroism.

The " White Squall " story was a special
favourite. One glorious night — the full moon
shining from an almost cloudless sky — the Captain
was in the Mediterranean, with every sail set.
His mind at rest, he turned into his cabin and
fell asleep. His repose was soon disturbed by a
dream. He thought the water was rushing over
the ship's side and into his cabin — that the vessel
was in danger of sinking. Still asleep, he got
out of his bunk, and, with great effort, made his
way to the deck. Reaching the man at the wheel,
he forced him away and took his place, and then
began shouting orders to the sailors. He awoke,
and found the men gazing at him in consterna-
tion, fearing that he had suddenly gone mad. He
himself felt awkward and foolish, for the night
was still calm and glorious, and there seemed no
occasion for his alarm and excited orders. He
retired to his bunk again, amid the general
laughter of the men.

Again he fell asleep, but soon awoke with
nerves intensely strained. He was puzzled to
account for his condition, and he determined to
dress and go on deck. Making for the companion-
way, he glanced, in passing, at the barometer.

XX.] "THE WHITE SQUALL " 361

The quicksilver was out of sight ! He dashed on
deck and repeated his former orders. The men
were again incHned to be amused, not discerning
any reason for such orders. The man at the
wheel laughed. " What ! dreaming again, Cap'n ! "
he exclaimed. But it was evident that the Master
was now wide awake. The men saw he was in
earnest, and began to obey his orders, though
somewhat sulkily. Almost before the last sail
was stowed, the squall was upon the ship in full
fury. With bare masts she rode it out in safety,
while vessels around, under full sail, were caught,
and went to the bottom. The men, amazed and
awestruck, soon gave thanks for the narrowest
escape of their lives.

The Captain's great love of animals, his
influence over them, and their devotion to him
formed a prolific source of entertaining stories.
He studied closely the varieties and habits of
Siberian dogs, and communicated the results of
his observations to the Fancier s Gazette in 1889.
He brought home many Siberian dogs, and one
specimen, a fine sledge-dog, created considerable
consternation at Victoria Station, I^ondon. His
master's luggage was piled up high on a platform
trolley, to which the dog was securely chained.
The Captain strolled to the bookstall, and, whilst
scanning the pages of a magazine, was suddenly
aroused by exclamations of alarm proceeding
from the vicinity of his belongings. On turning
his head, he saw the dog trotting along the

362 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap.

platform towards him, drawing, with the utmost
ease, the trolley-load of luggage, while one or
two porters hung on behind attempting to stop
the animal's progress. The Captain's roar of
laughter quickly allayed the alarm of passengers
and porters, and, speaking to the latter, he said :
" It's all right ; he'll draw the luggage just where
you wish it taken, and save you the trouble, if
you'll only tell me where it's to go." Alarm was
now changed to curiosity and admiration, and the
dog was the hero of Victoria Station until the
train steamed away.

About "poor Lady Chang," the Captain's
favourite English mastiff, whom he took with
him to the Yenesei, he had many an entertaining
episode to relate. She at last suffered the penalty
of resisting kindly efforts to keep the cold from
her. The natives sewed her up in a reindeer's
skin ; but she gnawed away the artificial coat,
would persist in going out hunting, and died of
tetanus, brought on by frost-bites.

The whims and oddities of the dogs accepted
by King Edward, when Prince of Wales, also
furnished material for amusing anecdotes. As
already hinted, some of these dogs assumed a
militant attitude at Sandringham, and " Bosco,"
through a lack of a reasonable amount of
docility, missed the honour of accompanying the
late Prince Albert Victor to India.

" Kara," a dog of the fox type, which the
Captain picked up on the Kara River, was taken

CO
CO

c
c

XX.] ANIMAL TALES 363

to Sunderland, where other dogs used to chase
and hunt it, mistaking it for a common Enghsh
fox, and once it had its throat torn open.
"Hector, " a Siberian dog of the bear type, with
long white hair, also found a home in Sunderland.
He was mistaken for a time for a young Polar
bear, escaped from a menagerie. Sagacious and
good-tempered, he caused much entertainment in
the town when he condescended to draw a sledge.

Many stories might be told of other animals
which the Captain brought home from foreign
parts, A pig and a rooster, imported from the
Mediterranean, and presented to a resident in the
neighbourhood of Clapton, once placed the Captain
in a somewhat awkward position, and the story,
as he told it, provoked much merriment amongst
his young friends. The two creatures had become
so warmly attached to him that the sound of his
voice, or his whistle, was sufficient to bring them
to his side. One morning he incautiously whistled
when setting off to the City and making his way
to the omnibus. A few minutes after the 'bus had
started, he looked round, and saw the pig and the
rooster following at full speed. People in the road
attempted to drive them back, but to no purpose.
At last the Captain had to dismount, and, greatly
to the amusement of the passengers, led back his
dumb friends to their quarters, followed by an
interested and laughing crowd.

These allusions to the " boy-man's" love for
young people, and the specimens of the true stories

364 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap.

and anecdotes with which he captured their atten-
tion, may be brought to a close by quoting a few
verses written by the Captain — and he was a
capable versifier — in which he recorded a simple
incident occurring in a domestic circle. He
employed some leisure moments in instructing a
young person in the art of making knots. Two or
three months later the maiden, now a matron,
received the following lines from her instructor.

" This is a true lovers' knot," he said,

As he twisted over a piece of thread,

And, carefully drawing the ends out straight,

Presented the form of the figure eight.

" It is, my darling, a double noose,

Pretty to look at if left quite loose ;

And two hearts closely we may unite

By pulling the ends of the cord up tight."

" And this is a bowline knot," quoth he

To the merry maiden upon his knee ;

" And terrible things on the mighty ship

Would happen, you know, if this knot should slip

In dropping the anchor, hoisting a sail.

Or making safe from a fearful gale.

So the bowline knot, you will understand.

Should never be made by a careless hand."

" And this is a weaver's knot, my dear —

An intricate puzzle to you, I fear.

But you'll find youll often have need for it

When the children's stockings you learn to knit.

Oh, what confusion, and loss beside.

If a knot in the warp were left untied !

Hither and thither would stitches run,

And the weaver's weaving be soon undone."

XX.] INFLUENCE IN RUSSIA 365

" In tying a knot, if you tie it wrong,

You cannot depend on it very long ;

But if made, as it should be, firm and fast.

It will hold and tighten and always last.

Now which of these knots do you like the best ? "

Said he. And the maiden whom he addressed,

Like a woman answered, and queried too —

" I like the true lovers' knot — don't you ?"

The impression created by Wiggins in Russia
was different, in some respects, from that made in
this country. The hold which he obtained on the
esteem and admiration of members of the Imperial
family, of members of the Government, commercial
men, and naval officers was remarkable. His
co-operation in any enterprise or expedition was
regarded as a sure guarantee of success. The
Russians trusted Wiggins as they have trusted
few modern Englishmen. The influence which he
obtained was entirely inexplicable to many English
merchants and speculators. In fact, they were
unable to realise that the words and acts of a humble
British seaman should carry so much weight. To
quote again, on this subject, a passage in a
letter from Sir Robert Morier — whose position in
St. Petersburg gave him every facility for learning
the true state of feeling regarding his friend :
" * Joseph Wiggins ' is an historical character, and
your name, and not your title, will everywhere
command respect, admiration, and attention."

Madame Olga Novikoff — a lady so well quali-
fied to express an opinion on the subject — in a

366 CHARACTERISTICS AND STORIES [chap. xx.

letter to the present writer, speaks in highly-
eulogistic terms of the man and his work,
emphatically asserting that Wiggins must ever
hold prominent rank amongst the world's great
men. This keen observer and accomplished critic
of Anglo-Russian affairs adds her testimony as a
personal friend, and alludes to the prevailing feeling
in Russia. " As a Russian, I can never think
of Captain Wiggins without sincere admiration.
My countrymen never speak of him without the
greatest esteem and gratitude."

The mainstay of Joseph Wiggins' career was
his high principle, directed and governed by deep
religious feeling. His reputation for conscientious
and upright dealing remained unblemished to the
end. His Christian faith was unostentatious, but
it permeated his whole life and conduct. It was
the conviction that his Siberian work was ordained
by God which inspired the pluck and dogged
perseverance distinguishing his labours from first
to last.

Like most pioneers, he was not destined to
reap the fruit of his heroic toil. He died a poor
man, but left a name rich with some of the
best honours that spring from prolonged striving
to accomplish a great and beneficent purpose,
prompted by the highest motives, and pursued
with unquenchable courage and zeal.

CHAPTER XXI

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Summary of results — Tests made by Russia of the sea-passage
— Siberian exports and imports — A new view of the
"Land of Exile" — Public Companies — Reasons for
cessation of traffic — Expenses of Kara Sea expeditions —
Remission of Customs' dues necessary — Privileges granted
to Wiggins — Present attitude of the Russian Govern-
ment— Hostility of Russian manufacturers — The feeling
in Siberia — Entrepots — Mr Henry Cooke's Report —
Revolution in prices — Limitations of the Trans-Siberian
Railway traffic — Increase of population — Emigration —
Proposed railway from Obdorsk to the Yugor Straits —
Russia's opportunity — The successes of Wiggins not " a
run of luck" — The policy of patience — Estimate of
Wiggins' work.

The prolonged effort of Captain Wiggins is regarded
in some quarters as a failure. This notion is
grounded on the fact that a regular working of
the ocean route has never yet been established.
But if the actual results and the prospective
results of his efforts are fully and fairly con-
sidered, another and more favourable conclusion
must be drawn. Success, and not failure, must
be written over the brave pioneer's work.

367

368 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap.

" Even in this bad world, an honest endeavour
to carry out a noble object bears fruit." Such
was the word of encouragement offered to
Wiggins by Sir Robert Morier, when the former,
smarting under the disappointment of 1888,
expressed a strong desire to abandon the pro-
secution of the Siberian enterprise. But a great
deal happened after 1888 to advance the objects
in view, and if Sir Robert's life had been pro-
longed to 1905, he would certainly have con-
gratulated his friend that his scheme was within
measurable distance of accomplishment.

Between those dates the Russian Government
had made its own test of the correctness of
Wiggins' assertions. It had ordered ships — built
in Britain for the Russian Navy — to be taken to
Siberia by the ocean-route, which task was satis-
factorily carried out. It had ordered a large
quantity of railway material to be conveyed to
Siberia by the same route. More significant still
was its organisation of an expedition for surveying
the mouths of the rivers and the Kara Sea coasts,
which was materially assisted by the observations
and charts supplied by Wiggins. The expedition
of 1905, for the relief of the starving peasantry
of Siberia, seemed to the Captain, in his last days,
that Russia intended to give the ocean route all
the support in her power, that she was bent on
proving the route to be — quoting again the words
of M. de Witte— " a great Yes."

As regards imports arriving in Siberia from

XXI.] THE QUICKENING OF SIBERIA 369

Europe — about 20,000 tons of merchandise, on
a rough reckoning, had been conveyed through
the Kara Sea to the rivers. A considerable
portion of this tonnage consisted of gold-mining
machinery — much needed in the country — which
gave a new impetus to mining industry, and
was carried to its destination at about half the
cost of overland transit.

Many of the vessels which brought this
merchandise returned to Europe laden with the
produce of Siberia, and these sample cargoes,
together with the reports of Wiggins on the
inexhaustible riches of the vast territory, awakened
in English merchants, as well as in merchants
of other countries, a keen desire to open trade
by the new sea-route.

When Wiggins began his work, the majority
of Englishmen were in ignorance of the natural
wealth of the Czar's dominions beyond the Urals.
Indeed, Siberia was to them nothing better than
a desolate, frost-bound land of exile and horror.
The correction of this notion may be attributed
in a large degree to the labours of Wiggins, and
the information which he made public.

When the Captain began his work there was

not a single Enghsh Company for trading with

Siberia in existence. Several Companies have been

formed in recent years, representing a capital of

at least £1,000,000, and this movement also

springs, in a great measure, from the interest

excited by Wiggins in the "'Land of Exile." It

2 A

370 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap.

is true that, up to the present time, not much
has been done by some of these enterprises, which
relied on facihties presented by the ocean route ;
but one Company alone, with a large capital,
and with valuable concessions from the Russian
Government, is ready to convey plant and
machinery to the banks of the Yenesei, capable
of cutting and preparing for the English market
100,000 trees every year. The area over which
the chief concession extends is about 800,000
square miles of dense forest, many of the trees
being four to five feet in diameter, and over 200
feet high.

