The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XII, No. 2 [‎287r] (76/154)

PROPOSAL FOR AN EXPEDITION TO SANNIKOFF LAND. 163
that it was impossible to attain those lands in dog-sledges. However, his proposal
was not accepted, on account of the considerable danger which it offered, and Anjou
returned in 1823, after having made his last sledge-journey along the coasts of the
New Siberia Islands, with the full conviction that, “ within the distance which
could be attained with the means at hand, there was no land in the north of the
islands, Kotelnyi, Fadeyev, and New Siberia.”
On the authority of Anjou, the “lands sighted by Sannikoff” disappeared from
the maps, until full sixty years later, i.e. in 1881, the tragical expedition of
De Long confirmed, by the discovery of Bennet Land, the existence of the land
sighted by Sannikoff from the “ High Cape ” of New Siberia. This discovery gave
support to the idea that the other land, which Sannikoff saw from the Kotelnyi
island, but of the existence of which Anjou was doubtful, was not merely an
optical mistake, and consequently a dotted shore-line reappeared on the maps
with the name of “ Sannikoff Land.” *
In the mean time, the tradition about the existence of the land that Sannikoff
saw in the north of Kotelnyi island was maintained amidst the promyshlenniki
(hunters), because those of them who had visited the Kotelnyi island confirmed
SannikofFs statements. In reality, I could convince myself of the exactitude
of this affirmation in 1886, during the expedition which was sent out by the
Imperial Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Dr. A. Bunge. On August
13th I saw, during quite clear weather, from the mouth of the Mogur river (“Sanni
koff river ” on Anjou’s map), under 79 c N. lat. and 139° E. long., in the direction
N. 14° to 18° E.,t the sharp outlines of four truncated, cones like table mountains,
from which a low foreland extended towards the east. At that time I had no
possibility of making an attempt to reach that land. A solid ice-crust seemed to
stretch from Kotelnyi island to Sannikoff Land. Perhaps the polynia was at that
time closed by floating ice, or it opens only during the cold season and after strong
■storms. At any rate, in order to cover the distance of about 200 kilometres (130
miles) to Sannikoff Land, both dog-sledges and a good boat would have been
required, while I had at my disposal only ten worn-out reindeer, with which I had
undertaken to make the round of the island. I was bound to return southwards to
my headquarters, the winter hut at Uranalakh, where my dogs recovered their
forces for the return journey to the mainland. True that a boat had been made
there in the mean time out of driftwood, with the aid of a keel and ribs which had
been brought from the mainland. But, “ uneven-bowed and leaky ” as that boat
was, it could only be used on August 23 to 25 for a few trips along the coast amidst
■the ice-floes ; it was impossible then to think of a dash towards Sannikoff Land.
In the year 1893 I once more put my foot on the Kotelnyi island, during a rapidly
organized excursion, which lasted from May 2 to June 8, and which I made on
dog-sledges, but having no boat with me. My main working field was at that time
further west, on the Anabar. While I was there, in August and September, the
Fram sailed along the coast of Siberia towards the New Siberia islands, and passed
by Sannikoff Land. Fridtjof Nansen’s diary has, under the date of September 20,
* This was done, first, at the proposal made by A. Grigoriev, in his paper, “ Sanni
koff Land,” in connection with the discovery of the expedition of the Jeannette (Izvestia
of the Russian Geogr. Soc., vol. xviii. (1882), fasc. 4, pp. 264-2G7); also Fr. Schmidt,
“ Remarks concerning Nordenskjdld’s ‘ Circumnavigation of Asia on board the Vega,’ ”
in Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Russischen Reiches, IT. series, vol. vi. (1883), pp. 355-356.
f Anjou determined the position of the mouth of Sannikoff river as 76° 2' 3 " and
136° 33'E. of Paris. His magnetical constants are 16° 40'E. and 82° 577 '. Conse
quently, the mountains of Sannikoff Land ought to have been marked on the map due
north of the northern extremity of Kotelnyi island.
M 2