On the 4th July the Vega left the harbour of Gothenburg. While sailing along the west coast of Norway there blew a fresh head wind, by which the arrival of the vessel at Tromsoe was delayed till the 17th July. Here I went on board. Coal, water, reindeer furs[15] for all our men, and a large quantity of other stores, bought in Finmark for the expedition, were taken in here; and three walrus-hunters, hired for the voyage, embarked.
On the 21st July the whole equipment of the Vega was on board, the number of its crew complete, all clear for departure, and the same day at 2.15 P.M. we weighed anchor, with lively hurrahs from a numerous crowd assembled at the beach, to enter in earnest on our Arctic voyage. The members of the expedition on board the Vega were—
A.E. Nordenskiöld, Professor, in command
of the expedition........................ born 18th Nov. 1832
A.A.L. Palander, Lieutenant, now Captain
in the Royal Swedish Navy, chief
of the steamer Vega...................... " 2nd Oct. 1840
F.R. Kjellman, Ph.D., Docent in Botany
in the University of Upsala, superintendent
of the botanical work of the
expedition............................... " 4th Nov. 1846
A.J. Stuxberg, Ph.D., superintendent
of the zoological work................... " 18th April 1849
E. Almquist, Candidate of Medicine,
medical officer of the expedition,
lichenologist............................ " 8th Aug. 1852
E.O. Brusewitz, Lieutenant in the Royal
Swedish Navy, second in command of
the vessel............................... " 1st Dec. 1844
G. Bove, Lieutenant in the Royal Italian
Navy, superintendent of the hydrographical
work of the expedition .................. " 23rd Oct. 1853
A. Hovgaard, Lieutenant in the Royal
Danish Navy, superintendent of the
magnetical and meteorological work
of the expedition........................ " 1st Nov. 1853
O. Nordquist, Lieutenant in the Imperial
Russian Regiment of Guards,
interpreter, assistant zoologist......... " 20th May 1858
R. Nilsson, sailing-master .............. " 5th Jan. 1837
F.A. Pettersson, first engineer.......... " 3rd July 1835
O. Nordström, second engineer............ " 24th Feb. 1855
C. Carlström, fireman ................... " 14th Dec. 1845
O. Ingelsson, fireman.................... " 2nd Feb. 1849
O.Oeman, seaman.......................... " 23rd April 1843
G. Carlsson, seaman...................... " 22nd Sep. 1843
C. Lundgren, seaman...................... " 5th July 1851
O. Hansson, seaman....................... " 6th April 1856
D. Asplund, boatswain, cook.............. " 28th Jan. 1827
C. J. Smaolaenning, boatswain............ " 27th Sep. 1839
C. Levin, boatswain, steward............. " 24th Jan. 1844
P.M. Lustig, boatswain................... " 22nd April 1845
C. Ljungstrom, boatswain................. " 12th Oct. 1845
P. Lind, boatswain....................... " 15th Sep. 1856
P. O. Faeste, boatswain.................. born 23rd Sep. 1856
S. Andersson, carpenter................... " 3rd Sep. 1847
J. Haugan, walrus-hunter[16].............. " 23rd Jan. 1825
P. Johnsen, walrus-hunter................. " 15th May 1845
P. Sivertsen, walrus-hunter............... " 2nd Jan. 1853
Th. A. Bostrom, assistant to the scientific
men....................................... " 21st Sep. 1857
There was also on board the Vega during the voyage from Tromsoe to Port Dickson, as commissioner for Mr. Sibiriakoff, Mr. S.J. Serebrenikoff, who had it in charge to oversee the taking on board and the landing of the goods that were to be carried to and from Siberia in the Fraser and Express. These vessels had sailed several days before from Vardoe to Chabarova in Yugor Schar, where they had orders to wait for the Vega. The Lena, again, the fourth vessel that was placed at my disposal, had, in obedience to orders, awaited the Vega in the harbour of Tromsoe, from which port these two steamers were now to proceed eastwards in company.
After leaving Tromsoe, the course was shaped at first within the archipelago to Maosoe, in whose harbour the Vega was to make some hours' stay, for the purpose of posting letters in the post-office there, probably the most northerly in the world. But during this time so violent a north-west wind began to blow, that we were detained there three days.
Maosoe is a little rocky island situated in 71° N. L., thirty-two kilometres south-west from North Cape, in a region abounding in fish, about halfway between Bred Sound and Mageroe Sound. The eastern coast of the island is indented by a bay, which forms a well-protected harbour. Here, only a few kilometres south of the northernmost promontory of Europe, are to be found, besides a large number of fishermen's huts, a church, shop, post-office, hospital, &c.; and I need scarcely add, at
least for the benefit of those who have travelled in the north of Norway, several friendly, hospitable families in whose society we talked away many hours of our involuntary stay in the neighbourhood. The inhabitants of course live on fish. All agriculture is impossible here. Potatoes have indeed sometimes yielded an abundant crop on the neighbouring Ingoe (71° 5' N. L.), but their cultivation commonly fails, in consequence of the shortness of the summer; on the other hand, radishes and a number of other vegetables are grown with success in the garden-beds. Of wild berries there is found here the red whortleberry, yet in so small quantity that one can seldom collect a quart or two: the bilberry is somewhat more plentiful; but the grapes of the north, the cloudberry (multer), grow in profuse abundance. From an area of several square