We now come to the reasons for the cessa-
tion— which can be only temporary — of traffic by
the ocean route. The failure in 1899 of several
ships to cross the Kara Sea — an expedition with
which Wiggins had nothing to do — can be
regarded only as an incident, acting prejudicially,
for the time being, to the repute of the water-
way to Siberia. The conveyance of goods through
the Kara Sea to the great rivers is a very different
matter from conveying cargoes to New York or
Bombay. The difference ought to be obvious to
every one, but, in the face of various criticisms,
it is evidently not so.

Many unusual expenses have to be incurred.
To provide against possible obstruction from ice,
every ship, or one ship of every expedition, must
be properly fitted as an Arctic vessel, with metal
sheathing and a ram. There is also the cost of

XXI.] QUESTION OF CUSTOMS DUES 371

transhipment from ocean steamers to smaller
craft at the mouths of the rivers. Another heavy
item of expense is the high rate of insurance.

How are special expenses such as these to
be met ? If they come out of the pockets of
the shippers, in the way of additional freightage,
they must then be added, as a consequence, to
the selling price of the merchandise. This raising
of prices would probably render the goods unsale-
able in Siberia, and the British merchant would
naturally withdraw from such an unsatisfactory
enterprise.

The only way to counterbalance these expenses
is by obtaining the remission or the reduction of
Customs dues at Siberian ports. There is nothing
unreasonable in looking to the Russian Govern-
ment to make such concessions. The benefits
arising from commerce by the sea route are
mutual, as affecting England and Russia, but
would probably predominate on the side of
Russia. Moreover, the beneficent effect of a large
development of commerce must be kept in view, as
Wiggins himself never wearied of reminding us,
namely, the formation of such strong ties of friend-
ship between two great nations that an outbreak
of war would be rendered almost impossible.

During the years in which Captain Wigghis
conducted commercial expeditions to the Yenesei
and the Obi, the Russian Government allowed
British goods to be imported either free of duty
or at considerably reduced rates. Soon after his

372 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap.

retirement these concessions were withdrawn. In
1905-1906 exemptions were again granted to
certain merchants for the importation of certain
specified classes of merchandise. An announce-
ment appeared a few days after Wiggins' death
that Yeneseisk would be declared a free port;
but it was made free only in the above very
limited sense, and for the years mentioned. At
the present time no exemptions are in force,
although urgent applications have been made
recently to the Government to grant the right
of importation free of duty for a term of years.

The attitude of the Government on this
question springs entirely from the opposition of
a number of Moscow and other Russian manu-
facturers and merchants to the granting of privi-
leges to goods carried by the Kara Sea route.
Protected by high tariffs, they make exorbitant
profits out of their Siberian trade, and any exemp-
tions for sea-borne goods would inevitably imperil
their interests. The whole of Siberia, excepting
two or three merchants, is strongly in favour of
granting Customs' facilities, and yet the Govern-
ment, in deference to the narrow and selfish views
of wealthy monopolists, declines to entertain any
application on the subject.

The obstacle, therefore, which prevents the
accomplishment of Wiggins' great project is to
be found in the short - sighted policy of these
influential persons. But it is most improbable that
the closure of the sea route can continue for any

SIBERIAN VILLAGE.

PALACE OF ARfllUISIIOP, IRKUTSK.

[To face p. 373.

XXI.] ENTREPOTS 373

length of time. Siberia earnestly desires the
resumption of traffic, and the Russian Govern-
ment, desirous for the development, even by
foreigners, of the resources of the country, cannot
maintain an attitude so obviously opposed to its
best interests, to please the prejudices of a coterie
of millionaires.

It is true that money must be spent to assist
trade and the exchange of cargoes. A^^iggins advo-
cated the erection of large entrepots at the mouths
of the rivers, consisting of warehouses and v^^harves,
where ocean steamers could unload and reload
without loss of time, leaving the goods brought
from England to be carried up the rivers by steamers
of light draught. An alternative scheme of his was
the erection of a large entrepot at the Yugor Straits,
which would enable one English vessel to make
two voyages in a summer season, and also provide
against delay in the event of the Straits being
blocked with ice from an unusually long winter.
In other directions also money could be usefully
expended, such as in dredging the rivers, placing
buoys, beacons, or other signals, and in starting
a telegraph service.

Mr Henry Cooke, Special Commissioner of the
Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of
Trade, and formerly British Vice-Consul at Arch-
angel, draws attention, in his exhaustive " Report on
the Condition and Prospects of British Trade in
Siberia," to the disappointment prevailing in Siberia
at the cessation of sea-trade expeditions. " On all

374 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap.

sides — at Tiumen, Tobolsk, Tomsk, and Krasnoi-
arsk — I heard unfeigned regret expressed at the
failure (in 1899) of the hopes raised by the previous
successful Anglo- Siberian direct sea-trade expedi-
tions via the Kara Sea and the mouths of the Obi
and Yenesei. Longing glances are still cast back
to the results then achieved and the promises
awakened, both in the import of foreign goods and
in the facilities for export of Siberian raw material,
not yet practicable by rail. British goods were then
obtainable at prices now altogether out of the
question. . . .

"A special committee (at Tomsk), appointed
to consider the needs of the Siberian trade, as well
as the Tomsk Bourse Committee, have declared
in favour of the former Customs facilities ; but the
more powerful influence of JMoscow manufacturers
and dealers, and of a few big Siberian monopolists,
prevailed, and local convenience and prosperity had
to yield. This was perhaps natural, for the new
route was working a revolution in prices, British
stearine candles, for instance, being sold at from
8 roubles 50 copecks to 9 roubles the poud (36 lbs.),
while a great Kazan manufactory, in whose hands
the Siberian trade in that article was monopolised,
sold them for 17 roubles the poud."

The influence of Russian manufacturers is so
powerful that, even if the sea route had been opened
by Russian enterprise, Mr Cooke doubts whether
the Government would have relaxed its attitude
on the question of duties. " But so great," he

XXI.] SEA V. RAILWAY 375

adds, "is the desire in Siberia for direct sea com-
munication, that there is no saying what enterprise
might accomplish, even without the former Customs
facihties."

The Trans-Siberian Railway cannot meet the
demands of the whole of Siberia, one reason being
the long distances between the line and some of
the agricultural, timber, and mining regions. For
instance, the cost of conveying, or rafting, a quantity
of timber 1,000 miles up the Yenesei to the nearest
railway station (Krasnoiarsk), the freightage to
Europe, together with the cost of its transport
across the sea to England, would render British
enterprise in the Yenesei forests entirely prohibitive.
Moreover, the great railway will have as much as
it can do in carrying mails, passengers, and a variety
of goods, to and from nearly six hundred stations,
without attracting the produce of the vast territory
to the north of its track. The Kara Sea is the
natural outlet, as Captain Wiggins often insisted,
for the produce of Northern and Central Siberia, as
well as the natural inlet for exports from England.

The rapidly increasing population of Siberia
should form another weighty argument with
the Russian Government for granting Customs
privileges. Mr Cooke gives interesting particulars
on this subject. The population has increased in
fifty years by about 4,000,000. In 1858 it was
3,430,930. In 1900 it was 7,894,258, and at the
present time it is probably between 8,000,000 and
9,000,000. Emigration from Russia is responsible

376 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap.

to a large extent for this increase. The tide of
emigration began with the aboHtion of serfdom in
1863. Statistics on the subject for the following
thirty years are not available; but between 1893
and 1903 the number of immigrants settling in
Siberia, to cultivate land allotted by the Govern-
ment, was upwards of 1,540,000. Mr Cooke states
that the territory adjoining the railway is now
occupied, and immigrants are being conducted to
the forest regions of the North. These settlers
require implements, machinery, seeds, a market for
the produce of their labours, as well as occasional
food-supplies. Such needs can be met more easily
and economically by means of the ocean route
than by overland transit.

There has been a talk for some years about
constructing a short railway, about 250 miles long,
from Obdorsk, on the Obi, to the Yugor Straits.
The passage of the Kara Sea, in order to reach the
Obi, would be avoided by this short cut. The
estimated cost of the railway is about £1,500,000.
It is extremely improbable that the scheme will
ever be carried out, particularly as the railway
could be utilised for about only three months in the
year. There was also a scheme for making a
canal, to connect the river Yurubei, running into
the Baidarata Gulf, with the Gulf of the Obi. By
this means the journey to the river Obi would be
shortened by about 900 miles.

But costly railways and canals are unnecessary
for rendering the sea route a permanent success.

XXI.] ICE - OBSTRUCTION S77

If Russia will take up the question with vigour and
determination, and spend a few thousand pounds
in erecting wharves and warehouses, and in other
ways contribute to the safe, effective, and profit-
able working of the enterprise, she would make
an investment tending to the lasting and increasing
benefit of her Empire, and, at the same time,
place the crown of completion upon the self-
denying efforts of the British mariner, who
devoted the best part of his life to opening a
commercial higliway through the Arctic seas. If
Russia will undertake this work, a hundred ships,
just as well as one, might make the voyage to
the rivers or to the Yugor Straits in a single
season.

The hydrogi-aphical survey carried out by the
Russian Government, between 1894 and 1904,
had valuable results. Colonel J. de Schokalsky —
President of the Section of Physical Geography
of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society —
viewing these results, made the authoritative state-
ment in the Geographical Journal that "there is
now nothing to hinder this northern navigation."
The contingency of ice-obstruction need not
be regarded as a serious drawback to permanent
success. That an open channel can be found for
six weeks or two months in the year has been
demonstrated scores of times, and it must be re-
membered that Captain W^iggins never had to turn
back, in his commercial expeditions, on account of
ice. He encountered ice again and again, but by

878 SUMMARY OF RESULTS [chap. xxi.

the exercise of skill and patience he found a way to
port. It would be absurd to say that his successes
were attributable to merely "a run of luck."
It was probably patience, as much as skill, that
worked for success. If ice blocked the way at the
"Iron Gates," or at the Yugor Straits, and his
vessel was not powerful enough to make " a dash
for the enemy," he quietly waited until the warm
currents and a favourable wind shifted the obstruc-
tion, and opened a channel before him. Surely
there are British mariners to-day, with qualifica-
tions equal to those possessed by Wiggins, and who
would not disdain to adopt his methods, capable
of conducting ships with costly cargoes to and
from the waters of the Yenesei.

Enough has been said to show that Wiggins'
prolonged effort — far from deserving the discredit
of failure — must be counted amongst the most
successful maritime ventures, of a private nature,
of modern times. It remains for Russia to render
the permanent re-openingl of the sea route worth
the consideration of English merchants and
capitalists. Let that be done, and ships in
abundance will soon sail to and fro " between
this land and that," helping, by the growth of
commerce, " to weave the web of concord
between the nations."

LONDON

HN MURRAY.

INDEX

Aberdeen : lecture by Wiggins be-
fore the Chamber of Commerce, 312
Admii-alty, British, refuses to lend
surveying instruments to Wiggins,
72, 281 ; supplied by Wiggins
with a revised chart of the Yenesei,
341
Alabaster, of Siberia, 150
Alexander III., Emperor of Russia,
his interest in Wiggins' enterprise,
219, 303 ; his respect for Sir
Robert Morier, 263 ; authorises
the presentation of silver plate to
Wiggins, 279
Amy, the, her failure to reach the

Kara Sea, 1 97
Anderson & Horan, Messrs, of

Sunderland, 6
Anglo-Russian expedition to Siberia

(18931, 266-275
Anglo -Russian Literary Society :

lectures by Wiggins, 326, 343
Anglo-Siberian Syndicate : takes over
the liabilities and assets of the
Phoenix Company, 243 ; initial
difficulties, 244 ; despatches the
Labrador to the Yenesei, 250 ; mis-
management in giving instructions
to Wiggins, 251. 252 ; assisted by
the "Local Committtee for the
North of England," 260; de-
spatches the Biscaya, the Thulc
and the Bard to the Yenesei, 260 ;
some reasons for its ill-success, 278,

279

Archangel : trade in the 16th century
with the Obi, 48 ; Wiggins' visit
■with Admiral Glassenotf, 63 ; its
discoverers, 85, 233, 280; kind
treatment of the wrecked crew of
the Stjcrnen, 294

Ashdown, Mr G. W., owner of the
Labrador, 215

Athenocum, the, on the first expedi-
tion of Wiggins, 51

Aurora Borealis, the, schooner com-

manded by Captain Schwanenberg,
111 ; ravages of scurvy amongst
the crew, 141 ; wrecked, 151
Austro-Geiman expedition, under
Lieut. Weyprecht, 24 ; search of
Wiggins for it, 46 ; returns to
Norway, 46 ; difficulties from ice
which it encountered, 52 ; pamphlet
on the subject edited by Wiggins,
55

, contributes to
voyage of the

Backhouse, Mr E.
expenses of the
Whim, 56
Baer, Von, calls the Kara Sea the

"great Ice-Cellar," 270
Baidarata (or Muddy) Gulf: 42;
partly surveyed by Wiggins, 48 ;
Wiggins proposes to survey it in
the fVhim, 58 ; proposal to con-
struct harbours, etc., 71 ; surveyed
by Wiggins, 87, 127 ; a suitable
route to the Obi, 129
Baidarata, River, 58
Baikal, Lake, 327
Ballandine, Mr, Mayor of Yeueseisk,

buys the Thames, 161, 180
Ballast Cove, 102

Bard, the, sent to the Yenesei by the

Anglo-Siberian Syndicate, 260 ;

commanded by Captain Robert

Wiggins, 261 .

