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diff --git a/old/52435-0.txt b/old/52435-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5a2f1c1..0000000 --- a/old/52435-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6157 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of With ski & sledge over Arctic glaciers, by -Sir William Martin Conway - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: With ski & sledge over Arctic glaciers - -Author: Sir William Martin Conway - -Illustrator: E. J. Garwood - -Release Date: June 29, 2016 [EBook #52435] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH SKI & SLEDGE *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: Some spelling is inconsistent. Obvious typos have -been corrected. - - - - -WITH SKI & SLEDGE - -_All rights reserved_ - -[Illustration: _Photo by E.J. Garwood._ - -_King’s Bay Glacier._] - - - - - WITH SKI & SLEDGE - OVER ARCTIC GLACIERS - - BY - - SIR MARTIN CONWAY - - ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS - TAKEN BY E. J. GARWOOD - - [Illustration] - - LONDON - J. M. DENT & CO. - 29 & 30 BEDFORD STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. - 1898 - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - At the Ballantyne Press - - - - -PREFACE - - -_The story of the exploration of the interior of Spitsbergen, begun -in 1896, as described in my former book entitled “The First Crossing -of Spitsbergen,” is continued in the present volume, which is to be -regarded as an appendix to that. In 1897 Mr. E. J. Garwood was once -more my companion. The illustrations to this book are from photographs -taken by him. I here desire to return him my thanks, not only for -them, but for many another kindness, for the unbroken good-fellowship -of his company, and the stimulus of his society in travel. One of our -two Norwegian companions, Nielsen by name, was most serviceable to us. -The other was a hindrance. I have called him Svensen in this book, but -that was not his name. To render the narrative more complete, I have -inserted translations of such published accounts of the expeditions -made by Baron Nordenskiöld, his son Gustav Nordenskiöld, and Baron -De Geer, as relate to what is vaguely called the “inland ice” of -Spitsbergen. I take this opportunity of once more calling attention to -the fact that the common spelling “Spitzbergen” is an ignorant blunder; -the correct spelling of the name is that employed throughout this book -and now adopted in the official publications of the Royal Geographical -Society._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. KLAAS BILLEN BAY 1 - - II. UP THE NORDENSKIÖLD GLACIER 15 - - III. BACK TO KLAAS BILLEN BAY 37 - - IV. BY WATER TO KINGS BAY 62 - - V. THE KING’S HIGHWAY 76 - - VI. OSBORNE GLACIER AND PRETENDER PASS 95 - - VII. THE SPITSBERGEN DOLOMITES 113 - - VIII. RETURN TO KINGS BAY 132 - - IX. KINGS BAY TO HORN SOUND 154 - - X. ASCENT OF MOUNT HEDGEHOG 170 - - XI. ON THE USE OF THE SKI 194 - - XII. GEOGRAPHICAL RESULTS 206 - - APPENDIX 225 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - _Kings Bay Glacier_ _Frontispiece_ - - _The “Expres” in Advent Bay_ _facing page_ 2 - - _Rough Ice_ ” 16 - - _The Colorado Plateau_ ” 57 - - _The Head of Kings Bay_ ” 71 - - _An Easy Place_ ” 80 - - _The Three Crowns from Kings Bay_ ” 116 - - _Torrent in a Glacier Ice-foot_ ” 161 - - _Horn Sunds Tinder_ ” 172 - - _A Ski-fastening_ ” 198 - - _A Lapp Shoe_ ” 199 - - _New Friesland from Hinlooper Strait_ ” 207 - - _Bluffs of the Sassendal_ ” 213 - - _Farewell_ ” 224 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -KLAAS BILLEN BAY - - -In the morning of July 9, 1897, Mr. E. J. Garwood and I, along with -a small cargo of tourists, were delivered by the steamship _Lofoten_ -on the shore of Advent Bay, Spitsbergen, just ten days after leaving -London. Our party was completed by two men of Vesteraalen, Edward -Nielsen and Svensen by name. We had arranged to be met at Advent Bay -by the small steamer _Kvik_, which was coming up to cruise about the -Spitsbergen coast during the summer. It was annoying to learn that, -though she left Tromsö a few days before us, she had not come in. -Probably she had been obliged to put back for shelter from the heavy -weather. We had no option, therefore, but to pitch our tents and wait. - -Companions were not lacking. By our camp sprang up the tents of Herr -Ekstam, the Swedish botanist, and of a Norwegian sportsman; further on -was a large green tent flying a German flag. There were half-a-dozen -hunters’ sloops at anchor in the bay, whilst the tourist inn was alive -with hurrying men, amongst them Bensen and jovial Peter Hendriksen -of the _Fram’s_ crew. There was plenty for us to do with our baggage, -which had all to be unpacked and recombined, some to stay here till we -should return for it, the rest to go with us on our first expedition in -search of the inland ice. It was a lovely day for this open-air work--a -real piece of good-fortune, for nothing is so injurious to baggage as -to become well soaked in detail within and without at the very start -of a journey. White clouds patched the blue sky and scattered their -shadows over the brilliantly green water of Ice Fjord. The snowy ranges -beyond were distinct and detailed as though quite near at hand. The air -was mild and delightful, and the day was gone before it seemed well -begun. Towards evening a gale sprang up and made the tents boom and -strain; but we cared not at all, rejoicing rather in the evidence of -being once more free from the incumbent protection of walls and roofs. - -[Illustration: THE “EXPRES” IN ADVENT BAY.] - -A wretched morning followed, with drizzle and damp, too painfully -reminiscent of last year’s weather in the region of bogs. We had -nothing to do but to sit inactive and bored, waiting for our steamer -which did not come. But, though the _Kvik_ was missing, there appeared -through the mist our old friend the _Expres_, which last year carried -us over a thousand miles round Spitsbergen’s coasts and about its bays. -She was chartered for this season by a German party of sportsmen, Dr. -Lerner, Herr G. Meisenbach, and another. They came to see us, and, -on hearing of our wretched plight, most kindly offered to take us to -Klaas Billen Bay and tow our boat over. We jumped at the chance, and an -hour later were comfortably on board, with our men and baggage in our -whaleboat behind. - -Little more than two hours’ steaming brought us to anchor in Skans Bay, -a small sheltered inlet cut out of the plateau-mass of Cape Thordsen. -We landed at once on the low west shore, where a spit of shingle -separates a small lagoon from the bay. Here we left the men to pitch -their tent, and set forth inland over the foot of the hill-slope. -Garwood presently began breaking stones, so I wandered on alone and -was soon out of sight. The surroundings would probably strike an -unsympathetic eye as dreary. To me they were delightful, though heavy -clouds did hang on the tops of the bluffs and all was grey or purple in -the solemnity of dim light and utter solitude. Presently came a bold -waterfall on the west, where a towering gateway opens upon a secret -corrie in the lap of the hills, a place well known to fulmar petrels, -who nest hereabouts in great numbers and were swooping to and fro in -their bold flight before the cliffs; known, too, to the foxes, to judge -by their many tracks. On I tramped over the level valley floor, picking -my way amongst boggy places, leaping or wading the channels as they -came. All the common arctic flowers were in full bloom, though sparsely -scattered about, for this is not one of Spitsbergen’s fertile places. - -At the head of the bay is a large, flat area, where what once was water -is turned to a kind of land. From this flat a series of valleys open, -all scooped out from the plateau to which at their heads they rapidly -rise. A large valley to the north-east leads over, I suppose, to the -Mimesdal; further in is a shorter parallel one with snow at the head. -The main valley, however, curved round west of north, and it was this -that naturally drew me forward, for in a new country nothing pulls a -traveller on so powerfully as a corner round which he cannot see. There -lies the unknown with all its possibilities; it is like the fascinating -future towards which youth so joyously hastens. Thus I pushed on -and on. Round the corner there came into view a glacier filling the -valley’s head and descending from the high snowy region behind. There -was a peak standing further back and looking over at me. The flat -valley-floor was a labyrinth of river channels, across which, for the -view’s sake, I waded, thus reaching a mound of old moraine, on whose -top I sat down to survey the melancholy, lonely scene. Birds flying -about the cliffs south of the glacier were the only living creatures -in sight. There were no reindeer, and not even a footprint or a cast -antler. I smoked my pipe in peace and felt once again the charm of -utter solitude. - -Returning to the bay, I met Garwood, and we went on board the _Expres_ -together to enjoy the generous hospitality so warmly offered to us by -our kind German hosts. Reindeer was cooked, tins opened, corks drawn, -and a fine time we had of it for several hours, till at 2 A.M. we dived -into our sleeping-bags, Garwood and I lying in the selfsame places -where we so often wooed sleep the year before. - -Next morning (July 11) the weather was splendid. About 10 o’clock we -packed ourselves and our belongings into our whaleboat, bade farewell -to our hosts, and rowed off down the calm bay toward Fleur-de-Lys -Point, a cape named by the French corvette in 1892. Its base is formed -of gypsum, into which the sea eats, so that great fallen masses of the -white rock fringe its foot like stranded ice-blocks. A heavy sea was -breaking amongst them and tossing towers of spray aloft. We toiled -greatly in this broken water and against the wind encountered at the -bay’s mouth; when the corner was rounded the wind was aft, and we -had only the big following seas to trouble us. They rose ominously -behind, each in its turn threatening to overwhelm our boat; but, as a -matter of fact, little water actually came on board. Thus the noble -cliffs of Skans Bay were left behind, and the deep Klaas Billen Fjord -opened ahead. The scenery of it is dull till near its head, the slopes -being most barren. We kept up the west side and close in shore, thus -gradually finding quieter water. - -About two hours up, a little bay tempted us to land for lunch and a -hill-scramble; for what can one see from the water-level? It is only -when you look down on lake, bay, or ocean that the picturesque value of -water is perceived. I suppose I may have climbed five hundred feet or -so, Garwood lingering behind to smash rocks. When I turned round on the -top of a knoll the view took my breath away. The parallel curving lines -of great waves, so big compared with us and our boat, now seemed, with -their crests of foam, a mere delicate decoration on the wide surface -of the blue bay, upon which the cloud shadows were purple patches. In -the barren opposite coast opened a big valley that ran in to a snow -mountain in the east. Further round to the left came the splendid -Nordenskiöld Glacier, the goal of our present expedition--a splendid -river, almost cataract, of ice, sweeping down, in bulging crevassed -domes, between fine rock masses from the utterly unknown interior. Its -cliff front, rising from the blue water, was fringed with icebergs, -some of which, great castellated blocks, floated out by wind and tide, -had been passed at the mouth of Skans Bay. - -After lunch we rowed on, still hugging the shore, for the seas were -big further out, past the mouths of one or two minor valleys leading -rapidly up to the snowfield above, and each therefore fitted with its -glacier-tongue. Thus the mouth of the wide Mimesdal was reached--a -valley interesting to geologists and often visited by previous -explorers, though none of them has drawn the vaguest sketch of its -plan. We would gladly have spent a day in it, but the water was so -shallow at its mouth that we could find no place where the boat could -be drawn up; so, as the wind had gone down, we decided to face the -loppy, criss-cross sea at once, and camp on the west side of the bay. -Our course took us near many icebergs, one a blue tower at least fifty -feet out of water. The sea splashed and boomed finely against them. - -About a quarter of the way across we opened a full view of a great -glacier at the north-west head of Klaas Billen Bay, flowing down a -valley approximately parallel to the Mimesdal, between mountains of -remarkable form. The peak between it and the Mimesdal, then covered in -cloud, we afterwards found to be one of the most striking mountains -in this part of Spitsbergen. The Swedes have named it the Pyramid. -The glacier leads so far back, and is of so gentle a slope, that, -for a moment, we paused to debate whether we should not choose it, -rather than Nordenskiöld’s Glacier, as an avenue of approach to the -interior; for at that time we were still under the impression that all -the glaciers of this region were so many tongues coming down (as do the -glaciers of Greenland) from a great inland ice-sheet. Thus the only -problem we felt it necessary to consider was, which glacier was the -easiest to climb on to and draw our sledges up. Obviously the slope of -this glacier was better than that of the Nordenskiöld, whose crevassed -nature now became unpleasantly evident. On the other hand, it did not -come down to the sea, but poured itself out in the usual low-spreading -dome on a wide, alluvial, mud-flat. We had no desire to drag and -carry our things over more land than could be helped, so chose the -Nordenskiöld Glacier and pulled on. - -In a short two hours’ rowing we were under the east bank of the bay, -where we soon found a quiet cove, and on the shore of it the remains of -one of Baron de Geer’s camping grounds of last year. There was a place -flattened for a tent, there were stones built together for a fire, and -there was driftwood collected and cut up for burning--what more could -be desired? The land hereabouts was a large plain stretching a mile -or so back to the foot of the hills, whose line of front is carried -on by the ice-cliff of the Nordenskiöld Glacier, which thus ends in a -little bay of its own. The plain is relatively fertile and should be -the home of many reindeer, but all have been ruthlessly shot out, so -that not a hoof-mark did we see, and the only cast antlers were deep -in the growing bog. Around this coast are many pools cut off from the -bay by ridges of gravel, pushed up by grounded ice when it is pressed -against the shore. Here many eider-ducks were feeding, and plenty of -skuas, terns, and other birds filled the air with their cries. I walked -towards the glacier to find the best way on to it, and was disgusted -to discover that between us and the portion of its front that ends on -land, and up which we must go, was a considerable stream, flowing in -many channels down a stony fan. It was possible at high tide, when a -certain submerged moraine was covered, to row round to near the mouth -of this stream, but not further, so that we should have to carry all -our stuff through the water and over the stones, a distance of perhaps -half a mile. - -These things we observed because we came to observe them, otherwise -our whole attention would have been absorbed by the magnificence of -the ice-front of the glacier ending in the sea. We had beheld its full -breadth from far away, with the long curdled slopes of ice curving -round and coming down to it from the far-away skyline of snow. Now -we saw its splintered face in profile from near at hand. How shall I -convey the faintest conception of its splendour to a reader who has -seen nothing similar? It was not like what I may call the normal -arctic glacier, which spreads out at its foot into a very wide, low -dome ending all round in an even curve. This glacier is formed by the -union of many ice-streams, whose combined volume is wedged together -at last between rock walls, and thus broken up by compression. The -sea front, therefore, is not a mere cliff, but is the section of a -maze of crevasses, and even seracs. There were overhanging towers and -enormous caverns, jutting masses and deep holes, all toned in every -variety of white and blue and green, shadowed in purple by passing -clouds or shining in silver splendour beneath the direct rays of the -clear sunlight. The green water was oftenest calm, doubling the vision, -which, in some lights, seemed too delicate to be a material reality. -Changes of atmospheric clearness and illumination produced infinite -varieties of effect, so that the ice-front was never twice the same -in appearance. Sometimes it faded away into mist, sometimes it stood -out to its remotest end in astonishing clearness of detail. But, under -whatever conditions it might be beheld, it was always beautiful, -surprising, and rare. - -The glacier ends in very shallow water, so that the ice is aground. -Very few glaciers in Spitsbergen end in deep water; the one example -that occurs to me is the well-known glacier in Cross Bay, which I -have only seen from a distance. For a glacier of given volume and -breadth ending in shallow water a definite limit is fixed by the -nature of things. A block of ice will float in a depth of water about -seven-eighths of its own depth. Thus, the end of a glacier eighty feet -thick would be floated away in seventy feet of water, were it not for -the cohesion of the mass of the glacier, and the fact that the ice is -not reached by the water except on one side, and so does not try to -float, but merely forms an embankment to the sea. When the end of the -glacier is crevassed the water is enabled to find its way in, to some -extent, and thus does something towards lifting partially detached -blocks. The snout of a glacier ending in deep water is operated on as a -whole by the body of water, and tends to be carried away in very large -masses owing to the forward movement of the ice and the leverage of -tides. But a glacier ending in shallow water is broken away chiefly by -being undermined, to some extent by the mechanical action of the waves, -but much more by melting in contact with water often several degrees -above the freezing point. When the snout of the glacier is crevassed -this undermining effect operates very rapidly. What the depth of water -actually is below the foot of the cliff we were unable to determine; I -do not think that it is more than ten feet at low tide, the height of -the cliff being from eighty to one hundred feet. It must be borne in -mind that the glacier brings down a considerable quantity of moraine, -most of which is dumped into the water just at the foot of the cliff. -Thus the depth is constantly being filled up, and if the process went -forward without any countervailing action the ice-cliff would be cut -off from the sea by a wall of moraine within a very short time. That it -is not so cut off is partly due to the denuding action of the waves, -but more to the fact that, when the depth is diminished to a certain -definite level, the glacier must advance over the newly-formed soil, -and so the process is continued. Thus, every glacier ending in a cliff -in shallow water must be advancing. As soon as it ceases to advance it -must deposit a moraine embankment round its base, cutting itself off -from the water. When this has happened the cliff ceases to exist; a -terminal slope takes its place. Streams of water flowing from it cut -down and distribute the moraine. The water then continues to be invaded -by a débris fan, formed of alluvial matter in the ordinary way. The -glacier previously mentioned, which is at the north-west corner of -Klaas Billen Bay, is an example of a glacier which, doubtless, once -ended in the fjord, but has been lifted up and cut off from the water -by moraine materials brought down by itself. - -It was as delightful as it was interesting to sit and watch the noble -glacier-front, in all the wealth of its colouring and the wonder of -its form. At high and low tide the ice was stable, and hardly any falls -took place; but at other times falls were frequent, most frequent -towards half-tide. Then the ice-cliff fired great guns along all its -battlemented front in rapid succession. At moments of good luck one -chanced to be looking just where the fall took place. Sometimes a great -tower would slowly bend over; at other times its base would crush -together, and it would start sliding vertically. In either case, before -it had moved far it would be intersplit and riven into smaller masses, -which, falling together with a sound like thunder, would ding and -splash up the water into a tower of spray, a hundred feet high perhaps. -Then, if they fell in a deep place, the ice-blocks would heave and -roll about for a while, lifting the water upon their sides and shaking -it off in cataracts, till at last they came to rest, or went slowly -floating away amongst countless fellows gone before. Meanwhile the -circling waves started by the fall would be spreading around, washing -up against the multitude of floating blocks in the bay, disturbing -the equilibrium of some and toppling them over or splitting them up, -thus starting new rings of waves. At last the great waves would come -swishing along the shore, louder and louder as they approached, till -they broke close by the tent, and washed up to where our whaleboat was -lying, hauled just beyond their reach. Between whiles was heard only -the ceaseless murmur of the bay and the gentle soughing of the wind. - -At high tide we rowed our boat round as near to the foot of the -glacier as we dared go, and pitched our final camp by the stream -already mentioned. It was nearly a mile from the foot of the easiest -line of approach up the moraine on to the surface of the glacier. We -hauled our heavy boat up high and dry with great toil, assembled in -our larger tent the baggage we were going to leave behind, arranged -the loads for our two sledges, and, in repeated journeys, laboriously -dragged and carried them over bog and stones to the foot of the steep -moraine, greatly disturbing the minds of a number of terns, who had -their nests on the stony ground near the channels of the river. They -swooped almost on to our heads, and hovered, screaming frightfully, not -more than a yard out of reach. No bird that flies has a more frail or -graceful appearance than a tern. When the sun shines on them as they -hover amongst the floating ice-blocks they seem the very incarnation -of whatsoever is purest, gentlest, and most fair. But there is in -every tern the pugnacity of a bargee and the fractiousness of seven -swearing fishwives. They are everlastingly at war with the skuas and -the kittiwakes, and they always seem to come off best in an encounter. -We, at any rate, were not sorry to quit their ground and leave them -glorying over our retreat. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -UP THE NORDENSKIÖLD GLACIER - - -Our preparations being completed, we set forth up the Nordenskiöld -Glacier, toward the unknown interior, on the morning of July 13. -The first struggle up the steep, moraine-faced front of the glacier -involved all our forces. The stones, lying upon ice, were loose and -large. They slipped from under, or fell upon us. We took one sledge at -a time and lightened it of half its burden, but still it was hard to -drag. It wedged itself against rocks when pulled forward, but never -seemed to find a stone to stop its backsliding. Our aim was to reach -a tongue of hard snow in the upper part of a gully. Coming to it from -the side, the sledge swung across and almost upset us all. At last we -reached the top, returned for the second sledge, then (two or three -times) for the bundles, and so finally gained our end after hours of -toil. Once on more level ice, things went better, though not well. To -begin with, the sledges were badly loaded and had to be rearranged. -Then, though the surface of the ice sloped but gently, it was very -lumpy and the lumps turned the sledges this way and that. Garwood and -I pulled one, the two men the other. Perspiration ran off us. Our -estimate of the possible length of the day’s march diminished. - -[Illustration: ROUGH ICE.] - -Nordenskiöld Glacier, as has been said, descends in a great curve. It -comes down from the north and ends flowing west. It receives two large -tributaries from the east. If we had kept right round the immense sweep -of the glacier’s left bank, we should have avoided a peck of troubles, -but must have travelled miles out of the way, for our destination was -northward. As it was, we steered a middle course, and thereby came into -a most unsafe tangle of crevasses. The step-like descent of the ice -prevented seeing far ahead. We were constantly in hope that the next -plateau would be smooth, but each as it came was crevassed like its -predecessor, whilst the slopes between were almost impassable. Any one -who knows the Gorner Glacier, below the Riffelhorn, will be able to -picture this part of the Nordenskiöld Glacier. It was almost as badly -broken up as that. To drag sledges up such a place is no simple job. -Most of the crevasses were half full of rotten winter snow, but it was -only by bridges of this unreliable substance that they could be crossed -at all. Ultimately we found ourselves in a _cul-de-sac_, cut off ahead, -to right, and to left by huge impassable _schrunds_. There was nothing -for it but to go back a distance that had been won by more than an -hour’s toil. We left the sledges lying, and scattered to prospect. A -way was eventually discovered whereby, when every one was fairly worn -out, the worst part of the ascent was completed. After crossing the -last big crevasse, it was agreed that enough had been done. Camp was -pitched about 700 feet above the level of the bay. - -Now only had we leisure to look about and drink in the fine quality -of the scenery; not that a man is blind to scenery when engaged in -toilsome physical exertion, but he is incapable of analysing it or -noticing its more delicate and evanescent qualities. For this reason -I maintain that the observers in explorations should be freed as -much as possible from the mere mechanical labour of making the way. -Every foot-pound of energy put into sledge-hauling, for instance, -precludes more important mental activities. This was not Garwood’s -opinion at the beginning of our journey, but he came round to my way -of thinking before the end. From the level of our camp we looked down -the whole riven slope of the glacier to the broad blue bay below, -dotted all over with floating ice and flashing eyes of light from the -hidden sun. Farther away came the bleak recesses of the Mimesdal, and -a range of snow mountains to the right. There was a level roof of -cloud at an altitude of about 1000 feet, casting on the hills that -richness of purple tone so characteristic of Spitsbergen’s dull days. -Most beautiful was the glacier-cascade, and especially the immediate -foreground of crevasses, on to, or rather into, which we looked down -and beheld the splendid colour of their walls. They are far bluer than -Alpine crevasses, almost purple indeed, in their depths. Here, of -course, on the broken ice were no streams, though below the crevasses -there had been so many that the air was filled with their tinkling, -whilst the deep bass of _moulins_ was continually heard. Ahead came -the clouds, into which the glacier disappeared, the last outlines -visible being low white domes of the usual arctic sort. It was pleasant -to sit in the still, cool air while ice-lumps were melting and other -preparations making for supper. “Look! look!” cried Nielsen, “there is -a bird as white as snow.” It was an ivory gull come to inspect us. The -only other visitors were fulmar petrels, whose nesting-place on the -cliffs of the Terrier we were to discover a few days later. - -Our camp consisted of two small tents, one an old Mummery tent of -Willesden drill, the other six inches larger in all directions, and -made of a slightly stronger canvas. Both tents had floors of the same -material sewn in--an excellent arrangement, rendering them perfectly -safe in any gale that blew. They served us well throughout the -summer, and are still in almost as good condition as when they came -from Edgington’s hands. Long I sat in silence and alone, watching -the opalescent bay with its ever-varying colours and floating -icebergs, the purple hills striped and capped with snow, the wide, -deeply-penetrating, mysterious valleys, the great ice-field sloping -down in front, and the frame of cloud arching in the whole. The -crunching of snow and ice by human feet and the sound of voices showed -that the others were returning from their ramble, hungry and with good -news, as it proved, for the way was open ahead. - -Next morning (14th) we pursued our onward journey, still struggling -through crevasses for about an hour, then finding a fairly even though -none too gentle slope, up which it was possible to advance steadily. So -far the hard ice of the glacier had formed the surface. It gradually -became less and less firm, and turned into a kind of icy honeycomb, -built of a granular fabric that crushed together ankle-deep under the -foot. The cells of this honeycomb ice were of all sizes, some as big -as a lead-pencil, others large enough to hold the foot, others again -to fall into bodily. Each cell was more or less filled with water, -whilst the top was often disguised by a lid of ice with a little snow -on it, so that the existence of the water-hole was not suspected till -one trod through into the freezing puddle. We came to understand what -to look out for, at this level of Spitsbergen glaciers, and to walk -warily; but at first we plunged and stumbled about in the most annoying -fashion, becoming very wet, cold, and out of temper. Further up, the -snow covering was more continuous, till, at a level of about 1000 feet -above the sea, we were no longer walking upon ice, but upon frozen -snow. In fact, here was true _névé_, the like of which our last year’s -experiences had led us to believe did not exist in Spitsbergen. - -This is only one of many differences observed between the strangely -temperate region south of Ice Fjord, explored by us in 1896, and the -region north of Ice Fjord, and so close to it, explored in 1897. The -former is to be described as sub-arctic, the latter is truly arctic in -every sense. The Sassendal region is a land of bogs and disintegrating -hillsides, with cataracts and many waters. The Klaas Billen and King’s -Bay area is ice-covered at levels which are ice-free so few miles away. -The causes of this great contrast are obscure. - -All too soon the cloud-roof descended upon us, or rather we ascended -into it. Rain began to fall. The snow being soft and the slope -continuing steep, our work waxed laborious again, and so continued. -We steered, by compass, a little east of north, the direction of the -east foot of the group of mountains against which the glacier, in -bending round, leans its right bank. The highest of these was known -to us as De Geer Peak, because it was ascended by De Geer in 1882. In -the thickening fog our men began to betray unwillingness to proceed. -They mistrusted us and our compass. At sea, they said, a man could -steer by compass, but this was not sea, and they had never heard of -going overland after a magnetic needle. Four hours’ marching preceded -a halt for lunch in the midst of the undulating white desert, which -stretched away on all sides into clouds. Not far off was a blue lake, -like a sapphire set in silver--a lovely object, and the only thing -clearly visible except a single crevasse and the ghosts of the bases of -the mountains. At times the clouds parted a little, and then we could -discover a sea-fog creeping up from below. In the gap between it and -the lower level of the clouds was a far-off glimpse of Ice Fjord, with -the hills of Advent Bay beyond. - -When fog and clouds joined we set forward again, and worked on steadily -uphill. The snow grew softer and softer. We fastened one sledge behind -the other, and harnessed ourselves all four to the front one, but the -change profited little. Hour now succeeded hour, and nothing came in -sight. The only variation was in the degree of slope. Every few minutes -we stopped to observe the compass, and always found that we had bent -away to left or right of the proper track; sometimes we were even -going at right angles to it. When all were tired, we pitched camp on -a flat place, which we thought might prove to be the plateau at the -foot of De Geer Peak. The tents were set up with some difficulty, in -a fluster of wind, upon the soft snow, and moored ahead and astern to -the two sledges, the site being about 1500 feet above sea-level. The -temperature was a few degrees below freezing. The oil-stove burning -in the tent was a comforting companion, though we changed our opinion -about it when the steam from the pot condensed on the roof and fell in -rain all over our things. - -All night long the wind howled, the clouds grew denser, and snow fell -with increasing heaviness. When we looked forth in the morning nothing -was visible, beyond our camp, in any direction. The tents and sledges -were almost snowed under. As we had no notion in what direction to -bend our steps, nor what any part of the interior might be like, it -was necessary to wait for a clearance; so we lay in our sleeping-bags, -cooked, played dominoes with numbered scraps of paper, and otherwise -killed time. The men, I fear, were pretty miserable, for the expedition -had no interest to them and they were full of all sorts of vain -terrors. They confessed that for fear of bears they had been unable to -sleep! They hourly expected to be buried under some avalanche of snow -or to fall into some hidden pit. Nielsen soon got over his terrors, but -they increased upon Svensen to our no small discomfort. As Nielsen -said: “Svensen has never been away from his old woman before. He is -accustomed to go fishing in the morning, and then to come home for -his dinner. He isn’t used to the kind of food that you give him, and -he isn’t used to this sort of place.” The more we knew of Nielsen the -better we liked him. He talked excellent English, with a smack of the -sea in every phrase. He was always on the alert to be helpful, and had -plenty of conversation and some good stories. Svensen knew no English, -except a few seamen’s phrases. He was a good enough fellow, but he -hated his novel surroundings, and was only counting the days till he -should reach his home again. - -Not till 7 o’clock in the evening did the fog lift, and then it -disclosed no very distant view. Close at hand were the rocks at the -foot of De Geer Peak; we were encamped at the exact point we had meant -to reach--a small plateau or shelf of snow on the glacier’s extreme -right margin, just where the rock slope of the mountain begins. In all -other directions the white _névé_ went undulating away, trending in -the main uphill to north and east, downhill to the south. There was no -definite object in sight when we turned our backs to the tent and the -crags; elsewhere vaguely outlined clouds drifted about, brushing the -snow with apparent aimlessness. It was a view composed of different -tones of white. Ice-blink filled the air. It was impossible to -estimate distances with the smallest degree of accuracy. Looking out -of the tent-door, I saw what I thought was a bear moving along--most -improbable of beasts at such an altitude. I was in dread lest the -men should see it, and become yet more unwilling to face the lonely -interior. A moment later the light changed, and the bear was revealed -as a bit of waste paper fluttering along in the breeze. In a few -minutes the fog came down again, not very densely. Garwood and I were -for starting on at once, but the men considered that it was time for -supper, with bed to follow. On the whole we decided to let them have -their wish, and to use the hours for trying the _ski_. - -Ski (pronounced _shee_) are the snowshoes of Norway and Sweden, which -Nansen’s books have been chiefly instrumental in making known to -Englishmen. They may be described as thin boards, six feet or more -long, and about five inches wide, curved up and brought to a point in -front (like the shoes of a fifteenth-century dude), and cut off square -behind. Nansen has told how the Scandinavians are accustomed to the use -of them from childhood up, what facility they attain, and the wonderful -feats they become able to perform with them. We were concerned to -discover how far an untaught Englishman could use them at all, and how -long was needed for learning to get about on them. We were entirely -ignorant about them, so that we started with every disadvantage. To -begin with, there are all sorts and kinds of ski--long and narrow, -short and broad, polished and unpolished, grooved below in different -ways, attachable to the foot by different systems, made of different -sorts and kinds of wood. Of all this we knew nothing. We went into the -first shop we saw in Bergen and bought the first pair of ski that were -offered to us, with a loop arrangement of cane covered with leather to -attach them to the feet. As it turned out our choice was pretty lucky. -I shall hereafter devote a chapter to ski, so more need not be said -about them in this place. - -With great deliberation, and after many blunders, we inserted our feet -into the loops, one loop or wide strap going firmly over the toe, the -other passing round the heel, so that the foot can be easily bent and -that when it is turned to right or left the ski turns with it. Then we -gingerly straightened ourselves up and prepared to shuffle away, each -clutching an ice-axe for a third leg. It became immediately apparent -that our plateau was not quite flat, for we began to slide downhill. -Our legs separated from one another and over we fell. It is easier to -fall down than to get up again. Our feet were twisted out of the loops -and had to be brought back into place. Endeavouring to arrange matters, -I loosened one of my ski, and off it started on its own account -downhill. I saw it disappear into the fog, and sent Svensen after it. -He was gone half an hour or more, and came back shuffling on it. Then I -tried again, this time uphill. - -The first thing to do was to turn round. Of course I trod with one -ski on the top of the other, and tumbled over again. When one paid -attention to the forward halves of the ski the hind halves got mixed, -and _vice versâ_. Uphill, however, we advanced well enough, as long as -there was a crust of snow to go upon, but where the ice was blown bare -by the wind we slid about helplessly, for the boards do not bite like -skates. Of course on such places ski are seldom needed, the crust of -ice being usually strong enough to support the foot. Having reached the -foot of the rocks we tried sliding down. After two or three attempts we -found our balance; the process is similar to a standing glissade, only -that the motion is quicker. Any good glissader can soon learn to slide -down a moderately steep slope on ski. When the snow is uneven, still -more when it is of varying textures (soft in one place, slippery in -another), new difficulties of balancing arise. After an hour’s practice -we found our feet well enough, and were assured of being able to cover -the ground at a reasonable rate. - -Next we tried the Canadian snowshoes, and found them easy enough to -work, but very clumsy compared with the ski. We afterwards learnt that -our principal trouble with the latter was caused by the unsuitability -of our footgear. We had been told to wear large fur boots of the kind -called Finnsku, with hay packed in them. They may be well enough if you -know how to pack them, and if they are of the right dimensions. Ours -were wrong every way. It was only when we gave them up and took to our -ordinary Swiss climbing-boots that we became really comfortable as well -as firm on our feet. To this important question of footgear reference -will also be made hereafter. - -If the weather had been fine, or the least chance of a view could have -been discerned, we should have delayed to repeat the ascent of De Geer -Peak. Luck, however, was against us. As De Geer’s account of his climb -is buried, for English readers, in a Swedish scientific publication,[1] -a translation of it is here inserted: - - “On the morning of August 2, 1882, I set forth from the - coast, in company with Lund and the ship’s boy, on an - expedition up the little valley bordering the north side of - Nordenskiöld Glacier. The bottom of this valley, with its - small hills and little lakes, resembled some unwooded tract of - Sweden.… Arrived at the head of the valley, we put on the rope - and struck across the first side glacier. We had now reached - the inland ice and were about 600 metres above sea-level. - As there was no time for a long expedition over the ice, we - decided to climb the mountain near at hand. The only plants - found on its slope were some mosses and lichens. Of birds we - only saw one fulmar petrel, which came flying over the inland - ice. The top of the mountain was covered with old hard-packed - snow. Its altitude according to the barometer was over 1200 - metres above the sea. It is therefore, after Hornsunds Tind, - the highest mountain hitherto measured in Spitsbergen, though - there appear to be other mountains in its neighbourhood at - least as high. - - “The view was remarkably comprehensive. In the south-west was - a long stretch of Ice Fjord’s south coast. In clear weather - it would probably have been possible to see both the mouth - of the fjord and Mount Nordenskiöld, the high mountain west - of Advent Bay which Nathorst afterwards climbed. We had an - uninterrupted view over a great part of the broken hill-country - west of Klaas Billen Bay, which appears to be devoid of big - glaciers. Eastward the inland ice stretched away from the foot - of the mountain, spreading out its gently undulating surface - away to a remote mountain group, situated between N. 69½° E. - and N. 101° E., probably identical with the range marked on - the map ending westward in Mount Edlund, near Wybe Jans Water. - Yet further away appeared a sunlit streak, and beyond that - again a line of mountains, certainly very remote. These were - quite clear and distinct for a long time till clouds covered - them up. Perhaps they lie along the west coast of Barents - Land.… In the north-east the interior of the ice was covered - with clouds, so that Mount Chydenius could not be seen, which - otherwise would probably have been visible. Most striking was - the view to the north-west, in which direction we recognised, - on first arriving at the top, a large piece of water, doubtless - the West Fjord of Wijde Bay. Its innermost part lay in the - direction between N. 39° W. and N. 27½° W., and was only hidden - for a short distance by a mountain (the compass deviation is - assumed to have been N. 14° W.).