With all due pomp and circumstance they named their new discovery Franz Josef Land, drinking the health of their Emperor as they did so. Their jubilation, however, was destined to be short-lived, for almost immediately a northerly wind arose which drove their floe many miles to the south, and Franz Josef Land, though still very dear to memory, was completely lost to sight. When next they found themselves in its neighbourhood, moreover, an event which occurred towards the end of September, their sensations were less pleasurable, for storms were churning up the ice in a most terrifying manner, and they were in imminent danger of being wrecked upon a shore which, though they viewed it with eyes of pride, looked, as they had to admit, distinctly inhospitable. By the 1st of November, however, the ice had quietened down, and Payer came to the conclusion that he might safely attempt to effect a landing. The way was difficult, lying as it did over masses of broken ice which included a rampart fifty feet high, but the men made light of such obstacles, and it was a proud moment for them when they were able to set foot on land which had probably never been trodden by a human being before. [Illustration: A BEAR HUNT] They found that the new country consisted of two main masses. That on which they had landed they called Wilczek Land, and the other they named Zichy Land, while the sound which separated them they christened Austria Sound. It was a bleak and desolate land enough, clothed for the most part in perpetual snow, and absolutely devoid of any signs of habitation. The vegetation was so scanty that musk-oxen or reindeer could not have supported life there, and the place seemed to be given over entirely to Polar bears, foxes, and a few migratory birds. Everything, however, depends on the point of view, and it certainly seemed Paradise to the crew of the _Tegetthoff_. Fortunately for them the ice soon became firmer, and they were able to explore the new land with less fear of their line of retreat being cut off. During the early spring Payer mapped out several of the islands of which he found Franz Josef Land to consist, and succeeded in penetrating as far north as Cape Fligely, the highest point attained in the old world up till then. He also added several new lands to the chart, which have been subsequently shown to be non-existent, among them being King Oscar and Petermann Lands. It was, of course, perfectly obvious that the ship must be abandoned, and during the winter preparations were made for taking that step as soon as spring came round. The objective was Nova Zembla, where a depot of provisions had been established for them to meet eventualities. They had no need to make use of that depot, however, for while passing Cape Britwin, they fell in with a Russian schooner, the _Nikolai_, which took them on board and brought them safely back to Europe in September 1874. CHAPTER XXIII NARES AND SMITH SOUND