Barentz' expedition, relics recovered

by Mr C. L. W. Gardiner, 85
Bartering, with natives, 42, 93, 94,

106
Bartning, Herr, sends the Neptune

to the Obi, 192
Behring's Strait, 16, 73
"Belle Sauvage Inn," 2
Bennett, Mr Gordon, 24
Bethel Flag, the, of the British and
Foreign Sailors' Society, 87, 248,
315
Birmingham : lecture by Wiggins at
the Midland Institute, 306

Ji79

S80

INDEX

Biscaya, the, her successful voyage
to the Yenesei, 260

Blencathra, the : arrangements for
sending her to the Yenesei, 264,
265 ; lady passengers, 265 ; sails
from Appledore, 268 ; a lively
dinner - party at Yardoe, 269 ;
arrives at Golchika, 271 ; returns
to England, 274 ; accompanies the
Stjernen to Vardoe, 285 ; 341

Board of Ti-ade, its regulations for
improving the treatment of seamen,
7 ; appoints Wiggins Examiner for
Seamanship at Sunderland, 10

Boiling, Mr, shipbuilder of Yeneseisk,
121 ; sells the Ibis to Wiggins and
Mr Seebohra, 138 ; acts as pilot of
the Thames, 144

Brekhoffsky Islands : 23 ; arrival of
the Thames, 97 ; winter quarters of
Aurora Borealis, 111, 128 ; arrival
of the iV^zco^ai, 181

Bremen : expedition to the Yalmal
Peninsula, 127, 128 note

Brighton, the, her failure to reach
the Kara Sea, 197

British and Foreign Sailors' Society :
the design and motto of its flag,
247 ; presentation of an address to
Wiggins, 314, 315

British Government, its neglect of
Wiggins, 281 ; votes £38,000 for a
Polar Expedition, 281

Brown, Captain, commander of the
Blencathra, 266 ; wrecked in the
Stjernen, 287, 288

•'Bull Inn," Whitechapel: head-
quarters of Mrs Nelson, coach
proprietor, 1 ; interview of Dickens
with the coachmen, 2

Burnoul, the, bought by Mr Ley-
borne-Popham's Syndicate for the
Yenesei, 318 ; commanded by
Captain Cameron, 318

Bury St. Edmunds : meeting place of
coaches running between Norwich
and London, 3 ; the " Eastern
Counties Railroad Tavern " opened
by Joseph Wiggins, senior, 3 ;
Captain Wiggins' reminiscences, 4- 6

Byford, Mr William, Captain Wiggins'
business agent, charters the Wark-
worth, 191 ; 319 ; his exertions on
behalf of Wiggins, and his death,
352, 353

Camarovski, Count, 123

Camels, caravan of, in Siberia, 276, 277

Cameron, Captain, 287 ; commander

of the Burnoul, 318
Canal, proposed, on the Yalmal

isthmus, 45, 58
Cattley, Mr Oswald J., charters the

Warkworth for a voyage to the

Obi, 191
Cazalet, Mr Edward A., President

of the Anglo - Russian Literary

Society, 326
Chancellor, Richard, tribute of

Wiggins to his memory, 85 ; his

negotiations with Ivan IV. , 233 ;

Wiggins' work compared \vith his,

233, 280, 299
Coaching, between Norwich and

London, 2-4
Coal, of Siberia, 150
Collinson, Commander, 21
Commerce, an antidote to war, 245-

247
Companies, English, for the develop-
ment of Siberia, 369, 370
Compass, the, useless in the vicinity

of the magnetic pole, 305
Constantine, Grand Duke, 297
Cooke, Mr Henry, British Vice-

Consul at Archangel, his kindness

to the wrecked crew of the Stjernen,

294 ; extracts from his Report on

British Trade in Siberia, 373, 374,

375, 376
Copper, of Siberia, 17, 120, 150
Cordiner, Captain, commander of the

Thule, 261
Corlett, Mr S. N., associated with

the Phoenix Merchant Adventurers,

203
Craigmullen, the, commanded by

W^iggins in trading between South

Africa and W^est Australia, 340
Crowther, Mr John, accompanies

Wiggins in the Labrador, 235 ;

accompanies Mr V. Morier on his

sledge journey, 241 ; ice-master of

the Biscaya, 261
Customs' dues, the question of their

remission by Russia on the Yenesei

and the Obi, 371, 372, 374

Dalmann, Captain, of the Eraser,

181, 182
Daniels, Major W. Cooke, owner of

the Kori, 343
Davis, Captain J. E., 21
Dawn, the, new name given to the

Ibis, 155
Despatch to Lord Salisbury, Sir

Robert Morier's, 220-229

INDEX

881

Diana, the, chartered by Wiggins,
22 ; sails from Dundee, 25 ; her
sailing powers, 26 ; picking her
way amongst the ice, 31 ; in the
Kara Sea, 31 ; her battle with the
ice, 33-35, 37, 40 ; moored to an
ice-floe, 36 ; mistake in her draw-
ing marks, 42 ; reaches White
Island and the mouth of the Obi,
43 ; her keel too sharp for her
work, 44 ; returns to Dundee, 46,
47

Dickens, Charles, at the "Bull
Inn," 2

Dickson's Haven, 99, 286

Dobrotvorsky, Lieut., commands
three Russian steamers for service
on the Yenesei, 266, 269 ; welcome
given to him at Yeneseisk, 275 ;
his testimony to Wiggins' services,
280

" Dog Inn," Bury St. Edmunds, 3

Dogs: "Lady Chang," Wiggins'
favourite mastiff, 27, 29, 41, 66,
95, 112, 362; "Kara," Siberian
dog, 112, 174, 362 ; used for draw-
ing sledges, 139, 140 ; used for
towing boats, 173 ; Siberian
specimens presented to the Prince
of Wales, 249, 362 ; story of a
sledge dog at Victoria Station, 361 ;
"Hector," 363

Dolgans, the, hospitality of, 110

Dolphin, the, her voyage to the
Yenesei, 327, 329, 332

Driftwood, on the Yenesei, 102, 103,
105, 185

Dudinka, 105, 109, 138, 143 ; coal
and copper ore at, 150 ; 206

Dundee : sailing of the Diana, 25 ;
lectures by Wiggins before the
Chamber of Commerce and the
Scottish Geographical Society, 310

East Cape, rounded by Nordeuskiold,
73 note

Eastern Counties Railway, its arrange-
ment with the Wiggins brothers
for carrying coach-passengers to
London, 4

" Eastern Cotmtics Railroad Tavern,"
Buiy St. EdnmTids, opened by
Joseph Wiggins, scni-., 3

Edinburgh Geographical Society :
lecture by Wiggins, 340

Eider-ducks, 32, 38

Eliot, Mr, attache at the British
Embassy, St. Petersbuig, 219, 229

Emigration, from Russia to Siberia,
376

" English Sea-Trading Expedition of
Francis Leyborne-Popham," the,
342

Entrepdts, the question of their erec-
tion at the mouths of the rivers
and at the Yugor Straits, 373

Exiles in Siberia, their numbers and
social grades, 18 ; variety of their
offences, 177 ; penalties for mis-
behaviour, 178 ; their food-suppliea
sent by the Government, 178 ;
sufferings in past times, 179 ;
improved methods for their trans-
port, 179

Express, the, her notable voyage from
Tiumcn to the Thames, 193

Eydtkuhncn, predicament of Wiggins
at, 216

Farnell'.s School, Norwich, 6

Father John of Cronstadt, the, twin-
screw yacht for service on Lake
Baikal, 327, 329, 330, 332, 341

Finns, the, settled in Siberia, 17

Fish-curing, 151, 157, 183

Flowers of Siberia, 144, 156, 174

Forests of Siberia, 17, 156, 370

Francis, Surgeon R. D., a surviving
passenger of the Spartan, 10

Franklin, Lady, 21

Frascr, the, European steamer, owned
by Sibiriakoff, 161, 163 ; arrives
at Golchika with a cargo of gold-
washing machinery, 181

Frost, intense, effects of, 124 ; effect
on rocks on the Yenesei, 185 ;
effect on iron and wood, 293

Fruit of Siberia, 156, 179

Funck, Herr, of Barnaul, co-opcratcs
in the voyage of the Neptune, 192

Furneaux, Captain, takes command
of the Orestes from Golchika to
England, 274

Furs, of Siberia, 17, 313

Game on the shores of the Yenesei,
99, 101, 273

Gardiner, Mr Oharles L. W.. his
support of Wiggins, and gift of
£1,000, 83 ; his cruise in the
Glowworm to the Kara Sea, 85 ;
recovers relics of the Barentz
exjiedition, 85 ; falls in with a
Norwegian sloop, 88 ; helps
Wiggins when stranded in St.

382

INDEX

Gardiner, Mr Charles L. W. — contd.
Petersburg, 133 ; associated with
the Phcenix Merchant Adventurers,
203 ; gives a steam-launch for use
on the Yenesei, 204, 251

Gaskell, Major W. P., associated with
the Phoenix Merchant Adventurers,
203, 213, 216, 218, 219

Gazenkarapf, von, Governor of Turn-
khansk, his crafty ways, 140, 159,
160

Geographical Magazine: article by
Wiggins on his first overland
journey (1876), 122, 134

Germans, the, their trade at the
mouth of the Petohora, 52; desirous
of opening trade with the Obi and
the Yenesei by the sea route, 53 ;
of Yeneseisk, 121

Giers, M. de, 226

Glasgow International Exhibition :
paper read by Wiggins, 342, 343

Glassenotf, Admiral, his interview
with Wiggins at Vardoe, 59-61 ;
promises his support to the ocean
route scheme, 61 ; induces Wiggins
to go to Archangel, 62 ; letter from
Wiggins to him on the failure of
the Russian scheme, 80

GUnmore, the, bought by Mr
Wostrotine for service on the
Yenesei, 327 ; reasons for Wiggins
refusing to proceed with her from
Vardoe, 328-331 ; 341

Glowworm, the, her cruise in the
Kara Sea, 85, 88

Golchika : 103 ; its fish industry,
151 ; arrival of the Eraser, 181 ;
the Pluenix waits for the Labrador,
241, 242 ; arrival and departure of
the Labrador (1889), 250, 251 ;
rejoicings on the arrival of the
Anglo-Russian flotilla, 271, 272

Gold-mines of Siberia, 17, 120, 158,
186, 200, 307, 311

Goodall, Mr W., owner of the
Craigmullen, 340

Goose Land, 88

Gordon, General, makes the acquaint-
ance of Wiggins, 201

Grace Holman Harbour, 67

Graphite, of Siberia, 17, 70, 71, 103

Graves, Lieut. W. G., a surviving
passenger of the Spartan, 10

Graves in Siberia, 39, 105

"Green Dragon Inn," Bishopsgate
Street, 4

Grey, Mr Albert (afterwards Earl),
his tribute to Wiggins' character

and work, 258, 259 ; associated
with the ' ' Local Committee for the
North of England," 260, 261
Gulf Stream : theory of Captain
Wiggins respecting its entrance
into the Kara Sea, and its effect
upon the ice, 20, 222 ; confirmation
of the Captain's theory, 47, 73