[2] Between us and Wijde Bay no - mountains were seen, but only big, apparently level glaciers, - filling the bottom of the great valley and seeming to form an - ice-divide. It is worth mention that no ice was seen in the - blue waters of Wijde Bay, although unbroken sea-ice is reported - to have invested at least the western part of Spitsbergen’s - north coast throughout the whole summer. - - “When we first arrived on the top I took some photographs and - observed a number of angles, besides making some sketches, - but little by little our peak became enveloped in clouds - which swept over from the inland ice. We waited four hours on - the top, hoping it would clear, but the weather only became - thicker and a wind sprang up, so that we were compelled to - begin the descent. We followed the south-west ridge, which is - certainly the best route for the ascent, in case this point - of view should be revisited as a station of the proposed - meridian-arc measurement. The return to the tent was made by - the afore-mentioned valley.” - -From this description it appears that the part of the country we -intended to traverse was hidden from De Geer by clouds. We had no -information whatever, therefore, as to the lie of the land or the -direction in which we should steer. Next morning was somewhat clearer. -The Terrier range on the further side of the glacier was disclosed, as -well as some snowy domes inland, apparently very remote, but really -not far off. The glacier was perceived to trend back in a direction -somewhat east of north, and to widen out greatly. It seemed as though -this were a true sheet of inland ice of the Greenland sort. We set -forward hopefully in a clear interval, so laying our course as to keep -up the glacier’s right side. - -During the first hour Garwood’s snowshoes gave him great trouble, for -he had chosen the Canadian pair. When he had changed them with Nielsen -for ski, of which unfortunately we had only three pairs with us, and -after a series of halts for readjustments, we got fairly under way. -It was a steady uphill pull for about three hours. The fog soon came -down, denser than ever, and lasted the rest of the day. Only by the -resistance of the sledges could the steepness of the slope be inferred. -There was absolutely nothing to be seen. It is hard for any one who has -not experienced it to conceive the absolute invisibility of everything -in the rather dazzling light that pervades a fog upon snow. The effect -is thus described by Mr. Peary, writing about Greenland:[3] - - “Not only was there no object to be seen, but in the entire - sphere of vision there was no difference in intensity of light. - My feet and snowshoes were sharp and clear as silhouettes, and - I was sensible of contact with the snow at every step. Yet, as - far as my eyes gave me evidence to the contrary, I was walking - upon nothing. The space between my snowshoes was as light as - the zenith. The opaque light which filled the sphere of vision - might come from below as well as above. A curious mental as - well as physical strain resulted from this blindness with - wide-open eyes, and sometimes we were obliged to stop and await - a change.” - -Of course, in such a vague illumination there are no shadows. The light -comes equally from everywhere. To keep a straight course requires -continual attention. The compass must be referred to continually. - -When the sledges felt heavier we knew that the slope steepened. About -three miles, as we guessed, from camp, they suddenly took a plunge -forward on their own account and were with difficulty restrained. -We had crossed a watershed, and the slope was downhill. One sledge -knocked Svensen off his feet and sent his ski flying. He captured the -right, but the left vanished hissing into the fog. He followed it, and -became utterly invisible a few yards away. While we awaited his return, -a ghostly sun appeared for a moment, but was swallowed up again. -Absolute silence reigned. The air was motionless. We could just see one -another, and that was all. At the foot of the hill came a level area, -then uphill again, steeper than before. Fortunately for us novices -on ski the snow was not in a slippery condition. On the contrary, it -tended to adhere to the ski, so that they held the ground well without -backsliding. It was deep, soft snow, into which we should have sunk at -least to the knee had we been merely walking in boots. As it was, we -did not sink into it at all, and could drag the sledges with our full -weight. Nielsen was the only miserable one of the party, for he had the -Canadian snowshoes. His feet kept slipping out of the straps when he -strained upon them in pulling. Moreover, he could not accustom himself -to keep his legs wide enough apart, and so was always tripping up or -treading with one shoe on the other. All day the cold was considerable, -the air full of frozen vapour which incrusted us over, so that heads, -hair, and clothes became a mass of icicles tinkling as we walked. After -making about seven miles, chiefly uphill, we camped at a height of some -2500 feet. It was pleasant to feel the shelter of the tents, pleasanter -still to get the stove going and gain a drink of water to slake the -parching thirst from which all were suffering. - -Early next morning (17th) the clouds broke for a brief interval, as -they have a way of doing about 6 A.M., even in the worst weather. -Looking back we saw the watershed crossed the previous day, and learnt -that we had (unnecessarily) descended into the head of a big valley -trending west, that we had crossed this and reascended its northern -side to the place of encampment. Had we been able to see ahead, both -the descent and the reascent might have been avoided. De Geer Peak -was in sight to the south; westward, as we looked down the valley, a -single, or perhaps a double, row of hills intervened between us and -Dickson Bay. They were all white with permanent snow. Not a patch -of open country was visible there. One of these hills, apparently -the Lyktan, was capped with a limestone crown. In the silence and -stillness of the cold morning these mountains, for all their relative -littleness, looked singularly dignified. They were so grey and shaggy, -creatures of storm and everlasting winter, things utterly remote from -all association with man, even as the very mountains of the moon. -While we were watching them, clouds came up again in the lap of the -south-west wind. The milky fog settled down before we started on, and -nothing more was seen that day. - -Svensen began to complain of feeling unwell, talked of pains in his -inside, of numbness in feet and legs, and so forth. For the matter -of that, no one felt particularly bright, the process of coming into -condition being always laborious. The only thing to be done was to -push on. It was uphill all the time, often up slopes so steep that -one sledge had to be left while all four concentrated their efforts -on raising the other. Now and then the slope bent away down to the -west, showing that we were keeping close along the watershed. The -course taken was a little east of north. The work was harder than -ever. Hour after hour passed, and yet the hoped-for high plateau was -not found. Snow fell heavily and the wind became violent. It had its -compensations, however, for we could steer by it. The fresh snow was -unsuited for ski. It froze on beneath them and balled, an impediment to -the shuffling action of the feet. - -As the fresh snow accumulated, the surface of the old snow beneath -became so hard that ultimately ski could be discarded. A final long -tug up a very steep slope completed the morning’s march. At the -top Svensen threw himself down and said he could go no further. He -certainly looked ill. His face was ghastly grey, his cheeks sunken, -his eyes staring out of his head and bloodshot. The storm was raging -furiously, driving the fresh snow along, like a waist-deep stream of -opaque white fluid, with a loud hissing noise that mingled in the roar -of the wind. It was decided to pitch one of the tents and take shelter -in it, while a hot lunch was cooked; but to carry out the plan was -not easy in the teeth of the gale. When the tent was at last set up, -Svensen was pushed in and the rest of us crowded after. The sick man -began to tremble all over and moaned horribly. He pitied himself in -broken accents. There was nothing for it but to pitch the second tent, -unpack his fur sleeping-bag and stow him away to warm up. While this -was being done I rubbed him hard all over to restore circulation. - -Before we had been halted half an hour tents and sledges were almost -buried beneath the drifting snow. The gale was getting worse every -minute, making the roofs boom and flap so that we feared they would rip -asunder. Meanwhile cooking went forward, and then all slept, awaiting -a change of weather. Late in the evening there was no improvement, and -Svensen said he was going to die. By morning the wind had dropped, -but the fog was yet denser. The sledges were not to be seen. The tents -were hidden from one another behind walls and heaps of drifted snow. -Nielsen shouted that Svensen was “all broken up,” and could not be -moved. I went to see him, and found a miserable-looking object. He -said he had swellings in his middle and talked about an old sprain and -the cold. His legs were senseless below the knees. Here was a pretty -mess, if his story were true! We had suspicions that fright was a large -factor in his trouble; but if it were not, and we made the man go on, -what a responsibility would lie upon us! He was emphatic that he could -not stir a yard that day, and that if we insisted on his moving we -must carry him, son of Anak that he was. There still remained food for -six days, so we could afford to wait twenty-four hours at any rate. -Practically we had no option. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -BACK TO KLAAS BILLEN BAY - - -Garwood and I, for exercise, started out on ski, not daring to go -far in the dense fog, for, except by following up the track, it was -impossible to find the camp again once it had passed out of sight. -With the surface snow in such feathery condition, a track would be -obliterated in two minutes, even by a light wind. Caution, therefore, -was essential. The calm continuing, we indulged in longer excursions, -trudging always uphill, and sliding down again with increasing -confidence and ease. Assuredly, for the mere movement, ski-glissading -is first-rate fun. Taking a longer range uphill than before, we came -into a thinner patch of fog, with a quarter-mile reach of vision, -perhaps, and the white ghost of a sun aloft. Something suggested that -a domed hilltop was close ahead. We pushed on, and rose above the fog. -Clear was the atmosphere in all directions below a roof of cloud, -white and level, the far-extending floor of fog through which we had -just emerged, as through a trap-door on to the stage. In front (to -the east), and on our left (to the north), gentle snow-slopes rose to -skylines seemingly near at hand. We could not but push on. The snow was -in perfect condition for sliding, the air delightfully crisp. It was -grateful merely to have left the clammy fog behind. The convex curve -of the snowfield was cause of the constant retreat of the skyline from -our advance; but at last a distant summit peeped over, then another. -Evidently there was a watershed, and from it a view. It developed very -slowly, but at length it was all there--a downhill slope in front, and -then the distance filled with a prospect on which no human eye had ever -gazed. It was strictly an eastward view, for in the north the snowfield -rose higher, and to the south fog enveloped everything. - -Whether it was the effect of contrast after the blindness of three -days, or whether the view was absolutely superb, is hard to say; it -certainly impressed us as a very grand sight. We were standing at -the head of a broad snow-white valley, to which a long slope drooped -from our feet, the level of the valley-floor being at least 1000 feet -below us, or more than 2000 feet above sea-level. On either side the -valley was enclosed by faces of rock, bluff-fronts cut out of what -was formerly a big plateau, level with our position. A splintered -nunatak pierced through the glacier below and formed an effective -centre-piece. The glacier itself swept away in its wide, dignified -fashion, first east, then gradually round in a great curve to the -south-east, on its slow crawl towards Wybe Jans Water. The row of -bluffs on the left (north) were seen, one beyond another, stretching -away fainter and fainter to the remote distance, where the last may -look down upon the east coast. The nearest and highest of these bluffs -appears to be the Mount Chydenius of Nordenskiöld. Further north and -masked by clouds were indications of a range of peaks of bolder form. - -We returned to camp for our cameras and came back with Nielsen, then -Garwood set forward down the hill to investigate the Hecla Hook rocks -of the nunatak, whilst Nielsen and I went north up the snow-slope. We -had not more than a mile to go before reaching the top of the highest -snow-dome in the watershed area between the glacier systems draining -west to Dickson Bay, south-east to Wybe Jans Water, and south to Klaas -Billen Bay. Whether the glacier to the north bent ultimately west to -Dickson Bay or round to the head of East Fjord of Wijde Bay could not -be determined, for it was soon lost beneath a roof of cloud. The fulmar -petrels that came flying over could have told us. The range of hills -across the north was now clear. There were indications of a valley -between our plateau and them, and of a pass leading over to it from -a bay of the eastern valley. Unfortunately my photographs of this -important view, like all others taken by me on roller film this year, -failed. How I now regret not to have carried some good glass plates to -this point! Only blind notes remain. There was a peak of nearly 4000 -feet, 30° west of north, and another due north about six miles away. -Connected with them were many more of smaller dimensions. West of the -peak first mentioned the land dropped below the cloud-level, which -was from 500 to a 1000 feet beneath our feet. All in the Dickson Bay -direction was hidden under piled masses of cloud. - -It was a fascinating and tantalising view. One more day’s march would -have solved for certain, instead of merely by inference, the whole -question of the topography of this icy area. Any one of the peaks ahead -would have commanded views towards Wijde Bay, Hinloopen Strait, and -Wybe Jans Water. But with Svensen _hors de combat_ we were helpless. -To leave camp for a whole day was impossible, seeing that, in this -featureless white wilderness, if fog came on, we should never find it -again, whilst, without us, the men left behind could not steer their -way to the coast. I thought, however, that it might be possible to -return by a new route, descending first down the east valley and then -working round to the south; so we went back to the tents and asked -Svensen whether, if we dragged his sledge, he could follow on his -own feet homeward. He eagerly jumped at the suggestion; the stuff was -packed and off we started uphill to the point of our first view at -the head of the east valley. Svensen shuffled along on his ski well -enough, though with a sorry countenance. When he found us going uphill -he protested that that could not be the way back and that we were -going east instead of south. Arrived at the top and seeing the valley -he became mutinous, said if we went down there we should all leave -our bones in this horrible land, and generally protested with all his -might. Nielsen joined his protests, on the ground that, Svensen being -the sort of man he was and apparently ill as well as terrified, we -should probably soon find ourselves obliged to drag him along on a -sledge, and that, while he could manage to walk, it was best to get -him in the direction of the coast, so that, if ultimately he had to be -carried, it might be over as few miles as possible. In fact, we were -cornered; there was nothing for it but to turn coastward. - -Before doing so we took one more long gaze over the great glacier and -away to the remote hills that look down on Wybe Jans Water. One of them -must be Mount Edlund, another the White Mountain near Heley’s Sound; -but it was impossible to identify them. These were the peaks climbed -by Nordenskiöld and his party in 1864. As they were the only people -who have ever gazed inland over this same sea of ice, I here insert an -abbreviated translation of their account.[4] - - “On August 21, 1864, the weather became so fine that we - returned to land in order to climb Mount Edlund. We landed at - the edge of the glacier, which ends without a cliff. Parallel - with the shore, at a distance of about a thousand yards, there - extends a broad bank of moraine, beyond which comes the glacier - itself. Its lowest part consists of a mounded ice-field, here - and there split by crevasses, for the most part filled with - water. The ascent was easy, and we soon reached the lowest - plateau of the mountain. A grass-slope followed, becoming - steeper higher up and ending near the upper plateau in a - hyperite cliff faced by four-edged columns. This cliff was at - least fifty feet high, and vertical; but the rocks were firm, - and could easily be climbed. Thus we reached the top. - - “The view fully came up to our expectations. North-westward, - far as the eye could reach, spread endless hills and plains - of snow, only broken here and there by occasional mountain - peaks standing more or less free. Among these, several remote - mountains, probably surrounding the southern shore of Wijde - Bay, deserve mention. Further round in the north-east a row - of peaks stood up against the horizon. Mount Chydenius was - the most northerly and highest of these great mountains.[5] We - overlooked the whole of Wybe Jans Water from Whale’s Point and - Whale’s Head to its inmost recess near the White Mountain. Many - mountains surrounded by ice reared themselves in the west. The - view over Hinloopen Strait was hindered by thick mist, which - appeared to lie only over this depression and its bordering - hills, as so often happens. - - “In order to follow up the mountain ridge extending towards the - north-west, and to learn whether an expedition over the snow - fields involved difficulties, we went from the summit farther - into the interior of the land, which lay almost at the same - height as the peak. It was quite level and covered with hard, - frozen snow, on which walking was as easy as on a floor. This - plain of snow appeared to stretch away to Mount Chydenius, so - that that peak would be easy to reach for the purposes of a - triangulation. We went as far as a distant small hill of snow - [apparently the Mount Svanberg of the map] without any new - experiences, except that fresh peaks kept constantly appearing - above the snow; we accordingly decided to return. - - “The shortest way back to the ship led down a rather steep - ice-stream flowing between two hills from the place where we - stood to the same broad, level glacier over which we had come - in the ascent. The true source of the latter was, in fact, - this ice-stream which flows down from the inland ice. We - stood for a time at its edge, telescope in hand, discussing - whether it would be possible to descend by this apparently - easy way, or whether we must go round by the longer route, - somewhat dangerous as it was by reason of the hyperite cliff. - A young “Balsfjording,” who carried our instruments, and had - certainly climbed many a mountain near his home, but probably - never been on a glacier, looked at us with wondering eyes when - we asked him his opinion. His expression seemed to say, “How - can any one be in doubt about so obvious a matter?” Without - a word, he sprang down the ice-slope, theodolite in hand, to - our great terror, for we feared that, as usual, the glacier - would be broken by crevasses, and difficult to cross. Our - anxiety did not last long before we saw him come to a halt, - and just in time, for, on coming nearer, we found that a great - _schrund_ was immediately before him. We crept to its edge and - looked down into the weird, bottomless depth, whose walls were - azure-blue cliffs of ice, here and there covered with white - icicles like stalactites. Lower down everything was lost in a - dark-blue gloom. This crevasse stretched almost the whole way - across the glacier, so that a long detour had to be made before - it could be crossed. Later on we encountered a great number of - such crevasses, some of which we turned, others jumped over, - others again crossed by ice-bridges. Not till we reached the - main stream of the glacier did the crevasses come to an end and - the descent became quick and easy.” - -On returning to the coast they took a boat and rowed to the mouth of -Heley’s Sound, some three miles north of which they landed in a little -bay and set up their tent. Next day, August 22, was again fine, so -they set forth to make the ascent of the neighbouring White Mountain. - - “We wandered first over the great moraine, which the glacier - has cast down before itself, then climbed the gently sloping - ice-field. This proved to be unexpectedly fatiguing and - disagreeable work. The surface consisted of thawed and refrozen - snow, covered with a crust of faggot-like formation, which - frequently broke up under our tread, so that the foot sank into - the soft snow beneath and was with difficulty withdrawn through - the icecrust, whose sharp edges cut into the boots. The top of - the mountain, hidden at first by the humps of the glacier, came - into view after an hour’s ascent, but was still far away. We - had several hours of work over snow of similar character before - we reached the summit, a small plateau covered with powdery - snow a foot deep upon hard ice. - - “The view from this point is perhaps the finest to be found - on Spitsbergen. In the east, about sixty miles away, we saw a - high mountain land with two peaks higher than the rest. [This - was Wiches Land.] Between it and Spitsbergen lay a sea covered - with great, continuous icefloes, obviously impenetrable by a - ship.… In the north-east and north, far as the eye could reach, - appeared the hills of North-East Land and Hinloopen Strait, - with the strait itself and its islands apparently surrounded - by water free of ice. Nordenskiöld recognised Mount Lovén, - ascended by him in 1861.