Departure from Maosoe--Gooseland--State of the Ice-- The Vessels of the Expedition assemble at Chabarova-- The Samoyed town there--The Church--Russians and Samoyeds-- Visit to Ohabarova in 1875--Purchase of Samoyed Idols-- Dress and Dwellings of the Samoyeds--Comparison of the Polar Races--Sacrificial Places and Samoyed Grave on Vaygats Island visited--Former accounts of the Samoyeds-- Their place in Ethnography. The _Vega_ was detained at Maosoe by a steady head wind, rain, fog, and a very heavy sea till the evening of the 25th July. Though the weather was still very unfavourable, we then weighed anchor, impatient to proceed on our voyage, and steamed out to sea through Mageroe Sound. The _Lena_ also started at the same time, having received orders to accompany the _Vega_ as far as possible, and, in case separation could not be avoided, to steer her course to the point, Ohabarova in Yugor Schar, which I had fixed on as the rendezvous of the four vessels of the expedition. The first night, during the fog that then prevailed, we lost sight of the _Lena_, and did not see her again until we had reached the meeting place. The course of the _Vega_ was shaped for South Goose Cape. Although, while at Tromsoe, I had resolved to enter the Kara Sea through Yugor Schar, the most southerly of the sounds which lead to it--so northerly a course was taken, because experience has shown that in the beginning of summer so much ice often drives backwards and forwards in the bay between the west coast of Vaygats Island and the mainland, that navigation in these waters is rendered rather difficult. This is avoided by touching Novaya Zemlya first at Gooseland, and thence following the western shore of this island and Vaygats to Yugor Schar. Now this precaution was unnecessary; for the state of the ice was singularly favourable, and Yugor Schar was readied without seeing a trace of it. During our passage from Norway to Gooseland we were, favoured at first with a fresh breeze, which, however, fell as we approached Novaya Zemlya; this notwithstanding, we made rapid progress under steam, and without incident, except that the excessive rolling of the vessel caused the overturn of some boxes containing instruments and books, fortunately without any serious damage ensuing.