Hamburg, Carl Rosa's home at, 11 ;
last visit of Captain Wiggins to, 14

Hammerfest, 28, 29, 46, 58

Havre, Wiggins supervises the repairs
of the Lord Raglan at, 80

Herring-fishing in the North Sea, 67

Hilkoff, Prince, 346

HoUefiord, 58

Horan, James, Joseph Wiggins' first
captain, 6

Hornstedt, Mr, British Vice-Consul
at Moscow, 213

Hudson's Bay Company, its success-
ful trade an argument for establish-
ing the sea trading-route to Siberia,
49, 200

/s«, the, bought by Wiggins and Mr
Seebohm, 138 ; arrives at Kureika,
144 ; sails for Golchika with
Wiggins and Mr Seebohm, 150 ;
sold to Captain Schwanenberg,
152 ; renamed the Ba^on, 155 ; her
voyage to Europe, 156

Ice : fantastic ettects, and beautiful
colouring, 31 ; the sensation of
"landing" upon it, 32; the battle
of the Diana with it, 33-35, 37,
40 ; effect at Kamin Pass, 139 ; its
break-up on the Yenesei, 142-144 ;
at the bottom of the river, prevent-
ing anchorage, 253 note

Iceland, the pioneer voyage for the
importation into England of sheep
from, 10

Igarka, scene of the wreck of the
Thames, 150, 160

Ignatieff, General, 297

Imperial Geographical Society of
Russia, 71

Indigirka River, 74

Irkutsk, 158

"Iron Gates," the, name given to
the Waigats Straits, 19

Iron -mines, 120

Ivan IV., his negotiations with
Richard Chancellor, 233, 299

INDEX

383

Jackson, Mr Frederick G., sails in

the BleTwathra for the Yugor

Straits, 265, 269 ; 282 ; buys the

Windward, 283
James, Mr and Mrs E. C. F.,

passengers on the Blencathra, 265,

273
Jarrold, Thomas, a friend of Wiggins'

in his schooldays, 6
Jews, of Siberia, 121, 313
Johansen, Cajrtain, at the Waigats

Straits, 32
Jones, Captain Basil, of the Lorna

Boone, 332

Kamin Pass, the: effect of ice on
the rocks, 139 ; scenery in the
summer, 158, 167 ; the passage of
the Phcenix, 206, 207

Kara River, depth at its entrance,
92; its mouth surveyed by Wiggins,
93, 94 ; its junction with the
Petchora, 94

Kara Sea : shown in early maps
perpetually ice-bound, 16 ; entered
by various adventurers from the
16th to the 19th century, 19 ; the
three channels leading into it from
the west, 19, 20 ; effect of the Gulf
Stream upon it, 20, 222 ; tempera-
ture of air and water, 36, 182, 270;
the existence of an open channel
demonstrated by the voyage of the
Uiana, 47 ; cruise of the Gloio-
worm, 85, 88 ; voyage of the
Thames, 87-98 ; various expedi-
tions of 1876, 128 note ; Lieut.
Weyprecht on its summer con-
dition, 193; foolhardy venture of
speculators in 1879, 195-197 ; cloud
effects, 204, 205 ; meaning of the
name, 221 ; called by Von Baer
the "great Ice-Cellar," 270;
number of expeditions in twenty
years, 298 ; survey begun by the
Russian Government, 300, 368 ;
the kind of vessels suitable for its
navigation, 302 ; " a mere bagatelle
compared with Hudson's Bay,"
311 ; prospects of its trade-develop-
ment at the time of Wiggins' death,
350, 351 ; special expenses of ex-
peditions, 370, 371 ; the natural
inlet and outlet of goods carried to
and from Siberia, 375

Karaoul, village on the Yenesei, 251,
^ 252, 253, 260

Karskoi Bay, sec Baidarata Gulf

Kaza, candle factory at, 374
Kazi, M., reads before the Imperial
Societies a paper by Wiggins, 297 ;
on the importance of the sea route,
298
Khabarova (also called Nikolovski) :
anchorage of Labrador, 239 ; its
church and storehouse, 239 ; ship-
wrecked Norwegians, 239 ; Wiggins
and the wrecked crew of the Stjernen
brought here by Koshevin, 290,

291 ; departure of Wiggins and his
wrecked crew for Europe by sledges,

292 ; sinking of one of the steamers
of Mr Leyborue-Popham's Syn-
dicate, 342

Khatanga River, 169

Kola Bay, its scenery, 63 ; the duty
of the Government to erect a
monument here to the memory of
Sir Hugh Willoughby, 63

Kologueve Island : 64 ; the Seagull
finds shelter there, 238

Kongur, 136

Koreopoffsky, 181, 204

Kori, the, yacht for a scientific
expedition to New Guinea, taken
by Wiggins to Australia, 343, 344

Koshemnikoe, M., 170, 172

Koshevin, Ivan A., rescues the
wrecked crew of the Stjernen,
290, 291

Kostiu Bay, 46

" Kotchies," of Russian traders of the
16th century, 48, 50

Krasnoiarsk : distance from Yeneseisk,
121 ; reception given to Wiggins
(1876), 121; its Archbishop, 163,
164 ; reception given to Wiggins
and Mr Sulivan (1887), 209 ; origin
of its name, 209 ; its streets and
buildings, 209 ; Christmas and
New Year's festivities, 209, 210

Krestowsky, 103

Kureika River : winter quarters of the
Thames, 109, 110, 140; drinking
habits of natives, 150; hospitality
of natives, 176 ; story of an ex-
serf, 177

Labrador, the: chartered by the
Phrenix Company for a voyage to
the Yenesei, 215, 228 ; visit of Sir
R. Morier, 235 ; her crew, 235 ;
sails from the Tyne, 236 ; her
voyage delayed through the strand-
ing of the Phcenix, 236, 237 ; waits
at Vardoe for the Seagull, 237 ;

384

INDEX

Labrador — continued.
leaves Vardoe, and parts company
with the Seagull, 238; searches
for the Seagull, 239 ; anchors at
Khabarova, 239 ; enters the Kara
Sea, and returns to England, 241 ;
leaves London for the Yenesei
(1889), 250 ; arrives at Golchika,
250 ; returns to England, 250,
251 ; causes of her failure to meet
with the river steamer, 251-254 ;
the fiasco of her voyage the result
of misunderstanding and mis-
management, 251 ; drags her
anchors in a gale, 253 and note ;
voyage to South America, 258,
259, 260 ; laid up for repairs, 260

Lament, Mr J., 20; owner of the
Diana, 22

Lectures, Wiggins', 245, 258, 301-
313, 326, 340, 343, 344

Lee, Mr, representative in Siberia of
the Anglo - Siberian Syndicate,
brings a steamer from Yeneseisk
to Karaoul to meet the Labrador,
251, 252 ; drowned in the Yenesei,
260

Leigh-Smith, Mr B., 21 ; sends
provisions by the Diana for the
Austro-German expedition, 24

Lena River, 73, 74

Leng, Sir John, M.P., 311

Lesseps, M. de, on the Sibei'ian
rivers, 220, 231, 233

Leyborne - Popham, Mr F. "W. :
negotiates with Wiggins for the
purpose of working the Kara Sea
route, 264, 265 ; owner of the
Bleticathra, 264 ; sails in the
Blencathra for the Yenesei, 265 ;
walrus hunting, 271 ; shooting
ptarmigan at Golchika, 273 ; buys
the Stjernen as a convoy ship for
the Pervoi and the Vtoroi, 283 ;
elected member of the Imperial
Technical Society of St Petersburg,
298 ; buys the Lorna Doone, 317 ;
expeditions of his syndicate from
1897 to 1899, 341, 342, 370

Leyborne - Popham, Mr Hugh,
passenger to Siberia by the Stjernen,
286 ; volunteers to walk across the
tundra to Khabarova to obtain
relief for the crew of the Stjernen,
289 ; account of his journey, 289,
290 ; arrival in Europe, 295 ; goes
ashore from the Lorna Doone, and
is left behind by the ship, 320 ;
proceeds to Europe by sledge, 320

Li-ndesnaes, the, steamer sent by the
Russian Government to search for
Wiggins, 295

Lister, Mr H., appointed agent at
Yeneseisk for Mr Leyborne -
Popham's Syndicate, 319

Live-stock, prices of, 159, 304

Lloyd-Verney, Mr James H., member
oftheexpeditionsentfromYeneseisk
iu search of Wiggins, 296

Lokovoi Protok, village on the
Yenesei, 286

London Chamber of Commerce :
lecture by AViggins, 301-303

Lord Raglan, the, one of Wiggins'
vessels, docked at Havre, 80

Lorna Doone, the : bought by Mr
Leyborne-Popham, 317 ; fitted for
Arctic work, 317, 318 ; sails from
the Tyne under Wiggins' command
and reaches Golchika, 319 ; returns
homewards under the command of
Captain Cameron, and is delayed
by ice at the Yugor Straits, 319 ;
Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham and
some of the men go ashore for furs,
and the ship sails without them,
320 ; her second voyage to the
Yenesei, ZTl,foll. ; 341, 342

Louise, the, lost in the Obi Gulf, 197

Loxefiord, 58

Lutke, Admiral, surveys the Siberian
coast, and asserts the impractica-
bility of navigating the Kara Sea,
19, 221 ; at Lutke Island, 87

Lutke Island, 36, 38 ; surveyed by
Wiggins, 87, 92

MACKINNON, Sir William, 24

Madden, Sir John, presides at a
lecture by Wiggins in Melbourne,
344

Macnatchy, the, commanded by
Wiggins, 201

Maidl, Lieut. Baron, leader of ex-
pedition sent from Yeneseisk in
search of Wiggins, 296

Makaroff, Admiral, sails in the
Blencathra from Vardoe to the
Yenesei, 341 ; invites Wiggins to
assist in an expedition to the Kara
Sea, 343

Malanga Fiord, its splendid scenery,
66

Afalygui'iie, the, Russian steamer for
service on the Yenesei, 266 ; at the
White Island Strait, 271 ; arrives
at Golchika, 271

INDEX

385

Markham, Mr (afterwards Sir)
Clements R., 21, 124, 134; pre-
sents Wiggins with the Murchison
Grant, 282

Mastnoi Island, 288

Matochkin Strait, 19, 88

M'Clelland, Captain, accompanies
Wiggins in the Labrador, 235

M'Clintock, Sir Leopold, 21 ; on
indulgence in spirits causing
scurvy, 184

Melbourne : lectui-e by Wiggins be-
fore the Geographical Society, 344

Meteorological Office, lends surveying
instruments to Wiggins, 72 note

Michaelovitch, Grand Duke Alex-
ander, his interview with Wiggins,
297

Middlesbrough : cargo of rails sent
to the Yenesei, 265 ; lecture by
Wiggins, 309

Milburu, Mr John D., his association
with the Anglo-Siberian Syndicate,
260, 261

Minusinsk, the, bought by Mr
Leyborne - Popham for carrying
cargoes on the Yenesei, 265 ;
Captain Robert W^iggins takes her
up the Yenesei, 274

Mirage, described by Wiggins, 41

Mizpah, the, her failure to reach the
Kara Sea, 197

Mohn, Professor, 59, 62

Moir & Co., Messrs R. M., 319

Morier, Sir Robert, K.C.B., appeals
to the Russian Government for
exemptions from duty on goods
carried to the Yenesei, 203 ; his
interviews with Mr Sulivan, 213 ;
obtains concessions from the
Russian Government for the
Phrcnix Company, 214, 227 ; urges
Wiggins to visit St Petersburg,
216 ; his consultations with
Wiggins, 217, 218; entertains
Wiggins and Major Gaskell at the
British Embassy, 219 ; goes to
England, 219 ; his despatch to
Lord Salisbury, 219-229 ; instruc-
tions to Wiggins about the super-
vision of his son, 230 ; reasons for
allowing his son to go in the
Labrador, 230 ; his speech on the
projected voyage of the Labrador,
230-233 ; confidence in Wiggins,
230, 232 ; letter of sympathy to

, Wiggins on the first failure of
the Labrador, 242 ; encourages
Wiggins to continue his work.