… The interior was likewise displayed - before our eyes, a boundless immeasurable waste of snow, out - of which here and there some mass of rock jutted forth, dark - in contrast with the blinding white surroundings. Only further - away, west and north-west, were there any connected ranges of - mountains. The whole west and north coasts of Wybe Jans Water - were in sight, and the northern part of Barents Land, whose - extreme point consists of a much crevassed snow-mountain ending - steeply in the sea.” - -From this interesting digression we must return to our own doings. -Facing south-east we kept along the crest of the highest ground and -made quick progress, for a gentle slope drooped in our favour and the -surface of the snow was in perfect condition for both ski and sledges. -Garwood and I shall ever remember the delight of this midnight march. -High above the clear air that surrounded us was a dark-blue roof of -soft cloud, resting on skyey walls of marvellous colours, with streaks -of stratus across them, reflecting the golden sunlight. The sun itself -was hidden in the north, but beneath it hung a reticulated web, woven -of gold and Tyrian purple, through which shafts of tender light drooped -down like eyelashes upon the snow. All around, the _névé_ went sweeping -away in gentle curves and domes, greyish-white in some places with -purple shadows, bluish-grey in others, here and there strewn with -carpets of sunlight. The rocks, too, wherever they appeared, were rich -in colour, showing their own ruddy or orange tints enforced by the -lustrous atmosphere. There was none of the sharp contrast of black -and white that strikes a superficial observer in high mountain views. -This panorama was a glorious mass of colour, harmonious without rift -and rich without monotony. Just at midnight the cloud-roof opened in -the north and a flood of sunshine fell around and upon us--a veritable -transfiguration and thrilling glory which cannot be told. Entranced -with beauty, we marched on and on over the wide snowfield, with a sense -of boundless space, a feeling of freedom, a joy as in the ownership of -the whole universe--emotions that, in my experience, only arise in the -great clean places of the earth, where nothing lives and nothing grows, -the great deserts and the wide snowfields. Green country, after such -regions, is land soiled by mildew. - -Coming, in about seven miles march, to the point where the slope down -to the Nordenskiöld Glacier began to steepen, we halted, not from -fatigue, but because we were loath to quit the far-seeing uplands -and wall ourselves in between a valley’s sides. So we pitched the -camp about 3 A.M., with the doors opening to the south. The eastward -views were better displayed than before. We could see Wybe Jans Water -with Barents Land beyond, then a series of long rock-faces supporting -high-domed, snowy plateaus, stretching round to the Terrier on the -left side of the Nordenskiöld Glacier, whilst De Geer Peak came last, -looking from this point like a pyramid with its top storey horizontally -stratified. The low sun shone golden on the snowfield, casting blue -shadows. All round, near the horizon, the sky was clear below the soft, -thin cloud-roof, through which the blueness of the vault of heaven was -plainly seen. The remote hills were indigo, patched with orange, gold, -and pink. White mists lay in hollows of the snow, motionless. Ivory -gulls flew about, projecting their silver plumage against the blue -shadows. The air was still. Not a sound broke the perfection of the -silence. - -It was afternoon of the 19th when we set forward again over the good, -hard snow, the still air seeming warm, and the sun shining softly -behind a thin grey roof of cloud. All round was a light-blue frieze of -sky with cloud-flakes in lines below, and then the faint blue-and-white -hills. In the south the burnished surface of Klaas Billen Bay, shining -between purple shores, reflected the sunlight. The beauty of the scene -sapped our energies. We wanted to look at it, not to haul sledges. But -Svensen said he could do no work, so hauling was the order of our day. -Needless to say that many halts were made on every kind of excuse, -and every halt was celebrated by the smoke of pipes. Garwood took the -opportunity to instruct me in the true art of pipe-loading. “Jam the -tobacco in as tight as you can, and then loosen it with a corkscrew” is -his formula. I am witness to the labour it cost him in practice, and -the tenacity of his adherence to an adopted principle. One advantage -of travelling with sledges is that you always have comfortable seats -ready. It would have been a sin, at least a folly, not to avail -ourselves of them. We were neither sinners nor fools after this kind. -Yet on the whole good progress was made, for we walked fast and kept -going for many hours. The view scarcely changed. That we were coming -to lower levels was obvious, but the hills in front seemed no nearer -after three hours’ marching than at the start. Ahead were a few rocks -emerging from the glacier. We thought them close at hand, but they -kept their distance. Not for five hours were they left behind. The -actual motion, however, was pleasant; ski and sledges often ran of -themselves. Only Nielsen was miserable with his Canadian snowshoes, and -perforce lagged behind. “This,” he said, “is the worst thing ever a -man put on his feet--miserables!” His own Lapp shoes, too, gave him no -satisfaction. Melted snow found a way through them. “They should have -been soaked,” he said, “with two parts Stockholm tar and three parts -cod-liver oil, boiled together and put on hot. It should be rubbed -well in with a rag while it’s hot. That will make boots waterproof and -keep them soft for three months in spite of wettings. That is what our -Norwegian fishermen use.” Mr. Frederick Jackson, however, tells me that -he tried this composition and found it no better than patent dubbin. - -A flat plain followed a long and steady descent. Here, at a level of -about 1300 feet, the snow began to be bad. A foot of new snow lay -upon the ice. It was in places waterlogged, for there were no open -crevasses, and now the sun had attained power to set things thawing -fast. The blue lakes we saw when coming up existed no more; drifted -snow and frost had abolished them altogether. We were well below our -camping place at the foot of Mount De Geer, but on the opposite side of -the glacier, approaching its left bank. A wide water-channel came, with -a rushing torrent in it, flowing over blue ice between banks of snow. -It was long before we found an overhanging place where a leap would -take a man from bank to bank. Thence a flat but watery area intervened -before our goal was reached at the extreme left of the glacier and -right below the highest point of the long Terrier ridge, to the summit -of which we intended to climb next day. Its cliffs were loud with the -sound of countless birds, whose full-throated cries, mingled together -and wafted afar as a raucous hum, were audible long before a bird came -in sight. From camp we could see them in their thousands, perched in -rows upon ledges or soaring about the cliff--fulmars, little auks, and -glaucus gulls. Their feathers were scattered all about, whilst numerous -tracks showed that this breeding-place was no secret to the foxes--the -only animals that rove over the icy interior of Spitsbergen. - -Our projected climb was not to be made, for rain came on in the night. -We awoke (20th) to find clouds heavy upon us, and all but the Terrier’s -foundations obliterated. It was a disappointment, but there were -compensations, for the immediate neighbourhood proved unexpectedly -interesting. This discovered, we loaded the sledges and sent them down -with the men, under orders not to stop till they reached Klaas Billen -Bay. Svensen had no longer any excuse for malingering. Yesterday, with -every hour’s advance, his face became rounder, his back straighter, -his movements more active. The fear of destruction was in reality his -main disease, aggravated no doubt by cold and exposure to the storm. -He acknowledged as much later on. The suggestion that he should hasten -down to the bay, whether dragging a sledge or not, seemed nothing less -than a reprieve from sentence of death. He set off with alacrity. - -Garwood had observed a curious piece of glacier a few hundred yards -away from camp. It was mounded in a peculiar manner, calling for -investigation. On approaching it, the mounds were perceived to be -arches of ice, barrel vaults perfectly regular in form. Their origin -was presently self-explained. A wide and deep stream of surface -drainage-water habitually flows near the foot of the Terrier. Reaching -a level place, the speed of flow is reduced so that the surface becomes -frozen over in cold weather. Snow falls upon the ice thus formed, and a -roof is made, the remains of which, even at this advanced period of the -summer, were two feet thick or more. The glacier in its onward movement -is compressed between the Terrier and the De Geer range opposite, -and every portion of it feels this compression, which, operating -on the frozen roof of the river, bends it up into an icy tunnel of -regular form. By degrees parts of the tunnel fall in, and thus the -detached arches are left. On the King’s Bay Glacier we afterwards saw -more arches of similar origin. It is to the strength of the arctic -winter’s frost, rather than to the amount of the annual snowfall, -that Spitsbergen glaciers owe their peculiar phenomena, to which the -glaciers of high mountain regions in the temperate and tropical parts -of the world present no parallels. - -Another and still more remarkable outcome of the same forces presently -attracted our attention. We were descending the left side of the -glacier below the Terrier and approaching the point at the end of the -mountain where a great tributary glacier comes in from the east. The -two ice-streams, joining, compress one another laterally, and cause -a bulging or convexity of their surfaces, which only attain a common -uniformity of level at a distance of a mile or so. By this means a -triangular hollow is formed between the glaciers, and backed against -the foot of the intervening hill. A lake collects in this hollow, and -is drained by a stream, which, gradually cutting down its bed as the -year advances, lowers the level of the lake. When the winter comes, -fresh snow falls into and blocks this stream, damming back the waters -so that the level of the lake rises. Its surface, of course, freezes; -the ice-covering, with the thawed, refrozen collection of snow upon it, -attaining a thickness of four feet and more. On the return of spring, -when the snows begin to melt, fresh quantities of water find their way -into the lake and raise the heavy ice-sheet. The bed of last year’s -streams is of course filled up with hard-frozen snow, so that there is -no exit for the waters till the cup is full. The moment it begins to -overflow the cutting of the channel takes place. The pent-up waters are -let loose and evidently operate with extraordinary force, excavating a -deep cañon out of the glacier. The floating ice acquires a momentum, -whereby it not merely gets ripped and broken up, but forced forward on -to the dry glacier ahead, great tables of it being turned up on end -or piled on one another two or three deep. When most of the water is -drawn off and the level of the lake is greatly reduced, the convulsion -ceases and only the deep cañon and the wild ruin of the ice-blocks, -strewn abroad over half a mile square of the glacier, remain to show -what mighty forces have been let loose. - -During the summer we came upon several such burst lakes at the -junctions of glaciers. The most striking of them was this one at -the extremity of the Terrier, for, owing to the configuration of -the ice, it is unusually large and, besides (like the Märjelen Sea -by the Aletsch Glacier), is the receptacle into which many icebergs -fall. These icebergs in the winter are frozen in, and tossed out in -a wild ruin when the lake bursts. The chaos of strewn ice-blocks is -visible from far off, but its origin is not then discernible. Masses -of ice were heaped against one another to a height of forty feet or -even more. The blue cañon was so deep and undercut that we could not -see to the bottom. It was more than sixty feet in depth. There was -something inexpressibly weird in the silence and repose of this icy -ruin surviving the wild turmoil of its birth. The catastrophe must -have been recent, for the icebergs retained the blue colouring and -transparency of their submerged parts. We spent a long time clambering -about the _débris_, then hastened forward on our ski and caught up with -the sledges. - -A lunch halt was made at the top of a steeper slope, just where -crevasses began to be numerous. By keeping well round to the left -their intricacy was easily avoided. Where the descent was made they -were relatively small and for the most part wedged with winter snow, -strong enough to bear. Leaving the men to guide the sledges down, we -gaily shot the slope, crevasses and all, on our ski. Though the ice -was rough and much honeycombed, we covered a mile of descent in a few -minutes, “everything safely,” as our dragoman used to say on the Nile -in a gale of wind. At the foot, where the glacier became more level, -prosaic marching order had to be resumed. Klaas Billen Bay was nearing, -a leaden purple, almost black expanse, dotted over with countless -icebergs in the gloomy beclouded evening light. The final descent over -the steep moraine was even more difficult than the ascent, for the -useful snow-strip had melted away and the stones were more unstable -than before. The sledges were seriously knocked about in the process of -lowering; the metal covering of the runners was stripped off and the -runners themselves smashed in two places. They just held together so -that we could drag them over the _débris_ fan and the wide bog beyond -to where our camp was standing uninjured, with the whaleboat drawn up -beside it. - -The general result of this inland excursion was highly satisfactory, -notwithstanding our misfortune with Svensen. It enabled us to record -in outline the general structure of the area included between Wijde -Bay, Dickson Bay, Ice Fjord, Wybe Jans Water, and Hinloopen Strait. -Before the recently undertaken exploration of the interior, Spitsbergen -was supposed to be covered, like Greenland, with a big icesheet. -There were known to be some mountains, but they were described as -nunataks--islands of rock poked up through the enveloping ice. The -nature of the Greenland icesheet is well known; it buries the whole -interior beneath its vast thickness, hiding hills and valleys together -within its mass, and flowing down over them on all sides to the sea, -toward or into which it sends tongues of ice through every gap. All the -glaciers in Greenland are but tongues of a single icesheet. Spitsbergen -was supposed to resemble Greenland in this respect. In 1896 we proved -this view to be erroneous as to the central portion of the island. The -belt of land bounded on the south by Bell Sound and on the north by -Ice Fjord, and stretching across from sea to sea, is absolutely devoid -of any icesheet. It is a complex of mountains and valleys, amongst -which are many glaciers indeed, as there are amidst the mountains of -Central Europe, but no continuous covering of ice. Each glacier is a -separate unit, having its own catchment area and drainage system. The -valleys are boggy and relatively fertile, the hillsides bare of snow in -summer up to more than 1000 feet above sea-level. There are lines of -depression between Ice Fjord and Bell Sound, and between Sassen Bay and -the east coast, which are absolutely snow-free throughout the arctic -summer. - -[Illustration: THE COLORADO PLATEAU.] - -We had a suspicion that the area between Foreland Sound and Ice Fjord -was not covered by an icesheet, but we still thought it probable that -one would be found in the region north-east of Ice Fjord. The result -of our present expedition was to prove this not to be the case. We -traversed a great deal of glacier and snowfield, but none belonging to -a true icesheet. The whole of this region, which I have named Garwood -Land, after my excellent companion, is a glaciated mountain and valley -system. Each glacier in it is a clearly-marked unit, with its evident -watersheds dividing it from its neighbours. North of the Chydenius -range, by which Garwood Land is bounded, there does come a true -icesheet covering the whole of New Friesland and flowing down to the -sea on all sides. North-East Land, too, is buried under an icesheet. -These are the only ones in the Spitsbergen archipelago. - -The mountains of Garwood Land are remains of a denuded plateau, -resembling those of the Sassendal region. They have been carved out -by a denuding agent eating a series of valleys back into the plateau. -Readers of my former book, “The First Crossing of Spitsbergen,” will -remember how many examples of the rapid formation and extension of -valleys by the eating back of the head-waters are there recorded. -The Colorado Berg north of the Sassendal was the best example of the -process. That plateau, now bare of ice, is being rapidly cut up into -separate hills by the excavation of a series of deep, narrow cañons, -which will widen and creep further back year by year. Now, the hills -of Garwood Land are of a similar type. The wide, deep valley, into the -head of which we looked down from our farthest point, sends back into -the plateau (or remnant of a plateau) a number of tributary valleys, -all of the same deep, gently sloping, steep-headed type. From many -indications we concluded that a series of similar valley-heads and -cliffs lay to the eastward of our whole route from where we turned back -as far as the Terrier. This row of cliffs and bluffs probably flanks -the eastern watershed of the Nordenskiöld Glacier. The bad weather that -prevented our ascent of the Terrier prevented also the verification of -this hypothesis. - -If we could assume that Garwood Land was at any time considerably less -glacier-covered than it now is, so that its valleys were bog-bottomed -like the Sassendal, and its uplands resembled the Colorado Berg, it -would be easy to account for the present configuration of the land -surface. We should say that it was formed by aqueous denudation, and -subsequently covered up by the increase of the ice. It is certain -that there has been a great increase in the ice-supply on the land -hereabouts during the last two centuries, for in that time the Negri -Glacier has advanced at least fifteen, probably twenty, miles into the -sea along a front fifteen miles in width. This fact, however, does -not suffice as foundation for so great an assumption. It is rather to -the steady elevation of the land that we must look for a solution. -Everywhere in Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen the land is known to -be rising. The western belt of the island has been longer exposed to -denudation than the east belt. The latter, therefore, has perhaps been -later elevated. It came up from the sea as relatively flat ground. As -its elevation continued this flat ground was raised into a plateau. -At first it did not reach the level of perpetual snow, so that whilst -rising it was being cut down into valleys and cañons by the action of -water, pouring off from the plateau over its edge, and hurrying down -a frost-split rock-face. The bed of such a valley has of necessity a -very gentle slope. The head is steep, almost a cliff, the whole face of -which is being continually stripped off, so that the valley, once begun -by a waterfall over the edge of the horizontally stratified plateau, -penetrates steadily backward. - -These valleys once formed, with their steep heads and sides, would -maintain themselves even after the remains of the plateau were covered -with an icesheet and the valleys filled with glaciers. There is no -need to predicate for the glaciers any power of erosion; that is not -the way arctic icesheets act, for the upper layers of ice flow over -the lower at a far greater speed than is the case in glaciers under -lower latitudes. Given an existing cliff, however, with a glacier -below it, and the denuding agencies of frost and water at work upon -it, that cliff tends to maintain itself and to eat its way back into -the mountain mass behind, for its _débris_ fall upon the glacier below -and are carried away; they do not pile themselves up into a protecting -slope at the base of the cliff. This eating-back process will go -forward with unequal speed according to the varying qualities of the -rocks. Bays will thus be formed and will eat back into the plateau, -just as the gullies eat back in the Sassendal region, only the bays -will tend to grow wider in proportion to their depth in a glaciated -country than in a region mainly bare of snow and ice. - -For this process to begin it is necessary that somewhere a rock-face -should be exposed to the air. The exposure may be produced by a fault, -or by a denuding process begun before the land was much glaciated. We -are in no position yet to assert how the process commenced in Garwood -Land, but that the bays, valleys, and cliffs now existing are being -maintained in the manner above described is certain. If the ice were -again to cover up the Colorado Berg and the hills opposite, and were -to flow into and down the Sassendal to Sassen Bay, the aspect of that -region would resemble that of Garwood Land to-day. It is only in the -case of a country like Greenland, entirely buried under an icecap -thousands of feet thick, through which, save along the coast, no -rock appears and no cliff is exposed--it is only in such a country -that the conservative action of ice is complete and the modelling of -an elevated land-mass into hills is practically arrested. Hence the -scientific importance of distinguishing between a proper icesheet -(in the Greenland sense) and a mere assemblage of separate glaciers, -however large in volume and intimate in their connexion with one -another. An icesheet, or inland-ice, operates in a totally different -manner from a series of glaciers. Save in North-East Land and in the -part of Spitsbergen called New Friesland, there is no proper icesheet -in Spitsbergen, and the phrase “inland-ice” should be expunged from -maps and descriptions of regions to which it is not applicable. A -chief and no unimportant result of our explorations in the interior of -Spitsbergen is this discovery that the parts supposed to be enveloped -in an icesheet are in fact merely glacier regions. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -BY WATER TO KINGS BAY - - -On awaking in relative luxury, by the shore of Klaas Billen Bay, late -in the afternoon of July 21, we were far from pushing eagerly forward -to the labours of the day. It seemed so good to be in a well-stored -camp, with no need to husband fuel or count teaspoonfuls of cocoa and -sugar or fills of tobacco. Moreover, our wet clothes were drying over a -lamp in the men’s tent, drying all too thoroughly indeed, for Svensen -permitted the soles to be burnt off the stockings. A final visit was -made to the glacier-foot to photograph the wonderful cliff. Every -prominent feature noticed a week before had fallen away, including -a huge cavern that penetrated far into the solid mass of the ice. -Returning to camp, Garwood found trilobites in a section of rock by -the shore, and they were good excuse for further lingering. Ultimately -the boat was hauled into the water, camp struck, and baggage loaded. -The men rowed round the spit while we walked across to De Geer’s -camping-ground. At 10.30 P.M. they took us on board and we made sail -for Advent Bay. - -It was a feeble attempt at sailing, for no sooner did we really quit -the shore than the last puff of wind died away. A beautiful mist hung -low near the calm water, which presently became utterly smooth like -a mirror of polished steel. There was just a purple line of shore -on either hand dividing the roof of cloud from its reflection. De -Geer’s signals, built on his trigonometrical points along the level -coast, alone broke its uniformity. Far, far away the peaks of the -Dead Man appeared in blue and sunshine on the horizon. Without rowing -no progress was to be made. At 3 A.M. we were opposite the mouth -of Skans Bay. Countless birds were resting all around on the still -water--puffins in pairs, like lovers always near to one another; -little auks, the babies of the feathery tribe; fulmar petrels, the -strong youths; terns, the fair maidens; skuas, the inquisitive old -maids; guillemots, the populace; glaucous gulls, the police. A flock -of fulmars kept us company, flying about and across, then settling on -the water ahead to await our slow advance. When we caught up with them, -flap and run, off they went again. This game pleased their minds and -wings for an hour or more. - -Spitsbergen weather makes for itself an undeservedly bad reputation. -For example, the low roof of cloud that hung above us all this night, -however beautiful the colouring cast by it on the landscape, and it -was gorgeous beyond words, certainly produced an effect of gloom. It -was long before we discovered how thin was the layer of mist, thin as -well as low lying, and that above it all the hills were shining in -brilliant sunlight. Through occasional small holes a peak or crest -would appear, so incredibly bright as to seem actually aglow with -internal fire. Behind us the fog lay upon the water, but ahead the -hills across Ice Fjord were clear, and sunshine lured us on. Camp was -to be pitched on one of the Goose Islands--that we had long decided; -the only trouble was that the islands would not approach. We rowed -and rowed, but they were coy. One might have sworn that they were -drifting away. All of a sudden they changed their minds and neared us -so rapidly that, when next we turned round, they were close at hand. -They consist of diabase, with surface cut low and polished by ice into -gentle undulations. Bog has collected in the hollows and there are a -few pools. The sea front all round is a low cliff of dark, shattered -rocks. Entering a narrow sound between the two larger islands, we -came into an admirable land-locked harbour with an old camping-place -close by. Garwood went after eider-ducks for dinner, whilst I saw to -the domestic arrangements. The soft ground proved to be a quagmire, -so we had to camp in the wet, choosing a spot close by a well-built -fireplace, over which big whalebones had been crossed to carry the pot. -The last visitors, a year ago, had kindly left for us a good pile of -cut-up firewood ready at hand. No sooner was the fire burning well than -a smart breeze sprang up, now that it could not serve for sailing, and -blew straight into the fireplace, carrying the smoke directly over to -the tents. The same breeze cleared away the clouds and brought sunshine -indeed, but was the father of many out-compensating discomforts. - -After a long sleep, breakfast was eaten at 6 P.M. (July 22) in a -grey-toned, blustery evening. An hour was devoted to wandering over -the islands. They are the home of many birds, especially eiders, which -breed there in multitudes, making their nests upon the ground. We -filled a large bag with down. Many of the nests were just abandoned -and there were lots of young birds about--terns, geese, and skuas come -on a visit, as well as the common enemy and scavenger, the glaucous, -whom the ducks saluted with angry quacking. On shelves of a little -diabase cliff I found a bevy of snow-buntings, most charming of arctic -dicky-birds. Brilliant yellow lichens made the rocks gaudy with -flaming colour. The bogs were the greenest I ever saw, whilst in drier -places the flower carpet was as bright as Alice’s in Wonderland. On a -clear, calm day this would be a lovely spot for dawdling, the islands -being grandly placed for views straight up Klaas Billen and Sassen -bays and down Ice Fjord. But the chilly evening was not favourable -for contemplation. I only remember noticing with pleasure the fine, -gable-fronted crest of some precipitous limestone peaks which look down -on Klaas Billen Bay and prolong into it the characteristic structure of -Temple Mountain and its neighbours. - -We sailed away about 7.30 P.M., with a moderate breeze coming out of -Sassen Bay. How so little wind could put such a topple on to the sea -I could not understand, but so it always is in the inner parts of Ice -Fjord. Sitting still in the boat, we were soon miserably chilled down. -Conversation flagged. Svensen expressed the general gloom by singing -a slow and solemn Norwegian hymn in a deep bass voice. It seemed to -cheer him, for he followed it up with a more mundane melody, sung in -an uncertain falsetto. Thereupon the Cambridge contingent gave tongue -with “The River Cam,” which drifted into a topical song, endlessly -prolonged, whereof the chorus lingers in my memory yet: - - Sailing away over Sassen Bay, - Where the waters are always rough, - If pleasure you take as you shiver and shake, - You’ll jolly soon have enough. - -In three hours Ice Fjord was crossed and the beginning of the line of -cliffs approached, west of Hyperite Hat. Here the wind failed, just -where it always used to fail last year. A long row transferred the -heavy boat to the low point outside the mouth of Advent Bay, down which -a stiff breeze was hurrying. We sailed across to the farther shore, -where I landed to walk to the tourist-hut, leaving Garwood, who is an -enthusiastic sailor--which I am not--to beat round Advent Point to the -landing-place. - -The inn contained a merry party, just returned in the _Kvik_ from a -visit to Lomme Bay, Wahlenburg’s Bay, and Wijde Bay. They were full of -pleasant talk and recent reminiscences of walrus, seal, and reindeer -hunting. With their help our camp was soon pitched and our goods -landed. More than three hours could not be spared to slumber, for, -at 7.30 A.M. on the 23rd, the tourist steamer _Lofoten_ came in from -Norway, bringing mails. With her came perfect sunshine and delightful -warmth. Not, indeed, that there was any time for mere pleasure. I had -a solar observation to take, the baggage to overhaul, and a mail to -despatch, whilst all was to be prepared for sailing next day in the -_Kvik_ for Kings Bay. There was no hitch. - -In due course Advent Bay was again left behind, and we were on our way -down Ice Fjord, once more with a few companions. Among them were the -Swedish botanist, Herr Ekstam, and Mr. Baldwin, who was in Greenland -with Lieut. Peary. Ekstam was to be left at Coles Bay, which I was -thus enabled to visit. It is a dreary place, with a great extent of -bogflat at its head, stretching far inland up a wide, desolate valley. -At the end appears to be a pass to Low Sound. There are several similar -valleys extending westward, one more uninviting than another. I suppose -the bog near the bay is “Coles Park, a good place for venison, well -known to Thomas Ayers,” as Pelham says, writing in 1631. Coal having -in recent years been found in the bay, the name has been confused from -Coles to Coal. - -In the smallest hours of the morning of the 25th the _Kvik_ entered -Foreland Sound. I have traversed this waterway from end to end on four -separate occasions without experiencing clear weather. This time there -was the usual cloud-roof, but it was high, so that we became in some -degree acquainted with the remarkably fine scenery of the passage. The -mountain tops were covered, but the glaciers were disclosed, and it is -the glaciers that give to the sound its distinctive character. At first -they are only on the east coast, a series draining the mountains north -of the Dead Man. When these come to an end there follows a dull front -of bare slopes as far as the opening of St. John’s Bay, the Osborne’s -Inlet of the early charts. The southern quarter of the Foreland, if the -Saddle Mountain at its south cape be excepted, consists of a plain, -almost absolutely flat, and raised but a few feet above sea-level. It -may be called Flatland. I have been told that Russian trappers used -to frequent it; but there does not appear to be any published account -whatever of a landing on it. No more featureless or uniform expanse can -be conceived. It covers an area of fifty square miles, according to -the chart, which, however, is most inaccurate hereabouts. This plain -is indicated by nature as _the_ place for laying out a base whenever -Spitsbergen shall be used for the measurement of a meridian arc. North -of Flatland comes a well-defined mountain group containing fine peaks. -It is bounded by a deep depression running from Peter Winter’s Bay in -a south-west direction, right across the Foreland to the ocean. Peter -Winter’s Bay is well to the north of St. John’s Bay, though marked -south of it on the chart. It is indicated correctly enough by Giles and -Reps on the remarkable Dutch chart published after 1707 by Gerard van -Keulen. There it is named Zeehonde Bay, whilst a secluded anchorage -in its north coast, just within the entrance, bears the designation -Pieter Winter’s Baaytje. North of Peter Winter’s and St. John’s bays -the glaciers follow one another in quick succession on both shores. -On the east there are eight of them between St. John’s and English -bays, whereof the two biggest, at the north and south ends, reach -the sea. The opposite coast of the Foreland is an almost continuous -glacier-front backed by a wall of snowy peaks.[6] The shallow place -which stopped Barents and renders the channel impassable, except by -small vessels, is off this glacier-front. The _Expres_ used to run -over it and bump if she felt inclined. The _Kvik_ was navigated more -gingerly, so that the passage over the Bar occupied a couple of hours, -soundings being diligently taken all the time. - -At the head of English Bay is a great glacier, flowing from the -south-east and receiving many tributaries, noted later on. North of it -come prominent hills with a wide lowland stretched before them, ending -in a flat point named Quade Hook--that is, “the Evil Cape.” Rounding -this cape, we slipped into Kings Bay and steered for its head, across -the whole breadth of which was the great front of the Kings Glacier -awaiting its first explorers. Clouds hung low down, and there was no -distant view inland, not so much indeed as we had seen the previous -year. We afterward came to know it well, so for clearness’ sake I may -take the liberty of brushing the clouds away and describing the general -arrangement of the hills and glaciers, with which the reader is invited -to make closer acquaintance in the following pages. - -[Illustration: KINGS BAY GLACIER.] - -Let him, then, return with me to the mouth of the bay, and, standing -there, face to the east, with Quade Hook on his right hand. He will be -looking straight up the bay. On his left hand will be Mitra Hook, so -named from the pointed mitre peak which Scoresby climbed. This exit to -the sea between Mitra and Quade hooks is common to both Kings and Cross -bays, which are divided from one another by a rectangular mountain -mass. Cross Bay is unknown to me. It is said to be one of the finest -bays in Spitsbergen. The mountains on either side of it are steep, and -magnificent glaciers fall into its head, one of them ending in the -finest ice-cliff in this part of the world. Cross Bay runs in to the -north, Kings Bay to the east. Kings Bay is broad at first, with low, -flat coasts, beyond which mountains rise to a moderate height. Farther -in, the sides approach somewhat, where there is a low cape to the south -with Coal Haven and some islands just round the corner, whilst on the -north is the protruding hilly mass of Blomstrand’s Mound, five or six -hundred feet high, with a cove at each end of it (Blomstrand’s Harbour -to the west, Deer Bay to the east), and in each cove a glacier ending -in the sea. It is not till this narrower place has been traversed -that the splendour of Kings Bay is fully beheld. Within, the bay is -a circle about six miles in diameter, ringed around with an almost -continuous series of glaciers, whereof only those on the south are cut -off from the sea by a belt of low-lying ground. Scattered about the -inner bay are Lovén’s Islands, some of which we shall presently visit. -On the south the mountains are of bold and pointed form. They are the -watershed between Kings and English bays. On the north, however, is a -far more noble group, culminating in two peaks that resemble the Dom -and Täschhorn of Zermatt. These peaks are small, of course, but they -look no whit less fine than their Alpine fellows, and no one acquainted -with the Alps would guess them to be smaller than peaks of the great -range. From and about these mountains flow magnificent glaciers, whose -upper ramifications were too complicated to be sketched on the map -from so distant an inspection. The remainder of the view, the whole -eastward end of the bay, is occupied by the face of a single mighty -glacier, splendid beyond exaggeration. It is no smooth expanse of ice, -but a splintered and broken torrent, which submerges islands of rock -and flows over or about them with tortuous and tormented sweep. A few -miles in, this glacier divides, just as Cross and Kings bays divide, -the wider constituent being the Crowns Glacier, coming from the north, -the other the King’s Highway, up which you go to the south-east. -Between them is the mountain mass, whereof the famous Three Crowns are -the most remarkable, though not the highest peaks. Of course there -are plenty of minor tributary glaciers, as the reader will learn soon -enough; one only need be mentioned. It runs into the midst of the -Crowns group and divides it in half, separating the Three Crowns on -the north from the Pretender and the Two Queens on the south. Up this -glacier lies the shortest route across the land from Kings to Ekman -bay. If the reader has comprehended so dull a geographical description, -he can understand our general line of route in exploring this most -beautiful and interesting region, which seems to be intended by Nature -for the arctic “Playground of Europe.” - -Advancing up the bay in the _Kvik_, we could see little of the -wonderful panorama. Clouds hid the Crowns and all but the bases of the -nearer hills. As our intention was to make our way inland, we required -to be put ashore at the best point for climbing on to the glacier. We -headed, therefore, for the middle of the face, where an island of rock -rises partly out of the sea, partly through the ice. It soon became -apparent that this would not do, for the glacier all round it was -broken into such a chaos of seracs as to be absolutely untraversable -in any direction. One could only land at the north or south angle of -the bay. The north angle might have suited, but the slopes behind it -seemed steep to drag sledges up; we therefore chose the south. I am not -sure that we chose right. The inner part of the bay was dotted over -with floating masses of ice fallen from the glacier. They became more -numerous the farther we advanced. At last the skipper said he could not -venture on, so our boat was lowered and the baggage stowed into it. -After bidding adieu to our friends and arranging with the captain to -call for us at midnight, August 11-12, we rowed away. - -It was high tide, so there were no falls taking place from the long -glacier-front, which was fortunate, seeing that we had to pass pretty -close under it. The cliff was even finer than that of the Nordenskiöld -Glacier, because it was more splintered. At 5 P.M. we came ashore on -the end of a fan of stone and mud _débris_, laid down by a stream -just in front of the left foot of Kings Glacier. The glacier ends on -this fan with a curving moraine-covered slope, by which access could -be attained to a relatively smooth surface leading inwards in the -direction we desired to take. The boat was hauled up, the baggage -dragged and carried about a hundred yards inland to the nearest -suitable camping-ground. Necessary arrangements occupied the remainder -of the day. The sun bursting through the cloud-roof illuminated the -glacier-front with fine splashes of light, manifesting its blue caverns -and silver spires. Thundering falls of ice presently set in and -followed one another in rapid succession, now near at hand, now far -away. A big iceberg was stranded on the shore just off our point, and -a number of fulmars settled down upon it and went to sleep. Amidst such -surroundings there was always plenty of entertainment, besides that -delightful expectation of the unknown and unforeseen which is said to -have bedevilled Ulysses. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE KING’S HIGHWAY - - -The next morning (July 26), being beautifully fine, was devoted to -an astronomical determination of our position and other preparations -for carrying on a survey. A preliminary expedition up the glacier -occupied the afternoon. An easy way was found on to the ice, but there -luck turned, for, as a matter of fact, we were not really on the -Kings Glacier itself, but on the foot of a small tributary flowing -round from an enclosed basin on the south and divided from the main -glacier by an immense moraine. This moraine would have to be crossed; -we knew enough of dragging sledges over moraines to foresee something -of the troubles thus provided. We wandered over the small glacier to -the foot of a peak standing in the angle between it and the Highway. -Then Garwood and Nielsen set off to climb the peak (Mount Nielsen -3120 ft.) by its rotten _arête_, whilst I with Svensen went on to -investigate the moraine and find the best way over it. Returning the -first to camp, I sat in the door, watching the wonder of the glacier’s -terminal cliff, its bold towers, tottering pinnacles, and sections -of crevasses with fallen blocks wedged into their jaws. Lumps of ice -were continually falling. Fortunate enough to be gazing in the right -direction, I saw a monster pinnacle come down. First a few fragments -were crushed out from right and left near its base; then the whole -tower seemed to sink vertically, smashing up within as it gave way, -and finally toppling over and shooting forward into the water, which -it dashed aloft. The resulting wave spread and broke around, hurling -the floating blocks against one another, and upsetting the balance of -many. Its widening undulation could be traced far away by the stately -courtesy of the rocking icebergs. The front of the cliff was barred -across with sunlight and shadow, throwing into relief this and the -other icy pinnacle, above some blue wall or gloomy cavern. Behind the -wall the glacier was not smooth, but broken into a tumult of seracs, -like the most ruinous icefall in the Alps, as far as the eye could -reach. Varying illumination on this splintered area evoked all manner -of resemblances for the play of a vagrant imagination. Sometimes the -glacier looked like an innumerable multitude of white-robed penitents, -sometimes like the tented field of a great army, sometimes like a -frozen cataract. Its suggestiveness was boundless, its beauty always -perfect; moreover, it was worthily framed. The mountains that enclose -it are fine in form, with splintered ridges, steep _couloirs_, and -countless high-placed glaciers, caught on ledges or sweeping down to -join the great ice-river. - -Garwood returned full of a satisfaction which Nielsen heartily shared. -The scramble had been exhilarating, the view superb. There was no -ice-sheet visible, only mountains everywhere, with glaciers between. -The moraine once passed, our way was open ahead up ice apparently -smooth. After supper I set out alone in the opposite direction along -the shore, for the purpose of starting the plane-table survey from a -well-marked eminence near the foot of the second side-glacier, whose -black, terminal slope curves round and up with singular regularity -of form. The walk was beautiful, the ice-dappled sea being always -close at hand with noble hills beyond. There were plenty of torrents -to wade, besides one which had to be jumped. It flows down a gully -cut