243, 368 ; on the high reputation
Wiggins had won, 245 ; assures
Wiggins that he has "the key of
the Kara Sea in his pocket," 250 ;
his chagrin at the Labrador fiasco,
254 ; death of his son, 263 ; his
death, 263, 278 ; his success as an
ambassador, 263 ; sends a memorial
of hia son to Wiggins, 264 ; respect
for his memory shown by the
Russian Government, 263 ; his
relations with Wiggins, 263 ; the
Anglo-Russian expedition of 1893
suggested by him, 278 ; on a
specimen of Wiggins' repartee, 356

Morier, Mr Victor Albert, decides
to accompany Wiggins in the
Labrador, 229 ; makes friends at
Vardoe, 238 ; leaves the Labrador
at Khabarova, and sledges to
Europe, 241 ; account of his
exploit in Murray^s Magazine,
241 ; his appointments in South
Africa, and death, 262, 263 ;
memorial of him presented to
Wiggins by Sir R. Morier, 264

Moscow : reception given to Wiggins
in 1876, 123 ; visit of Wiggins and
Mr Sulivan in 1887, 213

Muddy Gulf, see Baidarata Gulf

Mula, the, one of the flotilla forming
the expedition of 1896, 327, foil.

Murchison, Sir Roderick, 72

Murray's Magazine : account of Mr
V. Morier's sledge journey, 241

Muscovy Company, the, its wealth
and power, 200

Nadim, on the Obi, voyages of the
Warkworth and the Neptune to,
191, 192; 196

Nansen, Dr, proposes to leave
despatches at Yugor Straits on his
Polar cruise in tlie Fram, 265, 270

Nelson, Mrs Ann, coach-proprietor,
1,2

Nelson, John and Robert, coach-
proprietors, 2

Neptune, the, her voyage to the Obi,
192

New Guinea, scientific expedition to,
343

Newcastle : visit of Sir Robert Morier
to inspect the iMbrador, 229 ;
lectures by Wiggins, 258, 307

Nicholas IL, Czar, his interest in
Wiggins' work, 299 ; his journey
across Siberia, and his influence

2 B

386

INDEX

Nicholas II. — continued.

with his father in getting the
Railway constructed, 310

Nicolai, the, cargo steamer on the
Yeuesei, 89, 161, 162 ; grounds on
a shoal, 163 ; thanksgiving service
for her release from danger, 164 ;
loses the chance, through her slow
progress, of sending to Europe by
the Frascr the first cargo of wheat
from the Yenesei, 181, 182 ; starts
from Brekhoffsky Island on her
homeward journey to Yeneseisk,
182 ; arrives at Yeneseisk, 185

Nikolovski, see Khabarova

Nishni-Novgorod, 123

Nordenskiold, Professor, declines
Wiggins' offer to join his expedition
to the North-West as a free-service
volunteer, 21 ; his voyage in the
Proven, 53, 68 ; 223 ; claims an
honour won by Wiggins, 53 ; adopts
the route suggested by Wiggins in
his expedition to Behriug Strait
and Japan, 73 note, 223 ; letter to
Wiggins, 77 ; second voyage to the
Kara Sea, 88, 89, 103

North Cape, the, 16 ; and the course
of the Gulf Stream, 20, 73

North-East Cape, 73 iwte, 74, 169

Norway : scenery, 27, 63, 66

Norwegians : walrus and seal hunters
in the Kara Sea, 23, 36, 43, 47,
302 ; explanation of the secrecy of
the hunters' visits to the Kara
Sea, 65

Norwich : birthplace of Captain
Wiggins, 1 ; coaching to London,
2, 3 ; Farnell's School, 6 ; Messrs
Jarrold & Sons, 6

Nourmahal, the, commanded by
Wiggins, 201

Nova Zembla : shown in early maps
to be perpetually surrounded with
ice, 16 ; circumnavigated by Nor-
wegian fishing vessels, 30; search
of Wiggins for the Austrian expedi-
tion, 46 ; its mountain scenery, 86

Novikoff, Madame, her interest in
Wiggins and his work, 248 ; her
high opinion of Wiggins, 365, 366

Novoe Vremya, the, on the " serious
allegations" against the conduct
of Wiggins at Vardoe in 1896, 333;
letter vindicating the Captain's
conduct, 335-337

Novosti, the (Russian newspaper), on
the Russian expeditions sent in
search of Wiggins, 296

Obdorsk : 23 ; its trade with
Russians from Archangel in the
16th century, 49, 58 ; sledge-
journey of Mr Victor Morier from
Khabarova, 241 ; proposed railway
to the Yugor Straits, 376

Obi, Gulf of the, its dangers of
navigation, 129 ; navigated by the
JFarkivorth and the Neptune, 191,
192

Obi, River : trading of Russians of
the 16th century, 19, 58 ;
approached by Norwegian fishing
vessels, 23 ; its mouth said to be
shallow, 29 ; its length, 29 ; arrival
of the Diana at its mouth, 43 ;
service of steamers, 69 ; shipbuild-
ing, 122 ; access by the Yalmal
Isthmus, 129 ; new scheme for
working its trade, 189, 190 ;
difiiculty of crossing the bar at the
estuary, 191, 192, 196 ; voyages of
the Warkworth and the Neptune,
191, 192 ; expeditions from Eng-
land in 1897 and 1898, 341, 342

Offtzine, the, Russian steamer, built
at Dumbarton, for service on the
Yenesei, 266 ; arrives at Golchika,
271

Okotsk, village on the Yenesei, 163,
181

Omsk : reception given to Wiggins
by the Governor-General of Western
Siberia, 122

Orestes, the, chartered to take a cargo
of rails from Middlesbrough to
Siberia, 265 ; sails from Vardoe
under Wiggins' command, 269 ;
welcome at Golchika, 271 ; tran-
ships her cargo and retm-ns to
Europe, 273, 274

Ormonde, Marquess of, 248

Osborne, Commander Sherard, 21

Oscar Dickson, M. Sibiriakoffs
steamer, fails to enter the Yenesei,
197

Ostjaks, the, 17, 174, 175, 180;
their kindness and hospitality, 185

Pall Mall Gazette, on Wiggins'
lecture at the Society of Arts, 248

Peel, Miss Helen : decides to sail to
the Kara Sea in the Blencathra,
265 ; her experience of sledging at
Khabarova, 270 ; describes the
passage through the Kara Sea and
the diversions on the Blencathra,
271

INDEX

387

Perceval, Sir Westby B., K.C.M.G.,
presides at a lecture bj' Wiggius at
the Society of Arts, 304

Percy, Earl, 24 ; presides at a lecture
by Wiggius at Newcastle, 258

Pcrvoi, the, built at Newcastle for
the Russian Government, and
convoyed to the Yenesei by the
Stjernen, 283, 285, 286

Pet, Arthur, voyage of, 85

Pet Strait {see Yugor Strait)

Petchora, River : trade of Germans at
its mouth, 52 ; trade development
by M. Sidoroff, 60 ; proposed rail-
way to the Urals, 60, 70 ; its
shallow entrance, 70 ; its junction
with the Kara River, 94 ; the town
of Pustozersk, 292, 293

Petermann, Dr Augustus, lends
Wiggins charts, 23 ; on the import-
ance of the Kara Sea route, 23 ;
congi-atulates Wiggius on the
success of his expedition in the
Diana, 52

Phcenix, the, bought by a Syndicate
for a voyage to the Yenesei, 203,
225 ; plans for her voyage, 204 ;
sails from South Shields, 204 ; her
passage through the Kamin Pass,
206 ; safe arrival at Yeneseisk, 207 ;
excitement on her arrival, 208 ;
placed in winter quarters, 208 ;
said to be hopelessly stranded on
her way to meet the Labrador,
235 ; news of her safety and of her
journey to Golchika, 241

" Phcenix Merchant Adventurers
(Ltd.)," afterwards the " Phcpuix
Company (Ltd. )," Syndicate organ-
ised for working tlie Kara Sea
route, 203, 225 ; buys the Phaniix,
and sends her to the Yenesei, 203,
204 ; charters the Labrador for a
voyage to the Yenesei, 215 ; sends
the Seagull to A'ardoe to accompany
the Labrador, 237, 238 ; taken
over by the Anglo-Siberian Syndi-
cate, Ltd., 243

" Polar Gleams," title of Miss Peel's
book, giving an account of her
trip to the Yenesei, 265

Poles in Siberia, 17, 121

Population, of Siberia, 17, 375 ; of
Yeneseisk, 120

Post-houses, 117, 118, 119

Potts, Miss Annie, see Wiggins, Mrs

Potts, Joseph, shipowner, uncle and
father-in-law of Captain Wiggius,
5, 11

Potts, Mr W. , agent at Yeneseisk for
Mr Leyborue-Popham's Syndicate,
319

Proven, the, voyage of, 63

Pustozersk, on the Petchora, 292, 293

P. J. Alsto.v, the, her failure to reach
the Kara Sea, 197

Rae, Dr, 21

Railway : proposed line from the
Urals to the Petchora, 60, 70 ;
proposed line from Obdorsk to the
Yugor Straits, 376 (see also Trans-
Siberian Railway)

Rasmussen, Captain, of the Neptune,
192

Reindeer of Siberia, 140, 157 ; their
food on the tundra, 292

Relics of a Russian expedition, 39

Rheumatism, produced in Siberia
through indulgence in ardent
spirits, 184

Ridley, Miss Annie E. , her efforts to
enlist the support of Australian
merchants for AViggins' projects,
198, 199

Ridley, Mr John, inventor of the
" Ridley Reaping Machine," 197

RoUit, Sir A., M.P. , presides at
AViggins' lecture at the London
Chamber of Commerce, 302

Rosa, Carl, his friendship with Captain
and Mrs Wiggins, 11-13 ; first visit
to England, 11 ; "takes in coals"
on the Elbe, 12 ; correspondence
with Mrs Wiggins, 12, 13 ; illness
and death of his father, 12, 13 ;
his etforts on behalf of Wiggins, 359

Royal Geogi'aphical Society, its lack
of interest in the ocean - route
question, 72 ; refuses the loan of
surveying instruments to AViggins,
72 ; article by AViggins in its
Magazine, 134 ; presents AViggins
with the Murchisou Grant, 282 ;
speech of AA'iggins at the annual
dinner, 282, 283

Royal London Yacht Club, its flag
flown by the Thames on her voyage
to the Yenesei, 85

Russia : its encouragement of emigra-
tion to Siberia, 17 ; survey of
Siberian coast in 1840, 19 ; expedi-
tion to the Kara Sea (1876), 127
and note ; war with Turkey, 188 ;
disaster to ships in the Kara Sea
(1880), 197, 198; grants Customs
exemptions on goods carried to the
Yenesei, 203, 371, 372 ; grants

388

INDEX

Russia — continued.
further concessions to the Phoenix
Company, 214 ; its commerce with
England an antidote to war, 245-
247 ; the Government requests
Wiggins to take a cargo of rails to
Siberia, 266 ; gives an order at
Dumbarton for three steamers for
the Yenesei, 266 ; presentation of
silver plate to Wiggins by the
Government, 279 ; sends out two
expeditions in search of Wiggins,
295, 296 ; measures taken by the
Government down to 1895 for the
development of the ocean route,
300 ; expedition to the Yenesei to
supply starving Siberians with food,
345, 346 ; success of the relief
expedition, 352 ; summary of
measures taken by the Govern-
ment to work the ocean route, 368 ;
refusal to grant remission of
Customs' dues, 371, 372 ; the
advantages to the Government of
her establishment of the ocean
route, 377

Russians : early traders with Siberian
natives, 19, 49, 58, 89 ; boats of
fishermen, 65, 66 ; their reverential
customs, 167, 173 ; injurious effects
of vodka upon them, 168 ; hospita-
lity and kindness shown to
Wiggins, 245, 246, 310 ; ignorance
of distant parts of the Empire, 310

Sacken, Baron Osten, head of the
Commercial Department in the
Russian Ministry, 226

Sadler, Colonel, on Wiggins' heroic
qualities, 309

St. Nicolai, see Khabarova

St. Petersburg : dinner to Nordens-
kiold and Wiggins, and the meeting
of the two explorers, 76, 77 ;
addresses by Wiggins to commercial
and naval men, 77, 78 ; commission
given to Wiggins by two Imperial
Societies, 78 ; the Press on the
proposed "Wiggins Expedition,"
79 ; visits of Wiggins in 1877, 123,
135 ; visit of Wiggins in 1894 to
arrange for an expedition, 278 ;
presentation of silver plate to
Wiggins by order of the Emperor,
279 ; an historical scene at a
meeting of the Imperial Societies
(1895), 299

Salisbury, Lord, Sir Robert Morier's
Despatch to, 220-229

Samoyedes, the, 17 ; their appearance
42, 95 ; bartering with Wiggins on
board the Diana, 42 ; on board
the Thames, 93, 94, 106 ; their
blind " king " acts as pilot of the
Thames, 206, 225 ; stature, char-
acteristics, dwellings, etc., 240;
their delight at renewing Wiggins'
acquaintance, 270 ; their food, 293 ;
kindness of the women, 293

Scenery : in Norway, 27, 63, 66 ; on
Nova Zembla, 86 ; on the Yenesei,
99, 119, 120, 139, 156, 158, 167,
185, 205

Schantsky, Cape, 104

Schwanenberg, Captain, 103 105,
106, 107, 108 ; joins Wiggins at
Kureika, 111 ; describes the English
as "angels," 113; accompanies
Wiggins on his sledge -journey to
Europe, 111, 116, 118, 119 ; joins
the Ibis and wishes to buy that
ship, 150, 151 ; declines to join in
an Anglo-Russian expedition, 151 ;
buys the Ibis, 152 ; sails to Europe,
156

Scoptsi, the, fanatical sect, 157

Scotia, the, paddle-steamer for the
Yenesei, Z11,foll. ; 341

Scott, Mr Robert H. , of the Meteoro-
logical Office, 72 note

Scuratojf, the, Russian steamer, built
at Dumbarton, for service on the
Yenesei, 266 ; arrives at Golchika,
271

Scurvy, produced in Siberia through
indulgence in ardent spirits,
184

Seagull, sent by the Phcenix Com-
pany to Vardoe to accompany the
Labrador, 237, 238 ; leaves Vardoe,
and parts company with the
Labrador in a gale, 238 ; reaches
Kologueve Island, and then returns
to Vardoe, 238, 239

Seal-hunting, 36, 65

Seebohm, Mr H., accompanies
Wiggins overland to the Yenesei,
135 ; his sensations experienced in
sledging, 136 ; his books on the
birds of Siberia, 136 Twte ; at
Yeneseisk, 137 ; buys the Ibis,
138 ; number of horses, dogs, and
reindeer used on his journey, 140 ;
on the breaking up of the ice in
the Yenesei, 143, 144 ; his sport at
Kureika, 144 ; on the stranding of
the Thames, 146 ; on the proposal
to sail to England in the Ibis, 147 ;

INDEX

389

Seebohm, Mr H. — continued.
criticism on the conduct of Wiggins
and his crew, 148 ; on Wiggins
sailing a teetotal ship, 148 ; returns
to Europe, 152 ; his criticisms of
Captain Wiggins, 152, 153

SemenofT, M., president of the
Imperial Geographical Society, 297

Sergieff, Colonel, commander of the
food expedition for tlie relief of
Siberians, 349, 350

Seven Islands, 61, 63

Sewell, Mr Philip, botanist, accom-
panies Wiggins in the Labrador,
230 ; dredging at Vardoe, 238 ;
searches for flora at Khabarova,
240 ; his comments on the
Samoyedes, 240

Siberia : extent of sea-board, 16 ; its
great rivers, 16; area, 17, 311 ;
cost of overland transit, 16, 311 ;
its vast undeveloped resources, 17,

304, 311 ; population, 17, 311,
375 ; variety of races, 17, 306 ;
area compared with that of Canada,
17; trading of natives, 18; Russian
population, 18 ; exiles, 18, 177-179,

305, 306, 307, 312 ; a Land of
Goshen, 19, 303 ; Russian traders
of the 16th century, 19, 49, 58 ;
survey of coast in 1840, 19 ; sudden
appearance of summer, 143 ;
temperature, 36, 75, 103, 112, 124,
182, 183, 185, 293 ; development
of productivity through the Trans-
Siberian Railway, 303 ; the sea-
route, the most suitable and
economical means of communica-
tion with it, 303 ; time taken in
the transport of tea overland, 308 ;
education, 312 ; civilisation, 312 ;
the Jews, 313 ; suiferings of the
poor from lack of food during the
Russo - Japanese war, and the
Russian relief expedition, 345, /o^/.;
tonnage of merchandise carried by
the ocean route, 369 ; English
Companies for its development,
369 ; desire of Siberians for the
reopening of the sea route, 373,
374 ; immigration, 376

Sibiriakoff, M., his support of
Wiggins, 83, 131, 132, 223 ; ofl'era
a reward to Wiggins for entering
the Obi, 86, 99 ; his steamer, tlic
Oscar Dkkson, fails to enter the
Yenesei, 197, 224 ; his handsome
contribution to the Tomsk Uni-
versity, 212, 213

Sidoroff, M, Michael, offers a reward
of £2,000 to the first vessel reaching
the Obi, 23, 45 ; his concessions
on the Obi, 59 ; correspondence of
Wiggins with him, 69-73, 76 ;
undertakes to send home in the
'Thames a cargo of graphite, 84 ;
his schooner the Aurora Borealis,
111, 128 and note; 131; sued by
Wiggins, 152 ; plan for surveying
the Taz and the Yalmal peninsulas,
160

Sidoroff Bay, 206

Silovanolf, village of the Scoptsi, 157

Silver, of Siberia, 17

Sirocco, the, commanded by Wiggins,
201

Sledge -journey : of Wiggins and
Captain Schwanenberg from
Kureika to Nishni-Novgorod, 111-
123 ; of Wiggins and Mr Seebohm
from Nishni-Novgorod to Kureika,
136 - 140 ; of Wiggins from
Yeneseisk to Europe, 186 ; of
Wiggins and Mr Sulivan from
Yeneseisk to Europe, 208-213 ; of
Mr V. Morier from Khabarova to
Tinmen, 241 ; of Wiggins from
Yeneseisk to Russia (1893), 276,
277 ; of Wiggins and the wrecked
crew of the Sfjemen from
Kliabarova to Europe, 292-294 ; of
Mr Hugh Leyborne-Popham from
Yugor Straits to Europe, 320

Society of Arts : lecture by Wiggins
(1889), 245-247; lecture by
Wiggins (1895), 304, 305

Society for the Encouragement of
Commerce and Industry, St Peters-
burg : commissions Wiggins to
l)uy ships for opening up tlie
ocean route, 78 ; reading of
Captain Wiggins' paper, 129 ;
Wiggins elected a Life Member,
131 ; meeting to hear Wiggins'
second paper read (1895), 297

Society for the Encouragement of
Naval Communications, St. Peters-

burg ;

commissions Wiggins to

buy ships for the navigation of
the Kara Sea, 78 ; 123 ; reading
of paper by Wiggins (1877), 125 ;
elects Wiggins a Life Member,
126; meeting to hear a pa])er by
Wiggins read, 297

Solberg Fioid, 66

Soltnikoir, M., M. SidorofTs partner,
155, 172

Soposhnagorka, 104

390

INDEX

Spartan, s.s., lost in the Atlantic,

8-10
Spectator, the, on the importance of
the expedition of 1890, and
Wiggins' inability to take part in
it, 261, 262
Speculators, rash and disastrous ex-
pedition (1879) to the Kara Sea of,
195-197, 224, 312
Spencer, Countess, presents an
address to Wiggins on behalf of
the British and Foreign Sailors'
Society, 314
Spirits, ardent, productive in Siberia

of rheumatism and scurvy, 184
Stanley, Mr H. M., wishes to join
Wiggins in his first expedition to
the Kara Sea, 24 ; his letter to
Wiggins, 25
Stead, Mr W. T. , his interview with
Wiggins on tlie foolhardy expedi-
tion of 1879, 196, 197 ; interview
with Wiggins in St. Petersburg
(1894), 278
Stellingar, General, 59
Stjernen, the, Ijought by Mr Leyborne-
Pophani as a convoy ship for the
Pervoi and the Vtoroi, 283 ; sails
from the Tyne, 285; her passengers,
286 ; discharges her cargo at
Lokovoi Protok, and returns home-
wards, 286 ; drawn on to a reef and
wrecked near Mastnoi Island, 287-
289 ; sufferings of her crew, and
their sledge journey to Europe,
289-294 ; not insured, 317
Sturgeon, trade in, and method of

curing, 183
Su€vic, the, 344

Sulivan, Mr H. N., organises the
' ' Phcenix Merchant Adventurers,
Ltd.," 203; accompanies the Phanix
on her voyage, 204 ; testifies to
Wiggins' skilful seamanship, 207 ;
his reception at Yeneseisk, 208 ;
visits gold mines, 208 ; reception
at Krasnoiarsk, 209 ; at Tomsk,
211, 213 ; his negotiations with
merchants, 213 ; his interviews
with Sir Robert Morier and with
Russian Ministers, 213, 214, 218 ;
speech at a dinner at South Shields,
234 ; helps to form the Anglo-
Siberian Syndicate, 245
Sunderland : post held by Wiggins
under the Board of Trade, 11 ;
Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, 14, 56 ; lecture by Wiggins
(1895), 308

Sverevo, 106

Swan, Mr Henry F., 307

Swan, Mr John, and the importation

of Iceland sheep into England, 10
Swans, migration of, on the Yenesei,

183

Tartars, the, of Siberia, 17, 121 ;
scrupulously honest and peaceful,
306
Taz Peninsula, plan for its survey, 160
Tchihatchoff, M., Marine Minister of
Russia, letter to Wiggins ac -
companying the gift of silver plate,
279, 280
Technical Society of St. Petersburg,
election of Wiggins and Mr
Leyborne-Popham as members, 298
Teetotalism, advantages of, 123, 124
Temperature, in the Kara Sea, on the
rivers, and on land, 36, 75, 103,
112, 124, 182, 183, 185, 270, 293
Thames, the, bought and fitted by
Wiggins, 84; sails from Sunderland,
85 ; her voyage to the Yenesei,
85-110 ; meets with no ice at
Waigats Straits, 86 ; anchors in
the Yenesei, 98 ; accident to her
steam launch, 109; reaches Kureika,
and is laid up for the winter, 109,
110 ; the crew's farewell to the
Captain, 113 ; health of the crew
on the Captain's return, 140 ;
eff'orts to release her from the ice,
141 ; damaged by floating ice, 142 ;
starts for Dudinka, 144 ; on a
sand bank, 144 ; wrecked and
abandoned, 145, 146 ; her crew
refuse to sail home in the Ibis,
147 ; oflUcially surveyed, 160 ; some
of the crew succumb to the vodka
habit 160 ; sold by auction at
Yeneseisk, 161 ; transferred to her
new owners, 181
Thames Haven, in the Yenesei Gulf,

205, 271
Thule, the, her successful voyage to

the Yenesei, 260
Timber of Siberia, 17, 313
Times, the, on the presentation of
silver plate to Wiggins by the
Russian Government, 280, 281 ; on
the interest suddenly taken by the
Russian Government in the develop-
ment of the sea route, 300
Tinmen : shipbuilding, 122, 136 ; the
firm of Wardropper Brothers, 122 ;
proposed expedition down the Obi,

INDEX

391

137 ; voyage of the Express from
Tiumen to the Thames, 193 ; visit
of Wiggins and Mr Snlivan, 213

Tomsk : 122 ; reception given to
Wiggins and Mr Sulivan, 211 ;
Christmas festivities, 210, 211 ; its
chibs, theatre, and University, 211,
212 ; movement of Bourse Com-
mittee in favour of the remission
of Customs' dues, 374

Trans - Siberian Railway : cargo of
rails taken by Wiggins to the
Yenesei, 265-273 ; the importance
of the sea route as an auxiliary to
it, 297 ; its extent and the changes
which it would effect, 303 ; incap-
able of satisfying all demands for
transport, 303, 375 ; the construc-
tion of a double set of rails urged
by Wiggins, 3-17

Trapeznikolf, M., 123

Tromsoe : Wiggins at a christening
party, 28

Tundras of Siberia, 17, 292

Turukhansk : officiousness of the
Governor, 119; Wiggins "keeps
shop," 140 ; its Government doctor,
184

Tyneside Geographical Society: 234 ;
lectures by Wiggins, 258, 307

Ubals, the : proposed railway to the
Petchora, 60, 70 ; Ekatirmburg
Pass, 123

Vardoe : 46 ; interview between
Wiggins and Admiral Glassenoff,
59-61 ; 204 ; meeting-place of three
English and three Russian vessels
bound for the Yenesei, 268, 269 ;
the vessels sail for the Yenesei
under Wiggins' pilotage, 269

Victoria, s.s., commanded by
Wiggins, 7

Vilkitsky, Lieut. -Col. A., head of
the party appointed to survey the
coasts of the Kara Sea, and the
mouths of the rivers, 300 ; his
vindication of Wiggins' action at
Vardoo in 1896, 335-337 ; his
expressions of regret at the death
of Wiggins, 352

Vlangaly, M., 226

Vodka-drinking, in Russia and
Siberia, 149, 168, 184, 307

Volunteer Fleet Company of Russia,
266

Vtoroi, the, built at Newcastle for
the Russian Government, and con-
voyed to the Yenesei, by the
Stjernen, 283, 285, 286

Waigats Island, 20, 30 ; proposal

to use it as a depot, 71
Waigats Straits : also called the
" Iron Gates," 19, 31 ; best plan to
adopt when meeting with ice here,
41 ; width and depth, 70 ; 86
Waldemar, M., of the Society for

Marine Communications, 123
Wales, Prince of, receives Wiggins at
Marlborough House, 248 ; accepts
Siberian dogs brought home by
Wiggins, 249
Walrus-hunting, 36, 65, 271
Wardropper Brothers, Messrs, of

Tiumen, 122, 189, 330, 356
Warkivorth, the, voyage of, 191, 192,
224 ; brings to the Thames, through
the Kara Sea, the first cargo from
Siberia, 192
Weiner, Mr M. , German Consul at
Sunderland, contributes to the
expenses of the voyage of the
Whim, 56
Westminster, Duke of, 248
Weyprecht, Lieutenant, 21 ; his
second Arctic expedition, 24 ;
Wiggins' search for him, 46 ;
returns to Norway, 46 ; his pre-
sentation to Wiggins, 55 ; con-
gratulates Wiggins on the voyage
of the Warkicorth, 192, 193
Wheat of Siberia, 17 ; better than

Indian, 192
Whim, the : bought and fitted by
Wiggins for a voyage to the Kara
Sea, 57, 58 ; sails from Sunderland
(1875), and puts in at Hammerfest
and Vardoe, 58 ; proceeds to Seven
Islands, 61 ; turns homewards near
Kologueve Island, 64 ; long passage
home, 64 ; detention in Norway,
68 ; arrives at Sunderland, 68
White Island, placed wrongly on the
charts, 43 ; survey of the strait
separating it from the mainland, 271
" White Squall," the, story of, 360, 361
Wir.GiNs, Captain Joseph, F.R.G.S.,
birthplace, parentage, and early
days, 1-6 ; reminiscences of Bury
St. Edmunds, 4-6 ; schooldays at
Norwich, 6 ; apprenticed to a ship-
owner, 6 ; his brothers and sisters,
7 ; hardships at sea, 7 ; becomes

392

INDEX

Wiggins, Captain Joseph — contd.
mate and then master of a vessel,
7 ; commands the Victoria, 7 ;
his terrible experience whilst in
command of the Spartan, 8-10 ;
testimonial presented to him by
passengers, 10 ; voyages to various
parts of the world, 7-10 ; becomes
a shipowner, 10 ; appointed Ex-
aminer in Seamanship at Sunder-
land, 11 ; elected Fellow of the
Geographical Society, 11 ; marriage,
11 ; friendship with Carl Rosa and
his parents, 11-13 ; his interest in
religious and philanthropic work at
Sunderland, 14 ; a conspicuous
trait of character, 14; his researches
on the ocean route to Siberia, and
the riches of the country, 15-20 ;
his theory as to the effect of the
Gulf Stream upon the Kara Sea,
20, 222 ; desires to join a Polar
expedition, 20, 21 ; resigns his
post, and prepares for a voyage to
Siberia, 21 ; charters the Diana,
22, 222 ; objects of the voyage, 23,
24 ; sails from Dundee, 25 ; his
journal of the voyage, 25-46 ;
describes Norwegian scenery, 27 ;
at a christening party at Tromsoe,
28 ; engages a pilot at Hanimerfest,
28 ; warned by Norwegians not to
proceed to the Kara Sea, 29 ; first
sight of ice, 30; describes the
appearance of ice - blocks, 31 ;
sensation of landing upon ice, 32 ;
battling with ice, 33 - 37, 40 ;
"caught napping," 37; speaks
Norwegian vessels, 36, 38, 43 ;
lands on the Yalmal peninsula,
38 ; discovers Russian relics, 39 ;
describes the mirage, 41 ; discovers
a sandy island, 42, 48 ; entertains
Samoyedes, 42 ; keeping company
with Norwegian vessels, 43 ; iinds
White Island misplaced on the
charts, 43 ; at the mouth of the
Obi, 43 ; throws overboard a record
of the set of the currents, 46 ; sails
homewards, 46 ; searches for Lieut.
Weyprecht, 46 ; arrives at Dundee,
47 ; importance of his observations
in the Kara Sea, 47 ; his observa-
tions in the Muddy Gulf, 48 ; his
arguments for opening trade with
the Obi, 49 ; excessive modesty,
50 ; repudiates the honours of a
"discoverer," 50, 51 ; his position
defined by the Athenceum, 51 ;

congratulated by Dr Petermann
and others, 51, 52 ; his voyage
excites emulation, 53 ; presented
with a binocular glass by Lieut.
Weyprecht, 55 ; resolves to make
another voyage, 55 ; advocates the
formation of a company for opening
trade by the ocean route, 56 ;
buys a Yarmouth cutter and names
it the JFhim, 57 ; prepares for his
second voyage, 57 ; sails from
Sunderland, 58 ; intends to survey
the Baidarata Gulf, 58 ; meets
with Admiral GlassenofiF at Vardoe,
59 ; accompanies the Admiral to
Archangel, 62 ; describes scenery
at Kola Bay, 63 ; alludes to the
bravery of Sir Hugh Willoughby,
63 ; ^isit to Archangel, 63 ; rejoins
the Whim, 63 ; approaches Kolo-
gueve Island, 64 ; sails for home,
64 ; his impressions of scenery
among the fiords of Norway, 66 ;
depredations of his mastiff" Lady
Chang, 66 ; misled by the name of
Grace Holman harbour, 67 ; de-
scribes the herring-fishing fleet,
67 ; arrives at Sunderland, 68 ;
gains of his voyage, 68 ; corresponds
with M. Sidoroff", 69-73 ; proposals
for trading on the Obi and the
Yenesei, 70, 71 ; on the Geo-
graphical Society's lack of interest,
72 ; on the flow of the Gulf Stream
into the Waigats Straits, 73 ; sends
greeting to Nordenskiold, 73; letter
to Nordenski5ld, 74, 75 ; points
out the chief test of the utility of
the ocean route, 76 ; his meeting
with Nordenskiold in St. Peters-
burg, 76 ; misinterpretation of his
speech at the dinner given in
honour of the explorers, 76, 77 ;
addresses meetings of merchants in
St. Petersburg, 77, 78 ; com-
missioned to buy ships in England,
78 ; abandons the hope of Russian
co-operation, 79 ; toiling at Havre,
80 ; contemplates a voyage in his
schooner the Lord Raglan, 80 ;
letter to Admiral GlassenofiF, 80 ;
receives contributions from Mr C.
Gardiner and M. Sibiriakoff" for the
expenses of another voyage, 83 ;
buys the Tliaines and fits her for
the Kara Sea, 84 ; his plans for the
voyage, 84 ; sails from Sunderland
(1876), 85 ; his tribute to the
memory of Sir Hugh Willougliby,

INDEX

39S

Wiggins, Captain Joseph — contd.
Chancellor, and Pet, 85 ; a reward
offered him by M. Sibiriakotf, 86 ;
describes sun - effects ofi' Nova
Zembla, 86 ; obstructed by ice, 86 ;
surveys Lutke Island and the
Muddy Gulf, 87; visited by natives,
87 ; receives news of Mr Gardiner
and Nordenskiold, 88 ; favours the
ancient route to the Obi of Russian
traders, 89 ; baffled by bad weather,
90 ; at the mouth of the Kara
River, 93 ; bartering with Samo-
yedes, 93, 95; re-surveys the mouth
of the Yurubei River, 96 ; at AVhite
Island, 96; calls a "council of
war," 96 ; anchors in the Yenesei,
98 ; liis journey from White Island,
98-109 ; encounters quantities of
driftwood, 102, 103, 105 ; lands at
Soposhnagorka, 105 ; at Sverevo,
106 ; hoists the British flag, 107 ;
sends steam-launch up the river,
109 ; lays up the Thames in winter
quarters at Kureika, 110 ; lost in
the snow and rescued by Dolgans,
110; meets with Captain Schwanen-
berg. 111 ; his sledge ride to
Nishni-Novgorod, 113-123; his
farewell to the crew, 113 ; accidents
to his sledge, 116 ; experience of
post-houses, 117 ; detained by the
Governor at Turukhansk, 119 ; his
reception at Yeneseisk, 121 ; re-
ception at Omsk, 122 ; at Tinmen,
122 ; his reception at Moscow, 123 ;
arrives at St. Petersburg, 123 ; on
the benefits of total abstinence,
123, 124 ; describes the intense
frost during his journey, 124 ;
reading of his papers before two
Russian Societies, 125, 129 ; his
thanks to the Society for Naval
Communications, 126 ; elected Life
Member of the Societies, 126, 131 ;
fails to obtain practical aid for his
projects, 126-128 ; interview with
the Secretaiy of State, 132 ;
stranded, 132, 133 ; Mr Gardiner
comes to the rescue, 133 : arrives
at Sunderland, 133 ; jirepares
an article for the Geographical
Magazine, 134 ; returns overland
to the Yenesei with Mr Seebohni,
135 ; his letter to a Sunderland
journal, 135, 136 ; arrives at
Yeneseisk, 137 ; sledge ride to the
winter quarters of the Thames,
139, 140 ; describes ice-eflects at

Kamin Pass, 139; "keeps shop"
at Turukhansk, 140 ; arrival at
Kureika, 140 ; attempts to release
the Thames from the ice, 141 ;
making a new rudder, 143 ;
abandons the Thames, 145, 146 ;
reflections on his loss, 146, 147 ;
rigs the Ibis, 147 ; appeal to his
crew to sail with him to England
in the ///IS, 147 ; relations with his
crew, 150 ; offers to join Captain
Schwanenberg in an Anglo-Russian
expedition in the /62S, 151 ; arrives
at Golchika, 151 ; his second appeal
to the crew of the Thames, 151 :
sells the Ibis to Schwanenberg,
152 ; his efforts to assist Mr
Seebohm, 152, 153 ; his letter to
Captain Schwanenberg on the
transfer of the Ibis, 155 ; returns
to Yeneseisk, 156 ; sells the Thames
at Yeneseisk, 161 ; returns to
Igarka, 161, 162 ; sends home the
crew of the Thames, 162 ; his
crews usually loyal and devoted,
162 ; at dinner-parties at Yeneseisk,
162 ; fraternises with the Arch-
bishop of Krasnoiarsk 163 ; in-
cidents of his journey down the
river, 164, 166, 169, 170 ; his
daily fare, 1 67 ; visit to priests in
a barge, 168 ; demonstrates the
power of a breechloader, 1 69 ;
defends a woman, 170-172 ; the
Archbishop's farewell to him, 174 ;
visit to an Ostjak family, 174, 175 ;
entertains Ostjaks on board the
Nicolai, 180 ; transfers the Thames
to her new owners, 181 ; proceeds
to Brckhoffsky Islands, 181 ;
abandons the scheme for the surve}'^
of the ])eninsulas, and returns to
Yeneseisk, 181, 182; his name in
Russian, 183, 184 ; visited by
Ostjaks, 184, 185 ; arrives at
Yeneseisk, and starts for Europe
overland (1877), 185, 186 ; miles
travelled in thirteen months, 186 ;
trying experiences, 186, 187 ; en-
thusiasm undiminished by failure,
187 ; thwarted schemes, 189, 190 ;
his appeals to merchants and
capitalists, and how they were
received, 190, 191 ; vovage to the
Obi in- the JVarkworth, 191, 192;
readiness to give information on
the sea route, 194 ; blamed for lack
of reticence, 194, 195 ; his ideas of
a sea-route monopoly, 195 ; on the

394

INDEX

Wiggins, Captain Joseph — contd.
foolhardy expedition of speculators
of 1879, 195-197, 312 ; temporarily
aliandons his Siberian projects,
198 ; his rejoinder to a millionaire
on charity beginning at home, 199 ;
suggests that the Hudson's Bay
Company should develop the ocean
route, 200 ; voyages to southern
ports, 200, 201 ; makes the ac-
quaintance of General Gordon, 201 ;
co-operates with the " Phcenix
Merchant Adventurers," and takes
the Phosnix to the Yenesei, 203,
204 ; describes sun and cloud effects
in the Kara Sea, 204, 205 ; steers
the Phosnix through the Kaniin
Pass, 206, 207 ; his enthusiastic
reception at Yeneseisk, 208, 225 ;
receives congratulations from
England, 208 ; departs by sledge
for Europe, 208 ; visits gold mines,
208; reception at Krasnoiarsk, 209 ;
joins in Christmas festivities at
Tomsk, 211, 212 ; detained at
Moscow through small-pox break-
ing out amongst the crew of the
Phcenix, 213 : takes his crew to
Libau, 213; visits St. Petersburg at
Sir Robert Morier's invitation, 216,
217 ; in a predicament at Eydtkuh-
nen, 216 ; his consultations with
Sir Robert Morier, 217, 218 ;
entertained at the British Embassy,
219 ; receives Sir Robert Morier
on board the Labrador, 235 ; com-
pared with Richard Chancellor,
233, 280; replies to Sir Robert
Morier's speech, 234 ; hears at
Vardoe of the supposed loss of the
Phcenix, 236 ; delayed a month at
Vardoe waiting for the Seagull,
237, 238 ; comments on Mr Victor
Morier and Mr Sewell, 237, 238 ;
disappointed with the Seagull, 238 ;
leaves Vardoe, and loses sight of
the Seagull, 238 ; anchors at
Khabarova, 239 ; enters the Kara
Sea, and then returns to England,
240, 241 ; hears of the safety of
the Phmiix, and of her arrival at
Golchika, 241 ; receives letter of
sympathy from Sir R. Morier, 242 ;
inclined to withdraw from Siberian
work, but is encouraged by Sir R.
Morier to go on, 242, 243, 368;
difficulties of his position during
the formation of the Anglo-Siberian
Syndicate, 244, 245 ; his lecture at

the Society of Arts, 245-247 ; on
cultivating peaceful relations with
Russia, 245-247 ; a " lion" of the
season, 248 ; received at Marl-
borough House, 248; "at home"
on the Labrador in the docks, 249 ;
impatient at the Syndicate's delay,
249 ; assured by Sir R. Morier that
he had the ' ' key of the Kara Sea
in his pocket," 250; sails in the
Labrador, and arrives at Golchika,
250; finding nosteamer at Golchika,
returns home with his cargo, 251 ;
his surprise at the contents of a
letter in a linen packet, 252 ; why
he did not send to Karaoul, 252,
253 ; letter to Sir R. Morier, 255 ;
his reception in England, 256, 257 ;
takes the Labrador to South
America, 258, 259 ; lectures before
the Tyne Geogi-aphical Society,
258 ; freedom from " constant
fretting and worry," 259 ; his
relations with the Syndicate, 259
his regard for Sir R. Morier, 259
returns to England (1891), 260
takes a ship to the Amazon, 262
arranges with Mr Leyborne-Popham
to take the Blencathra and the
Mimisi7isk to the Yenesei, 264,
265 ; requested by the Russian
Government to take a cargo of rails
to Siberia, 266 ; commands the
Orestes and pilots six vessels to the
Yenesei, 267, 268 ; goes up the
Yenesei on the Offtzine, 275 ;
welcome given to him at Yeneseisk,
275 ; journey to Europe, 276, 277 ;
visits St. Petersburg (1894), 278 ;
interview with Mr Stead, 278 ;
presentation of silver plate by the
Russian Government, 279-281, 312 ;
presented with the Murchison Grant
by the R.G.S., 282 ; speech at the
R.G.S. dinner, 282, 283 ; buys the
Windward,, and sells it to Mr
Jackson, 283 ; sails from the Tyne
in the Stjernen, 285 ; his account
of the ^vreck of the Stjernen, 287 ;
sledge journey with crew across
the tundra to Europe, 292-294 ;
congratulations in St. Petersburg
on his safety, 294, 295 ; ft-ee from
blame for the loss of the Stjernen,
295 ; Russian expeditions sent in
search of him, 295, 296 ; interview
with the Grand Duke Alexander
Michaelovitch, 297 ; reading of his
paper on the Maritime Route before

INDEX

395

"Wiggins, Captain Joseph — contd.
the Imperial Societies, 297, 298 ;
elected member of the Imperial
Technical Society, 298 ; conversa-
tion with M. do Witte, 299 ; as a
lecturer, 301-313 ; an "old-grand-
father admiral," 307 ; on writing
books, 308 ; on commerce promot-
ing peace, 309 ; on the " three C's,"
309 ; presented with an address by
the British and Foreign Sailors'
Society, 314, 315 ; takes the Lorna
Doont to the Yenesei, 319 ; proceeds
up the river, 320 ; banquet given
to him at Yeneseisk, 321-323 ;
Siberians' estimate of his character
and appreciation of his work, 322,

323 ; addresses presented to him
by the Yeneseisk Town Council
and the Ladies' Gynmase, 324 ; his
sixth sledge journey to Europe,

324 ; his engagements in St. Peters-
burg, 324, 325 ; lecturing in
England, 326 ; lecture before the
Anglo-Russian Literary Society,
326 ; appointed commodore of six
vessels bound for the Yenesei, 327,
329 ; his reasons for refusing to
proceed beyond Vardoe, 329-332 ;
his anxiety about Mr Leyborne-
Popham's loss, 332 ; false rumours
about his action at Vardoe, 333 ;
his vindication by Lieut. - Col.
Vilkitsky, 335-337 ; retires from
Siberian work, 338, 339 ; accepts
the command of the CraigmuUcn,
340 ; lectures before the Edinburgh
Geogi-aphical Society, 340 ; sails
for Natal, 340 ; sends his revised
chart of the Yenesei to the British
Admiralty, 341 ; engages in a
discussion at Durban on the shape
of the earth, 341 ; returns to
England (1899), 341 ; reads a paper
at the Glasgow International Ex-
hibition, 342, 343 ; lectures before
the Anglo-Russian Literary Society,
343 ; engaged in ship-surveying,
343 ; invited by Admiral MakarolF
to assist in an expedition, 343 ;
takes the Kori to Australia, 343,
344 ; lectures before the Royal
Geographical Society of Melbourne,
and is elected a Life Member, 344 ;
death of his wife, 344, 345 ;
summoned to St. Petersburg, 345 ;
appointed by the Russian Govern-
ment to conduct a fleet to the
Yenesei, carrying food for starving

Siberians, 346 ; searches for vessels
at European ports, 346 ; consults
with the Imperial Commission,
349 ; returns to Harrogate, 349 ;
illness, 349 ; still hopes to lead the
expedition, 350 ; his bitter dis-
appointment at having to abandon
the journey, 350 ; his services
requested for several Kara Sea
projects, 350 ; his death and
funeral, 351 ; expressions of regi-et
at his death, 351, 352 ; traits of
character ancl popularity, 354-358 ;
example of his repartee, 355 ; lack
of business capacity, 357 ; his
impatience with narrow - minded
millionaires, 358 ; his love for
young people, 358, 359 ; the "boy
man," 358 ; powers of story-telling,
359; his "White Squall" story,
360, 361 ; love of animals, 361 ;
his Siberian dogs, 361, 362; em-
barrassed by a pig and a rooster,
363 ; his verses on the art of
making knots, 364, 365 ; the
impression he created in Russia,
365 ; Madame NovikofT's opinion
of him, 365, 366 ; the mainstay of
his career, 366 ; never turned back
from the Kara Sea on account of
ice, 377 ; his methods, 377, 378 ;
his work a success, 378
Wiggins, Joseph (father of Captain
Wiggins), driver of coaches from
Norwich to London, 1,2; removes
to Bury St. Edmunds, 3, 4 ; his
enterprising spirit, 3 ; recipient of
a testimonial, 3 ; contracts with
the Eastern Counties Railway
Company, 3 ; his death, 4
Wiggins, Mrs (mother of Captain
Wiggins), returns to Norwich with
her children, 4 ; her death, 6
Wiggins, Mrs (wife of Captain
Wiggins), her marriage, 11 ;
character, 11, 340, 345 ; friend-
ship with Carl Rosa, 11, 12; her
death, 345
Wiggins, Captain Robert, 7 ; chief
officer of the P/wnix, 204 ; takes
tlie Phanix down the Yenesei to
Golchika, 241, 242 ; volunteers to
take a river steamer from Karaoul
to meet the Labrador at Golchika,
251 ; takes command of the
Minusinsk up tlie Yenesei, 274 ;
agent in Yeneseisk for the Mr
Leyborne - Popham's Syndicate,
319

396

INDEX

"Wiggins Expedition," proposal iu

St. Petersbm-g for a, 78, 83
Wilczec, Count, 94
Willett, Mr W., joins Mr Leyborne-

Popham in his Siberian venture,

318
William Fotlieringham, the, rescues

"Wiggins and his crew in the

Atlantic, 9, 10
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, suggestion of

a monument to his memory at

Kola, 63 ; tribute of Wiggins to

his memory, 85
WindvMrcl, the, bought by Wiggins,

for Mr Leyborne - Popham, and

transferred to Mr Jackson, 283
Witte, M. de, reports to Wiggins the

substance of a conversation with

the Emperor Nicholas on the ocean

route, 299, 368
Wolves, their attacks on sledging-

parties, 292, 294
Women, as sledge-drivers, 292
Working Men's College : lecture by

Wiggins, 305
Wostrotine, Mr and Mrs : their

remarkable wedding trip, 286 ;

passengers by the Stjernen to

Siberia, 286 ; 321, 327
Wrangel, " Polar Sea" by, 19, 48
Wreck of the Spartan, 8-10 ; of the

Thames, 145, 146 ; of the Stjernen,

287-291
Wynford, Lord, 248

Yalmal Peninsula : bartering of
natives with Russian traders of the
16th century, 19 ; landing of
Wiggins, 38 ; discovery of tragic
relics, 39 ; mosses and wild-flowers,
39 ; advantages of cutting a canal
across to the Obi, 45, 129 ;
SidorofPs plan for its survey, 160,
181

Yenesei, River : 23, 47 ; arrival of
the Thames, 98 ; highlands, 99,
205 ; islands in the gulf, 99, 101,

102 ; driftwood , 102, 103, 105,
185 ; scenery, 119, 120, 139, 156,
158, 167, 185; break-up of the
ice, 142-144 ; dangers of naviga-
tion, 146 ; use of sails not under-
stood, 158 ; a fine ground for
yachtsmen, 158; speed of steamers,
and their fuel, 158, 159 ; monastery
on the banks, 175, 176 ; compara-
tive heights of the right and left
banks, 176 ; flooding of islands,
176 ; expeditions from England
from 1897 to 1899, 341, 342 ;
Russian expedition of 1905 for the
relief of starving Siberians, 346

Yeneseisk : 53 ; distance from
Kureika, 111 ; population, build-
ings, trade, etc., 119, 120; welcome
given to Wiggins (1876), 121 ;
welcome to Wiggins and Mr
Seebohm (1877), 138 ; temperature
in October, 185 ; reception of
Wiggins and Mr Sulivan (1887),
208 ; public rejoicings at the
arrival of the Anglo-Russian ex-
pedition (1893), 275, 276 ; despatch
of an expedition in search of
Wiggins, 296 ; its great wealth,
310 ; banquet given to AViggins,
321 ; speeches at the banquet, 321-
323 ; the Town Council and the
Ladies' Gymnase present Wiggins
with addresses, 324

Young, Captain Allen, 21

Yugor Strait (or Pet Strait) : 19,
239, 269, 295 ; the Lorna Doone
obstructed by ice, 320; the question
of the erection of an entrep6t, 373 ;
proposed railway to Obdorsk, 376

Yurubei, River, its mouth surveyed
by Wiggins, 96 ; scheme to connect
it by a canal with the Obi Gulf,
376

Zeleffsky, Captain, leader of ex-
pedition sent from Yeneseisk to
search for Wiggins, 296

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