sharply into the dolomite rock. Below the glacier are ice-worn -rocks, both rounded and grooved; but the direction of the grooves -is at right-angles to that of the axis of the glacier, so that they -appear to have been scratched when the main Kings Glacier extended -thus much farther and higher. Returning, I kept close along the margin -of the bay. Innumerable fragments of crystal-clear ice, each filled -with sunshine, danced in the breaking ripples. The water splashed -amongst them, singing a cheerful song which was altogether new to me. -The cliff-front of the glacier ahead was darkened with shadow, and -represented a battlemented wall with deep portals leading through to a -white marble city within. - -On the following day, sun brightly shining and breezes blowing fresh, -we loaded up two sledges with food for ten days, and set forth up -the King’s Highway. A laborious struggle took the sledges past the -terminal moraine, but the ice beyond was dotted with frequent stones, -so that the runners were generally foul of one or more. The slope was -very steep. Reaching a more level place, we encountered ice so humpy -that the sledges were always on their noses or their tails. Then came -a cañon, 50 feet or so deep, and about 20 feet wide. We had to track -alongside of it in an undesired direction till a doubtful-looking -bridge was found, over which a passage could be risked. More lumpy ice -followed till we were level with the foot of Mount Nielsen, where a -smoother area was entered on. Here I left the caravan and climbed to -the top of a hump on the _arête_ of the peak to continue the survey. -My solitary industry was enlivened by the neighbourhood of countless -nesting birds, snow buntings, little auks, and guillemots, whose home -is in the cliffs. Thus far the big moraine was close by on our left -hand, mountains on our right; the level stretch of ice led between -the two to the meeting of moraine and mountain at the entrance of -the next side valley beyond Mount Nielsen. Here the stone-strip had -to be crossed. I came up with the others just as the crossing began. -We thought the moraine belt at this point would be but a few yards -in width. It was more than half a mile. We only found that out after -unloading the sledges and taking every man his burden. They were -carried over, a return made for more, the process repeated, and so on -for two whole hours--a heartbreaking experience. It was a hilly moraine -or set of moraines, with two main ascents and descents besides several -minor undulations. Footing was, of course, on loose stones only. In -such places laden men slip about, bark their shins, twist their ankles, -and lose their tempers. Beyond the stones came humpy ice again, ridged -into short, steep undulations. A sledge required vigorous hoisting -over each of them, the distance from trough to trough being about five -yards, and the ridges transverse to our line of route. “On every hump,” -said Nielsen, “a sledge capsizes.” Certainly one sledge or the other -was generally rolling over on its back. After six hours of hard work -we agreed to camp (460 feet)--“the hardest day’s work I’ve done in a -long time,” was Nielsen’s comment, and we believed him, for he put his -back into it with hearty goodwill. Only when the tents were pitched had -we leisure to enjoy the warm sunshine and the exhilarating, absolutely -calm air. Out on the ice we could sit in our shirt-sleeves without -being chilled. All around spread the great glacier in its beauty; the -sky overhead was blue; the bay reflected the sunshine; fleeces of mist -adorned the hilltops. In that perfect hour we craved for nothing save -the company of absent friends. - -[Illustration: AN EASY PLACE.] - -The next day (July 28) we made good progress, ascending 720 feet and -covering a long distance. None of it was easy-going; in fact, when you -have sledges to drag there is no easy going except on the flat. Every -stage of a glacier has its own troubles. First comes the steep snout -and its moraine, then humpy ice and open crevasses, next honeycomb ice -and water-holes, which gradually pass (in fine melting weather) into -glacier covered by waterlogged snow. We began the day with honeycomb -ice and water-holes. The honeycomb ice on the Nordenskiöld Glacier -made rather good travelling; it was otherwise on the King’s Highway. -Several fine days had flooded the surface with water, so that, where -crevasses ceased and the water had no downward outlet, it was obliged -to trickle about, forming pools, rills, and rivers, all in different -ways perplexing to the traveller. The cells of the honeycomb ice were -thus full of water, and, as they gave way under the pressure of a -tread, the foot crunched through into water at every step. By slow -degrees the honeycomb was replaced by sodden snow, which grew steadily -deeper as we advanced to higher levels. Here the whole surface shone in -the sunlight, for the water oozed about in pools and sluggish streams, -forming square miles of slush. There were brief intervals of dryness -where the surface rose in some perceptible slope, but they were short, -the almost flat waterlogged areas covered the larger part of the region -to be traversed. If the march was uncomfortable and toilsome, each -could laugh at the antics of the others. We steered a devious route, -seeking to follow the white patches and to avoid the glassy blue areas -where water actually came to the surface. But all that looked white -was not solid. You would see the leader shuffling gingerly forward on -his ski, trying to pretend that he was a mere bubble of lightness. -Suddenly, through he would go up to the knee, the points of his ski -would catch in the depths and a mighty floundering ensue. The sledges -got into similar fixes, and often added to the confusion by rolling -over most inopportunely. The leading sledge usually served to indicate -a way to be avoided, so, before very long, the two parties wandered -asunder and enjoyed one another’s struggles and perplexities from a -distance. - -It is obvious that Nature must provide some sort of a drainage -system for such a quantity of water. The bogs and pools leak into -one another and by degrees cut channels with ill-defined banks of -snow, along which the current slowly crawls. By union of such streams -strong-flowing torrents are formed; these make deep cuttings into the -glacier and unite into a trunk river, deep, swift, and many yards wide. -Every uncrevassed side glacier above the snowline pours out a similar -river on to the surface of the main glacier, and these rivers in their -turns presently join the trunk stream. Thus, whatever route you take, -whether you keep near the trunk stream or far from it, the side streams -have to be crossed. The crossing of them is often a tough business. -Their icebanks are about twelve feet high and usually vertical; their -volume of water is too considerable to be waded, seeing that their -beds are of smooth, slippery, blue ice, on which footing cannot be -maintained for a moment. They are seldom less than four yards wide. -The blue strip with the clear water between the white walls is always -a lovely sight, but to a traveller quite as tantalising. A crossing -can only be accomplished where the water has chanced to undercut one -of the banks and at the same time to leave a level place beside it at -the foot of the other bank. You can then jump over with some hope of -gaining a footing where you land. The sledges have to follow with a -perilous bump. Rarely you may find a snow-bridge. In search of possible -crossings we had to travel alongside of these streams, time and again, -far out of our line of route, whilst, to make matters worse, it -happened that we were on the wrong side of the trunk river; thus that -also had to be crossed, a problem apparently insoluble, till a great -and well-blessed bridge was found just at the end of the day’s march. - -Nielsen worked like a horse all day long, his full weight thrown -forward and his body inclined at a surprising angle. Svensen, by the -gestures of his arms and the sorry expression of his countenance, -looked as if he were labouring exceedingly, but of his towering -frame the vertical was the customary attitude, and if the one of us -who was sharing his sledge left off pulling for a moment the sledge -mysteriously stuck fast. There were, indeed, signs of a return of -Svensen’s malady; but it was explained to him that, regard being had to -the comfortable warmth of the weather and absence of wind, his health -was not to be deranged, and that, if it should happen that he could not -go on with us, doing his full share of work, he would have to find his -way back to the coast alone. Thenceforward he throve exceedingly, and -only penalised us by “sugaring” when not closely watched. - -The character of the scenery changed considerably during the progress -of the march. Our first camp looked up both the Crowns and Highway -glaciers and was opposite the big nunatak which divides them. It is a -true nunatak, or hilltop rising from the bed of the glacier, not an -entire mountain surrounded by different glaciers. At one time it must -have been buried under ice, for all its top seems to be moutonnised. -The Crowns and Queens groups were both well seen from the same camp, -or would have been but for a few clouds. As we advanced, the Crowns -disappeared behind the Pretender and Queens, and we came under the -rounded and bare south slopes of these--a dull prospect. But new -objects of interest were appearing in the other direction, where the -Highway Glacier widened out and branched off into white bays and -tributaries, separated from one another by peaks of striking and -precipitous form, finely grouped. When the Three Crowns were finally -hidden, there opened out on the left side of the Highway a broad -valley, south-westward, that bent round to the west and soon reached a -wide snow pass, beyond which, still curving round, it led down to the -glacier emptying into the head of English Bay. - -All day long we were rounding away from the purple fjord and visibly -leaving it behind, though the distance to the watershed in front did -not perceptibly diminish. The weather continued fine, though not clear; -the sun peeped through the mottled sky from time to time, but fogs -rolled about like big snowballs on the higher _névés_. Camp was pitched -(1180 feet) in the midst of the widest part of the glacier about a mile -below the point where it bifurcates, each branch leading up to a wide -snow pass of its own. The north branch continues the direction of the -lower part of the glacier, so we decided to go to it. A widening wedge -of peaks divides the cols, and coming down to a sharp _arête_ buries -itself beneath the ice at Junction Point (named because it must be -referred to again in the course of this narrative). - -The 29th was a glorious day. Resolutions were made that we would march -on to the watershed, whatever its distance. It is as easy to change -these resolves in the afternoon as to make them in the morning. The -pools of water were now left behind, but the snow on the surface of the -ice was still sodden and slushy. In the first three-quarters of an hour -we rose 120 feet, and reached the end of the ridge at Junction Point. -Rocks were here disclosed, so Garwood went off geologising. The rest of -us plunged into an island of fog, and hauled on up a steep slope, where -the snow became good, and thenceforward remained in perfect condition -for ski at that and all higher levels. Without ski it would have been -impossible to do much, for we should have sunk up to, or above, the -knee in snow, over which, with them, we slid in luxury. Above this -slope the fog ended, and a wide, very gently sloping plain of snow -followed, stretching afar on all sides. This is the highest basin and -gathering ground of the glacier. It is almost level with the passes -that divide the mountains on the north. If we had but known that the -same is true of the _névé_ on the other side of those passes, we might -have saved ourselves the long round of a few days later. Now that -there was no water to trouble us, we suffered acutely from thirst, for -the day was quite hot and the sun burned fiercely. We peeled off our -garments one by one and rejoiced in an unwonted freedom. - -The mountains bordering the King’s Highway average somewhat over 3000 -feet in height. As the level of the glacier rises, the lower slopes -are more deeply covered and the visible remainder of the peaks comes -to be not much above 1000 feet. They appear, moreover, to stand wider -apart from one another, and the glacier, filling the valley more -deeply, becomes itself considerably wider. Nevertheless, such is the -fine form of the mountains that they still appear large, especially -to an eye trained in greater ranges. Being themselves magnified, -they proportionally magnify the aspect of the glacial expanse, which -pretends to be of quite enormous extent--a spotless desert of purest -white. The views on all sides were of entrancing beauty, especially -the view back down the blue vista of Kings Bay. The broad white col -ahead seemed for hours little elevated above us. There were far, -coy, tantalising peaks over and beyond. From the col itself rose a -small mound, perhaps 500 feet high, by the foot of which it was our -intention to camp, but hour passed after hour, and it never seemed -nearer. - -Busied with the survey, perforce I lagged behind and was alone in the -midst of a world of whiteness. A lengthening shadow was my sole moving -companion, save when some stray fulmar petrel came whizzing by, _en -route_ from Kings Bay to Ice Fjord. The tracks of foxes were crossed -not infrequently, but no fox did I actually see. At 9 P.M. the col -was apparently as far off as ever, and Nielsen had done as much work -as a man could be expected to do in a day. Svensen didn’t count, as -he always put on the aspect of a moribund person. He expressed a full -agreement with Nielsen’s ejaculation, “We’ll have to have plenty of -soup for this.” Ultimately we gave up till the morrow the resolved -pursuit of the pass and camped at a height of 2170 feet, having risen -about 1000 feet during the day. The first thing done was to melt snow -for a debauch. Deep were our potions; the insipid draught tasted for -once like divine nectar. The sun continued his bright shining and the -tents were warm within. We lay on our bags, enjoying the simple beauty -of the view seen through the open door. Each deep-trodden footprint in -front was a cup filled with a shadow of purest blue, pale like the sky. -A white expanse followed, slightly mottled with blue in the foreground -and sparkling as with diamonds; it stretched away for about five miles -to the great blue shadow, which the wall of rocks and ridge of snow in -the north cast wide from the low-hanging sun. There was not a sound, -not a breath of moving air; no bird came by; not an insect hummed. It -was an hour of absolute stillness and perfect repose. - -We tried to sleep, but in the bright sunshine no ghost of slumber would -consent to visit the camp, till clouds at last came up which barred -snow and sky across in grey and silver, robbing the shadows of their -blue, and lowering the temperature to a comfortable degree. Then sleep -descended, and coming late lingered with us all too long, so that it -was noon of the 30th before we were again on the way. The snow was now -soft and the apparent level proved, by the evidence of the sledges, to -be a steady uphill slope. For an hour the pass kept its distance; then, -on a sudden, it was near. Excitement rose. What should we see? What -was beyond? We knew that the slope on the other side must be toward -Ice Fjord, but that was all. The east coast of what I have named King -James Land[7] is well seen from Advent Bay and other parts of Ice -Fjord. It consists of the fronts of a series of big glaciers and of -the ends of the mountain ranges dividing them. The glaciers and ranges -are approximately parallel to one another, running from north-west -to south-east. We therefore thought it probable that we should look -down some glacier from the col, but doubted which. Arrived on the pass -(2500 feet), there, in fact, was a glacier directly continuing the -King’s Highway down to the eastern waters, for it apparently ended in -the fjord. Far off, and still in the same line, was the purple recess -of Advent Bay. A beautiful row of peaks, pleasantly varied in form -(for there were needles and snowy domes and pyramids among them), -lined the glacier on either side, the last on both hands being bolder -and more massive towers of rock than the rest. We afterward easily -identified these peaks from Advent Bay, whence also on a clear morning -I confirmed our observations by looking straight up this same glacier -and recognising Highway Pass. - -Camp was pitched on the pass and preparations made for a day’s -exploring in the neighbourhood. It was warm, the temperature in the -tents being 59° Fahr., whilst the direct rays of sunshine really -scorched. The condition of the snow may be imagined. Without ski, -progress in any direction would have involved intolerable discomfort -and labour. Close at hand on the north was a hill about 500 feet high, -to which we gave the name Highway Dome. It was the obvious point to be -ascended for a panoramic view. There was a _bergschrund_ at the foot of -it, and then a long snow slope up which we had to zigzag. Unfortunately -by the time the summit had been gained the sun was obscured by clouds, -which were boiling in the north as though for a thunderstorm. The hills -of known position near Advent Bay were likewise obscured by cloud, so -that my three-legged theodolite had made this ascent to little purpose, -but the panorama was clear in the main and the colouring all the richer -for the cloud-roof. - -We were standing at an altitude of about 3000 feet,[8] surrounded by -peaks of similar, or rather greater, elevation. Let no one fancy that -because these heights are insignificant there was any corresponding -insignificance in the view. The effect produced by mountains depends -not upon their altitude, but upon their form, colour, and grouping. -There are no features in a mountain, standing wholly above the -snowline, whereby its absolute magnitude can be estimated by mere -inspection. You may judge of its relative magnitude compared with its -neighbours, but of its absolute magnitude you can only judge when you -have acquired experience of the district. A native of the Himalayas -coming to the Alps would see them double their true size. A Swiss would -halve the Himalayas. A slope of stone _débris_ is the best guide to eye -measurement, because stones break up into small fragments everywhere; -but in these high arctic regions, far within the glaciers, there are no -such slopes. It is only the multitude of mountains seen in any extended -panorama of Spitsbergen that suggests the smallness of the individual -peaks; but this very multitude is itself impressive. To the south, for -instance, we looked across at least five parallel ridges; and there -were indications of others beyond, a very tumult and throng of hills, -none of which could we identify. The opposite direction interested us -more at the moment, for our idea was that we might find there a route -round to the Three Crowns. There was, in fact, a large _névé_ basin, -but so intricately crevassed as to be practically impassable in fog. -One way was discoverable through the labyrinth, and apparently one -only. The weather looked so threatening that we incontinently decided -against making the attempt. This _névé_ was one of several that fed -the next big glacier to the north, which empties into the sea at Ekman -Bay. Beyond it came a chaos of peaks; we learned to know them by sight -well enough a few days later. The waters of Ekman Bay were in view, -and the depression containing Dickson Bay could be traced, then the -wall-fronted mass of the Thordsen Peninsula, and, far off, the high -snow plateau, where we had wandered in the fog a few days before. -Looking back the way we had come, we saw Kings Bay apparently very far -off, much farther than Ice Fjord, which seemed, comparatively speaking, -to lie at our feet. Differences of atmospheric transparency had some -share in producing this effect. - -A cold wind diminished our pleasure on the summit and shortened our -stay. The descent presented problems to inexperienced skisters. The -snow-slope dropped vertically from the summit crest for a yard or so, -and was then very steep. Svensen, an expert on ski, tried to shoot -down, but came a cropper before reaching the gentler incline. We, -of course, fell headlong in hopeless fashion, and all attempts at -glissading failed. Where the slope began to ease off a little a start -was finally made, and a long curving shoot of about a mile carried -us with exhilarating swiftness down to camp. Later on in the day the -ascent was repeated, but with no useful result, for clouds still masked -the important points of reference in the panorama. Excursions were -also made in other directions, and a plan decided on for the morrow. -Clouds kept forming, but only to fade again; by evening the weather was -satisfactorily re-established. The play of shadow on the wide glacial -expanse was inexpressibly lovely. Under full sunshine any very large -_névé_ appears a mere uniform sheet of white, admirable for brilliancy -but lacking in detail. When shadows come, the undulation of the surface -is disclosed by long curves--infinitely delicate and fine in form. -Of course, however bright the sun, there must really be a difference -in the intensity of the light reflected at different points owing -to variations of slope, but this difference is slight, and the eye, -astonished by the brilliancy of sunshine upon snow, is not conscious -of it. But when a cloud comes over the sun and casts a broad shadow -on the _névé_, the varying illumination of the bending field becomes -readily perceptible, though still faint and of marvellous delicacy, and -a new order of beauty is revealed. He would be but a starved lover of -mountain beauty whose eyes should desire to behold the regions of snow -always beneath a cloudless heaven. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -OSBORNE GLACIER AND PRETENDER PASS - - -Explorers in most parts of the world are able to sketch general maps -of large areas, which they may have traversed only along a single -line of route. Undulating country intersected by prominent waterways -and rising at considerable intervals to prominent altitudes can be -mapped in a sketchy fashion by the rapidest traveller, if skilled. A -few compass bearings fix the position of prominent points; positions, -astronomically determined from time to time as opportunity arises, -clamp the whole together and enable it to be adjusted on the proper -part of the globe; whilst, as for details, who cares about them in a -new country? The mountain explorer, however, that person most unpopular -with geographers, is faced by topographical problems of a far more -complicated character. His routes always lie along valleys, whose sides -cut off the distant view and whose bends often prevent him from looking -either ahead or back. When he climbs a peak, assuming him to have a -clear view, which is rare, he beholds a wide panorama, it is true, but, -save in the foreground, it consists of a throng of peaks, whose summits -alone are visible over intervening ridges. If, following tradition, he -laboriously fixes the position of some of them, it is lost labour, for -the mere dotting upon a map of the points of a lot of peaks tells a -geographer nothing. What he wants to know is the number and direction -of ranges, the position of watersheds, the relation of rivers to the -original earth-crinkles which determined their direction and in turn -are so remarkably modified by them. To make merely a sketch-map of a -considerable mountain area thus involves an amount of travel within it -beyond all comparison greater than that entailed by the exploration -of open country. The smaller the scale of the mountains, and the -closer they are packed together, the more frequently must the area be -traversed in different directions before a sketch-map of it can be made. - -King James Land is an example of a region excessively difficult to -map. It is covered by a wonderful multitude of mountains, which may be -described in a general way as planted in ranges running from north-west -to south-east. Of these there are about six principal ones between the -King’s Highway and the Dead Man, and quantities more to the north. -The old-fashioned geographer would have been content to draw parallel -caterpillars on his map and so fill it up. But, as a matter of fact, -there are throngs of subsidiary ranges and crossing hollows, so that -the glacier, flowing down one valley, robs from its neighbour the -snow accumulated in its upper reservoir; and it is exactly in these -phenomena that the geographical interest of the region consists, for -they show how ice-denudation works, and the kind of modelling effect -which ice can produce on a land surface, an effect totally different in -kind from that fabled by home-staying geologists, with their imagined -excavating ice-streams. - -Thus far we had only made acquaintance with one glacier-valley cutting -across the island from Kings Bay to Ice Fjord. We determined to look -into another, to the south, before turning northward to the Crowns -group. On July 31 we accordingly broke up camp, loaded the sledges, -and bade the men set off, down the way we had come, as far as Junction -Point, where they were to await our arrival. Garwood and I, in the -meantime, were to cross the range of hills at the south of our camp, -descend into the next valley, and return over the pass at its head, -which must of course give access to the snowfield of the southern -branch of Highway Glacier. Descending that we should come to Junction -Point. - -It was another brilliant day, and so warm that the snow was softened -to an unusual depth. During or immediately after frost the surface -of _névé_ sparkles in sunlight as though sprinkled with countless -diamonds; but on warm days there are no diamonds, but only drops of -water, the surface crystals being melted. The forms and surfaces of -snow are thereby softened, and this softening effect is recognisable -even from great distances. At starting, the view over Ice Fjord -was clearer than ever, and we could distinguish Bunting Bluff, Fox -Peak, and other scenes of last year’s toils and delights. The work -immediately in hand was to ascend a long snow-slope, rising from -Highway Pass to a col about 200 feet higher in the range to the -south--a broad snow-saddle at the foot of a very fine peak, the ascent -of which from this side would be dangerous, for its whole face is -swept by ice-avalanches. Somewhere in the rocks of this peak are the -nesting-places of many birds, the chorus of whose voices was heard as a -faint hum. The new pass looked down upon the head of a large glacier, -and across it to an innumerable multitude of peaks, all shining in the -blaze of midday. At our feet was a secluded bay of this glacier. A -splendid ski-glissade landed us on its snowy floor, and we were soon -out on the main glacier, which swept down from the pass we were to -cross next. Halting at a convenient spot, we took stock of the view. It -was beautiful, of course--every view is beautiful in King James Land; -but its interest made me forget its beauty for a time. We expected to -find in this trough a glacier parallel to the Highway, and we did -find one, and a large one too, larger than the Highway, because fed by -several tributaries from the south; but to our surprise this glacier -did not flow in the expected direction, but due south for many miles, -and instead of ending in Ice Fjord, or on its shore, ran up against a -big mass of mountains and, bending round to the right or south-west, -disappeared from view. At the angle it received a wide tributary from -the north-east. This great glacier, in fact, empties itself into the -head of St. John’s Bay. As that bay was originally named Osborne’s -Inlet, after an early whaling skipper, we gave his name to this -glacier. Garwood, I believe, explains the twist of the mountains which -cause this deflection of the glacier as the result of a fault dying -out; but, lest I should unwillingly misrepresent his conclusions, I -leave him to describe them himself. The mountains near at hand to the -south were of beautiful forms, reminding us of well-known Swiss peaks, -Weisshorns, Gabelhorns, and so forth. There was much aqueous vapour -in the air, reducing its transparency and adding to the effects of -distance. The mottled sky cast a decorative patchwork of shadows on the -snow. Skeins of cloud were forming, and in the north the weather was -again threatening dark and evil things. - -On us, however, toiling up the long, long slopes to the pass, coy as -are all the wide white passes in this land, the sun shone with painful -fierceness. It burned as it sometimes does on the high Alps, so that we -soon began to suffer from sun-headaches and parching thirst. Nowhere -was there a drop of water to be squeezed from the apparently sodden -snow. Having survey instruments and cameras to carry, we were sparely -provided with food. Hunger came to weaken us and double the apparent -length of the way. At last we were on the col, but the downward slope -was very gentle and the snow now became sticky, so that the ski would -not slide. We bore away to the right in search of a steeper incline -and struck blue ice covered with mere slush that even the ski sank -into. There were dry patches of it, too slippery to stand on; it was -a mere alternation of evils. Sometimes we stuck fast and sometimes -fell heavily. What was looked forward to as an easy and delightful -excursion became a most laborious day’s work. “This is your picnic,” -cried Garwood to me as he fell more than usually hard, “I hope you like -it.” But all things come to an end, and so did this march. Junction -Point appeared in sight, with a lake-basin between the branch glaciers -where they join, a basin similar to that at the foot of the Terrier, -and, like it, recently drained. The heavy ice, formed on its surface in -the winter, had been carried all over the neighbourhood by the momentum -of the escaping water, and now lay spread about, high and dry. With a -struggle and a scramble we passed round the head of the lake and came -in view of the men resting on the sledges. The unbelieving Svensen had -climbed a neighbouring eminence to look out. Nielsen informed us that -Svensen had been full of forebodings all day. They would never see us -again, he said. We were gone into the wilderness and would be engulfed; -as for them, when the provisions were finished they in their turn would -die of starvation. Fool that he was not to take his old woman’s advice -and stay at home where he was well off, instead of coming to this -snow-buried circle of the infernal regions! Camp was pitched on the -very tracks of our upward journey. Then the sky clouded over and the -wind rose. After one last look towards Kings Bay, reflecting the golden -west and framed by purple hills, we closed the tent-doors and rejoiced -to be “at home.” - -The lovely weather re-established itself in the daylit night, so that, -when we awoke, sunshine lay abroad upon the glacier. Looking downward -we had on our right hand the dull slope of the Queens group, where a -smooth side glacier comes slanting down the midst of it from a col -whose existence had not been revealed till now. It was decided to -climb to this col for the purpose of making a closer investigation of -the structure of the group. The march accordingly began with a long -traversing descent of the main glacier to a point on its right bank -at the foot of the side glacier. It mischanced that the area to be -traversed was exactly the wettest belt of the whole basin. We skirted -it on the ascent; now we had to go right across it, and that too after -a series of fine melting days. The watery surface shone like a lake, -and did in fact consist of a succession of pools, communicating with -one another by slushy belts through which streams sluggishly meandered. -The reader must not conceive of the pools, streams, and snow as -corresponding to water and land, for the snow, even where it emerged, -was permeated with water like a saturated sponge. When the autumnal -frost masters a snow-bog and binds its errant molecules into a mass, -there is formed a solid, built up of ice-prisms, each about one inch -in diameter and as long as the bog was deep. Prismatic ice of this -kind, the product of the preceding winter, is frequently met with on -Spitsbergen glaciers. Its cause puzzled us greatly when first we came -upon it. With the motion of the glacier, the formation of crevasses, -and so forth, it often happens that the side pressure which held the -prisms together is removed. Their tendency is to thaw and separate -along their planes of junction. By this means are produced opening -sheaves of long ice-crystals, most beautiful to look upon. I have -found them in quantities a foot or more long, opening out “like quills -upon a fretful porcupine.” Where there is no relaxation of lateral -pressure, the crystals are held together; but they form a fabric of -weak cohesion, and when you tread upon it your foot crunches in, almost -as far as into snow. - -Across this uncomfortable region we travelled for hours. Sometimes -there were deep channels to cross; rarely a dry, hard patch intervened; -most of the time there was slush of different consistencies which -we had to push through. The sledges seemed to grow heavier and more -resistant every hour. One of them, of which the runners were not -shod with metal, came to grief at a stream-gully, where it pitched -on its nose and smashed a runner. At last the water was left behind -and dry ice gained. At the foot of a long, downward slope we found a -big, frozen lake that had not yet burst the bonds imposed on it by -the previous winter; crossing its rough surface, we climbed on to the -moraine beyond, at the foot of the side glacier now to be ascended. The -stone _débris_ of dolomite rock, covering the lower part of the slope, -were dotted about with various common plants, _Dryas octapetala_, -_Saxifraga oppositifolia_, arctic poppy, and so forth, the same that -grow in the interior wherever there is any soil to accommodate them. Of -the ascent little need be said. We shall not soon forget it. The slope -was the steepest encountered by the sledges. Our forces just sufficed -to raise them, but there was nothing to spare. We arrived at the level -top exhausted. Camp was pitched on the col, a wide snow-saddle between -the Queen (4060 ft.) and an unimportant but commanding buttress peak. -To the latter I hurried, desirous of making observations while the -view was clear, for sea-mists had been observed crawling up both from -Kings and English bays, and uniting on the pass near Mount Nielsen. -There is nothing more beautiful than a sea-fog beheld from above when -the sun shines upon it. By contrast its brilliant metallic whiteness -makes purest snow grey. Then it moves so beautifully, gliding inland -and putting out arms before it or casting off islands that wander -away at their own sweet will. Enchanting to look upon are these -sea-fairies, save to the victim to their embraces. Once inveigled, all -their beauty vanishes, for within they are cold, cheerless, and grey, -like the depths whence they spring. But to-day they were not destined -to advance far. They came up boldly a while, then faltered and turned -back, remaining thenceforward among the seracs and crevasses, except -a few rambling outliers that floated away over the glacier or hovered -as bright islands in hollows of the surface. Faint beds of variously -transparent vapour, horizontally stratified, barred across the fine -range of craggy mountains and their glacier cascades that filled the -space between Cross Bay and the Crowns Glacier, a mountain group with -an exceptionally fine skyline. We were encamped at that level of -the glacier which may be described as the singing level, where water -trickles all about, tinkling in tiny ice-cracks, rippling in rivulets, -roaring in _moulins_, and humming in the faint base of the remoter -torrents. It is only on slopes of a reasonable inclination that these -sounds arise. The flat snowbogs of our morning traverse were soundless. - -Late in the evening, the weather being perfectly re-established, I -returned alone to camp. It was an enchanted hour. On one hand, as I sat -in the tent-door, facing the sunshine and the view, was the fine peak -we named Pretender, rising above the battlement-ridge of the western -Queen. On the other hand was a lower hill, shutting off the distance -and turning toward me a splendid precipice of rock. Between them was -the opening through which the glacier, falling away from my standpoint, -joined the apparently boundless expanse of the Crowns Glacier. Beyond -were beautiful hills with the silver mist kissing their feet, and, -above them in the clear sky, a few wisps of cloud. No breath of air -moved, but falling waters sang from near and far, and a fulmar’s whirr -occasionally broke the stillness. At such times Nature gathers a man -into herself, transforming his self-consciousness into a consciousness -of her. All the forms and colours of the landscape sink into his -heart like the expression of a great personality, whereof he himself -is a portion. Ceasing to think, while Nature addresses him through -every sense, he receives direct impressions from her. In this kind of -_nirvana_ the passage of time is forgotten, and as near an approach to -bliss is experienced as this world is capable of supplying. - -The passing hours, whereof some were devoted to sleep, witnessed the -establishment of the weather’s perfection. Heights and depths were -cloudlessly clear, save low down over the bay, where the bright mist -stretched like a carpet far out to sea. Buckling on my snowshoes, I -slid forth down the slope, which curved over so steeply at the top that -its foot was hidden by the bulge. The exhilaration of that rush through -the crisp air is yet quick in remembrance. The cliffs on either hand, -glorious battlemented walls of dolomite, seemed to be growing as we -descended the side-glacier, whose exit, when we came to it, proved to -be closed across by a rampart of moraine. Over this moraine, at a later -hour, the sledges had to be carried to the ice of the extreme left -margin of the Crowns Glacier, up which we were now to advance. There -was no threat of serious impediment for a mile or so, but unexpected -obstacles always lie in wait--the seasoning salt of the delight of -exploration. A hundred yards on we were brought up sharply by a deep, -impassable ice-gully or water-channel, stretching away into the glacier -on the left and coming out of the moraine. We turned along its bank -and came into the angle where an equally impassable tributary channel -branched into it. There was nothing to be done but follow this backward -to an overhanging place, cross it there, and then carry the sledges -in turn, about a quarter of a mile over moraine, to a point where the -other channel fortunately proved traversable. Hummocky ice succeeded -for the rest of the march, beneath the grand cliffs of the Pretender -(3480 ft.). Two great corries cut into these cliffs, the second of them -starting exactly beneath the summit of the peak. We camped at a safe -distance below its narrow mouth, beyond the range of frequent volleys -of falling stones. - -From this point to the base camp would be one long day’s march for -men with sledges. We had three and a half days’ provisions left. We -could therefore only spare two and a half days for exploration of -the neighbourhood. That was not enough, so we sent the two men away -with empty sacks to fetch more stores. There was plenty of work to be -done in the neighbourhood, for the Pretender’s cliff disclosed all -the mysteries of the great fault, which, cutting right across the -country, approximately along the line of the King’s Highway, divides -the uncontorted, almost horizontally stratified plateau-region of the -north from the series of ranges of splintered peaks extending southward -to the Dead Man. Accurate observation and careful mapping were, -therefore, essential. - -After lunch, when the men were gone away, we sat on a sledge in the -sunshine, with our coats off, rejoicing in life. The glacier was -working and cracking about us unceasingly; stones kept toppling from -the moraine close by. High aloft rose the Pretender’s cliff, 2000 feet, -almost sheer. It is the most beautifully coloured cliff I ever saw. For -foundations it has a contorted mass of ruddy archæan rocks, brilliantly -adorned with splashes of golden lichen, picked out with grass-grown -ledges. Here, as all along the mountain’s face, are the nesting-places -of countless birds. The fulmar petrels choose the lower edges; some, -as we found, only just beyond reach of a man’s hand. The wall below -them is generally overhanging, for the birds know exactly the limits -of a fox’s climbing powers, and they avoid places accessible to him. -Higher up are the homes of the little auks, who sit close together -in rows, sunning their white bosoms. On the top of every jutting -pinnacle of rock a glaucous gull keeps watch, with his own nest near -at hand, ready to dive into any unprotected nest, or to pounce on any -unfortunate bird that falls a victim to disease. The little auks always -fly together in companies, I suppose for mutual protection. There -is continual warfare between them and the gulls, but it seems to be -carried on in accordance with some accepted law, for though any stray -auklet or fallen fledgling is fair game for a gull, he does not seem -to attack individual auks sitting near their nests. Indeed, we often -saw auks and glaucous gulls sitting close together on the same ledge, -when it would have been easy for the gull to have snapped up one of his -small neighbours. This, however, must be illegal. We never saw such a -crime committed, and the auks evidently felt confident of the gull’s -correct behaviour. The nests are not placed in the gullies where stones -habitually fall. No matter how big stone-avalanches may come down the -usual ruts, the birds watch them unconcerned. But when a stray stone -fell down the cliff in an exceptional direction, the birds flew out -in their hundreds and thousands, filling the air with protests, the -fulmars swooping around, the little auks darting forth horizontally at -a higher level straight out and back again, whilst the glaucous gulls -more leisurely floated away on confident wing, their white plumage -seeming scarcely more solid than the glowing air which sustained their -poise. - -Above the ancient foundation rocks of the mountain comes a bed of -green sandstone, above this a dark red bed, the same which forms the -substance of all the Crowns group, except their caps. On the top of -the sandstone, whose face has a sloping profile, is planted the summit -cap of pink dolomite, cut off on this side in a plumb-vertical cliff -horizontally stratified. High aloft in the wonderful air this rose-pink -cliff, with its level lines of orange and other tones, like courses of -masonry, was an object of rarest beauty, as all who know the Dolomites -of Tirol can realise; but the sharp clear atmosphere of the Alps must -yield the palm to the soft mellow arctic air, in which Spitsbergen’s -mountains almost seem to float. Rose-pink aloft, then purple-red, then -green, and finally red again splashed with orange and green: such was -the chord of colour presented by this lovely mountain-face between the -blue sky and the white glacier foreground. - -A funnel-shaped gully, with its upper edge at the foot of the dolomite -cliff and the foot of its couloir ending on the glacier, was exactly -behind our camp. Snow-slopes at its head were melting fast in the sun, -so that a cascade laughed aloud all down the height of it. Stones were -continually loosened by the melting; each started others in its fall, -so that the rattle of tumbling rocks, now and again swollen by the roar -of some big stone avalanche, kept the air in ceaseless vibration. - -I made two expeditions out upon the glacier in different directions for -the purpose of investigating its character at its most energetic part, -just below the summer snowline. It was a maze of crevasses throughout -its entire breadth and all the way down from the edge of the _névé_ -to the sea. A few traversable lines of route could be found, either -parallel to and between the crevasses, or across them, where, owing to -a change of slope in the bed, the lips of the crevasses were brought -together within striding range. At best the surface was very bumpy, -and I foresaw a bad time coming for the sledges. The ice phenomena -would have struck any Alpine climber as curious. Every year there are -added, even to the central and crevassed portion of an arctic glacier, -accumulations of ice formed by the thawing and re-freezing of the -winter snow, and these patchwork additions take the most unexpected -forms. For instance, a crevasse that happens to be full of water will -be roofed over with ice a few feet thick. If the rest of the water is -then drained off a tunnel is formed, across which again crevasses may -open. We found two or three such tunnels, whose roofs had been squeezed -up into barrel-vaults. One of them was still full of water, but the -roof had been raised high above it by pressure, and a doorway had been -formed by the fall of a portion of the arch. I climbed into this grotto -and stood on a ledge. Sunlight glimmered through the crystal roof; -the walls were white; for floor there were the indigo-blue depths of -the water. This was but one of the strange and beautiful objects that -the glacier offered to the wanderer’s admiration. Near the foot of -the Pretender a blood-red river, dyed with the dust of the falling -sandstones, flowed in a deep white channel cut into the glacier. It -soon came to the crevasse that was its fate and plunged down the fatal -_moulin_. That was close to camp. Of course, we called it the Moulin -Rouge! - -After wandering far I returned home for the night, meeting Garwood on -the way. Our backs were to the boundless snowfields; before us the -Pretender’s mighty cliff shone warm under the mellow midnight sun, pink -high aloft, crimson and green at lower levels, and striped blood-red -where the water was pouring down. The white-mounded glacier was mottled -over with blue shadows. Perfect weather, perfect scenery, perfect -health--what more could we desire? - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE SPITSBERGEN DOLOMITES - - -When the sun passed round behind the Pretender, casting his shadow out -upon the glacier far beyond camp, a hard frost set in, sealing up the -runlets of water and binding the loosened rocks on the face of the -cliff, so that stonefalls became rare; but no sooner did the fiery -monarch come out from his retreat behind the mountains in the east than -all the batteries of the hills opened to salute him. The afternoon -of August 3, being our morning, Garwood and I shouldered packs for a -scramble on the Pretender, minded to pass northward round his foot and -then make way up the ridge that forms, higher up, the lip of the funnel -of the falling stones. The weather was glorious, but the white sea-fog -had crept up to the tents, so that we set forth from the very edge of -the mist. After going some little way up the main glacier we bore to -the right on to the hillside, and went diagonally up a slope of snow. -Below on the left was a _bergschrund_, and above on the right were the -steep rocks. Presently the slope increased and became of hard ice, -into which Garwood cut steps. The position was not altogether a safe -one, for we had not bothered to bring a rope, and now discovered that -quantities of stones were in the habit of falling down the slope into -the _bergschrund_, which was ready to engulf either of us impartially -in the event of a slip. However, we did not slip, and the sun had not -yet reached the stones, which were still in the bondage of frost. The -rocks above the slope were safely reached and a brief scramble carried -us over the edge of the ridge on to the screes of the north-east face. -Beyond them was a wide snow-slope reaching up to the steep dolomite cap -that forms the top 500 feet of the peak. The snow was hard frozen, so -the ascent had to be made up the screes. They were particularly loose, -and that is all to say about them. Scree-slopes are never anything but -nasty to climb. The top of them was the edge of the nearly level ridge, -whence we looked down into the funnel on the other side and across to -the beautiful dolomite cliff visible from camp. At the foot of the -_couloir_ of the funnel we could just discover our tiny tents. - -The point thus gained was all that could be desired for surveying and -geologising. Now was displayed in all its wide extent the _névé_ region -of the Crowns Glacier, utterly different in character from that of the -King’s Highway. Here was no ice-filled trough between two serrated -walls, but a huge expanse, so gently sloping as to appear flat--a -marble pavement, of three hundred square miles, beneath the blue dome -of heaven. Far away it swelled into low white domes, on whose sides a -few rocks appeared, whilst in the north-east was its undulating upper -edge, beyond which were remoter snow-covered plateaus with mountain -summits peering over from yet farther off. The white _névé_ was lined -by the many-branching water-channels of its drainage system, like the -veins in a leaf, indicating the structure and trend of the ice. Where -areas were crevassed, blue shadows toned the white. Everywhere the -delicate modelling of the surface, by slightly varying the amount of -light reflected to the eye, produced a tender play of tones, within the -narrowest conceivable limits from brightest to darkest. The whole was -visibly a flowing stream, not a stagnant accumulation, for the curves -of flow were everywhere discernible. Thus a sense of weight and volume -was added to the effect of boundless expanse which first overwhelmed -the observers. The noble flood of ice, narrowing considerably between -the hill on which we stood, and the beautifully composed group of -sharp-crested rock-peaks opposite, disappeared beneath the floor of -sea-mist whereon the sunshine lay dazzling. - -Turning round toward the east from this enthralling prospect, the -eye rested on the group of the famous Crowns. They are called the -Three Crowns on all the maps, but there are many more than three. -The prominent trio are pyramidal hills of purple sandstone, shaped -with almost artful regularity, each surmounted by a cap of the same -dolomite limestone as that which crowns the Pretender. They resemble -golden crowns above purple robes. The caps are the fragmentary remains -of an ancient plateau, denuded away in the lapse of time. Just behind -the Three Crowns we saw a low broad pass, giving access to the head -of a glacier flowing eastward. There was sea-fog lying on it also, so -we knew that Ekman Bay could not be very far off in that direction. -This is the lowest and shortest pass between Kings Bay and Ice Fjord. -Lightly laden men could cross this way in a long day’s march from -sea to sea, climbing one of the Crowns _en route_. The expedition -would take them through what is, to my thinking, the finest scenery -in Spitsbergen. The whole panorama was clear to the remotest edge of -the horizon, flooded with undimmed sunshine, and overarched by a sky -faintly blue below, deeply azure in the fathomless zenith. - -[Illustration: THE THREE CROWNS FROM KINGS BAY.] - -We spent some hours at this point, lunching, admiring, and taking -observations. The view was, to me, so novel in character, so beautiful, -so full of revelations that, for a long time, I was too excited to -work. The other side, though less unusual, was hardly less wonderful. -There the eye plunged down into the depth of the funnel, and beheld -the stone-avalanches beginning their fall. Far below were the flocks -of birds flying about the rocks. Their cries came faintly up to us. -Finally, close at hand there was the great dolomite cliff, an absolute -wall, more than ever resembling some artificial structure, the work -of giants, falling to decay. The varied colouring of its beds and the -vertical streaks caused by trickling water were as beautiful close at -hand as when seen from the depths of the gulf of air below. We walked -along the narrow ridge to the actual foot of this cliff, where the -_arête_ rises vertically, so that the further ascent must be made by -the north-east face. There was a height of about 500 feet to be climbed -by way of snow slopes, here and there narrowing into gullies between -protruding beds of rock--so, at least, we thought, but the attempt -showed that the slopes were of hard ice. The step-cutting involved had -no attractions, for there was nothing to be gained by ascending to the -peak. It would only show, on the other side, country already known -to us, whilst we were to have many better opportunities of looking -northward from points both higher and better situated. What settled the -matter finally was the sight of our men just arriving at camp heavily -laden with good things. We accordingly turned round and took the easy -way downhill, glissading a good part of it on treacherous snow-covered -ice. - -After supper another expedition was made down the glacier all along -under the Pretender’s face, in further investigation of the fault. It -is only thus, by constant moving about beneath a great cliff, that -one is finally enabled to realise its magnitude. One true measure of -scale that a healthy man possesses is fatigue. When you have learned by -actual experience that it takes several days’ marching to pass the base -of a big Himalayan mountain, you begin to feel the size of the thing. -A precipice of 200 feet differs only in size from one of 2000 feet. -To appreciate the majesty of the larger, you must become physically -conscious of its scale. Such knowledge has to be laboriously acquired. -No one, I imagine, who has not climbed the Matterhorn, can have any -real conception of the magnitude of the pyramid beheld in the view -from the Riffel; yet a consciousness of the magnitude is an essential -element in the impressiveness of the view. I believe that only mountain -climbers are in a position to thrill with perfect resonance to the -glory of a mountain prospect. The passion for mountain-climbing derives -much of its power over men from thus fostering and developing in them -the capacity for admiration, wonder, and worship in the presence of -Nature’s magnificence. - -Next day (August 4) camp was again struck for an onward march, some -supplies being left behind for use on the way down. The crevassed -nature of the glacier involved the choice of a very devious route far -out upon the ice, then back toward the Crowns. When the foot of the -middle Crown was reached, I called for my camera, but it could not be -found. It had dropped off Nielsen’s sledge, and he must go back to -retrieve it. Garwood and I accordingly set off to climb the Crown, -leaving Svensen below, plunged again in miseries and forebodings, now -that the sea was becoming remote and snowfields were spreading their -hateful expanse around him. The pyramids of the south and middle -Crowns are planted together on a snowy plinth. Up the slope of this we -ascended on ski, taking a devious course to avoid the steepest incline, -at the same time steering clear of a few groups of open crevasses. In -three-quarters of an hour we were standing at the foot of the rocks, -where the ski were left behind. A long and steep slope of _débris_ -had next to be surmounted. The material lies in an unstable condition -and slips away beneath the foot at every step. Keeping as close as -possible to the left _arête_, we gained height steadily. The _débris_ -accumulation becomes thinner as the summit is approached. Halfway up, -little walls of rock emerge, and afford some agreeable scrambling. -By the last of these the _arête_ itself is gained and the ascent -completed along it, except where an overhanging snow cornice forces -the climber down on the south face. A little chimney gives access to -the crowning rock (4000 ft.). The ascent from the top of the snow-slope -took three-quarters of an hour. It is easy enough. The southern -Crown (3840 ft.) can be similarly climbed by its south face, but the -northern Crown (4020 ft.) would be more difficult, for it is cut off, -apparently all the way round, by a short precipice, perhaps a hundred -feet high. There are some gullies grooved into this wall, but they too -are vertical. One or other of them would certainly prove climbable if -any one cared to give the time needed for the attempt. All three Crowns -were reputed inaccessible by the general opinion of persons who had -only seen them from Kings Bay. - -Our ascent was made for the purpose of obtaining a view, and generously -were we rewarded. The northern Crown is higher than the middle one, -and that in turn than the southern; but the differences are a few feet -only, whilst in point of situation the middle Crown is best placed -for a panorama. Garwood and I agreed that it was the most beautiful -we had seen in Spitsbergen, though it was afterwards equalled by the -view from the Diadem, and surpassed, in some respects, by that from -Mount Hedgehog. What struck us most was the colour. The desert of snow -was bluish or purplish-grey; only the sea-mist, hiding Kings Bay and -the foot of the glacier, was pure white. In the foreground were the -golden Crowns above purple slopes casting rich blue shadows. On the -snowfields lay many sapphire-blue lakes. All the rock in sight was of -some rich colour--yellow, orange, purple, red. Large glaciers radiated -away in several directions: one down to Ekman Bay, whose head we could -see, another to Ice Fjord, beyond whose distant waters we recognised -Advent Bay and the hills behind it, with clouds lying still upon them. -Last year, whenever we saw King James Land in the distance the sun was -always shining on it. This year the Advent Vale region was hardly ever -seen clear of clouds. It is the bad weather, as King James Land is the -fine weather region of Spitsbergen. - -To the south were a maze and multitude of peaks. We thought that we -identified Hornsunds Tind in a solitary white tower very far away. -I afterward took a true bearing of it with the theodolite, and, on -reducing the observation at home, find that the peak observed stands -exactly in the line of Hornsunds Tind; so that if the two are not -identical the coincidence is extraordinary. The distance of the -mountain from the Three Crowns is just a hundred miles. I find it -difficult to believe that such a distance can often be pierced by the -sight in the relatively dense atmosphere of Spitsbergen. Foreland -Sound was, as usual, full of fog, but the peaks of the Foreland -itself rose out of its shining embrace. The highest group is south of -the middle of the island; its members are beautifully white and of -graceful form. Farther north the peaks are smaller and only their tips -appeared. The Cross Bay Mountains with their serrated edge looked finer -than ever; then came the great snowfield, beheld in all its extent, -stretching up to a high undulating crest and back to remote bays and -hollows--fascinating to look upon, but who shall say how wearisome -to wander over? Far away to the north-east was a row of mountains of -varied forms, some white and dome-like, others sharply pointed, others -again chisel-edged. We saw them now for the first time, and believed -them to be the range that borders Wijde Bay on the west; but they have -since proved to be the mountains at the head of that bay, between it -and Dicksons, a range of unsuspected importance in the structure of -the country. The sky overhead was blue and clear, fading downward into -white, as in an old Flemish picture. There was no movement in the cool -air. Garwood left me alone on the top and went down to crack rocks. -Long did I sit in perfection of enjoyment, letting my eye roam round -and round the amazing panorama. There was a peculiar sensation of being -in the midst of a strange world, whose parts seemed to radiate from -this point. Never did I feel more keenly the wonder of the domain of -ice. Utter silence reigned, till there came a writhing in the air, -heard but not felt. It passed, returned, and passed again, as though -flocks of invisible beings were hurrying by on powerful wings. - -Chilled to the bone, at length I began the descent, picking up Garwood -and some of his fossil spoils on the way. A magnificent ski-slide -carried us in a great curving zigzag, first to the foot of the southern -Crown, then round the snowy base to the tents. We dropped a thousand -feet in a few minutes. So keen was the joy of this rush through the -air, that we talked of scrambling up again to repeat it, but the -attractions of supper proved more powerful than those of glissading. - -Our view from the middle Crown showed that nothing was to be gained by -pushing camp farther north, unless we went very much farther than the -means at our disposal permitted. The whole region for many miles round -could be mapped from the summits of hills within reach of our present -camp. We judged it better, therefore, to climb from that base, rather -than to spend time dragging sledges about over almost featureless -snowfields. So, next morning (August 5), away we went on ski--Garwood, -Nielsen, and I--carrying instruments and food on our backs, and -delighted to have no hindering load a-drag behind. The weather -continued faultless. Our plan was to follow the left margin of the -glacier to the bay beyond the northern Crown, to turn up that to its -head, and to climb the Diadem Peak, whose situation seemed specially -favourable for a view. The snow was very soft and became softer -every hour, but we shuffled comfortably over it and pitied our poor -colleagues in the Alps, wading knee-deep in _névé_. The surface was -not really in good condition for skiing; it was too soft and adhesive -to be slippery. However, we made good progress, and in less than two -hours the northern Crown was passed and the side glacier opened. It -flows down from a ring of dolomite-capped peaks and comes out into -the main glacier between the northern Crown and the peak beyond it, -named by us the Exile because its crown has been wholly denuded away. -It is a regular pyramid of red sandstone with top and corners rounded -off. There is not a fragment of rock visible _in situ_, the whole -solid substance of the mountain being buried beneath accumulations of -_débris_. - -Turning, then, with the northern Crown on our right hand, the Exile -on our left, and the great snowfield at our backs, we made diagonally -up the side glacier toward a snow-saddle between the Exile and the -Diadem. All the snow was saturated with water, which gravitated to -the middle of the valley and formed a great Slough of Despond there. -Advancing very gingerly to find a way across, I suddenly sank up to my -waist in the freezing mixture. The ski turned round under my feet and -fastened them down, so that I was helplessly anchored, and it was all -that Nielsen and Garwood could do to withdraw me from the uncomfortable -position. We ultimately passed round the head of the Slough and swiftly -made for the rocks of the Exile, where I undressed and wrung out my -dripping things. Whether it was more comfortable to sit half-clothed -while the things dried, or to put them on in a sodden condition, was -a question I am now enabled to decide by experience. Fortunately the -sunshine had a little warmth in it, but the preliminary bath certainly -did not add to the enjoyment of lunch. - -Just below the rocks was an open _bergschrund_ into which Nielsen -tumbled, ski and all, but he caught the upper edge and extricated -himself with a mighty kick and pull. The hidden crevasses over which -we slid were countless, but the ski deprived them of all power to -injure or annoy. A slide from the rocks to the broad snow-saddle, -then the ascent of the Diadem began. We knew that it would present no -difficulties below the summit rocks. They were vertical on our side, -but there were indications that the snow-slope reached far up them on -the other. For some distance we could climb straight ahead; then the -slope steepened and we had to zigzag, each man choosing his own route. -About six hundred feet below the top, ski could no further go, for the -surface was hard frozen, so that they obtained no grip upon it. They -were accordingly left behind, planted erect, for if they are left lying -down they will assuredly find means to break loose and go careering -away to some remote level place. As soon as it became a question of -kicking steps in the increasingly hard and steep slope, the scattered -elements of the party concentrated and so came to the foot of the final -peak together. A snow-slope, as we had foreseen, reached almost to the -top, but it was cut across by two large _bergschrunds_, well enough -bridged. The rope was now put on and the final approaches made in -orthodox fashion. Scrambling up a few steep rocks, we came out on the -curious little flat summit plain (4154 ft.), from whose edges the drop -is vertical all round, except where the slope we ascended abuts. - -The view resembled that from the middle Crown, but was more extensive -to the north and east. The whole island was displayed. We overlooked -the region of almost horizontally-bedded, chocolate-coloured sandstone, -capped with dolomite near at hand, but dipping away from the old -rocks underlying it, which appeared in the north-east as mountain -ranges. Advent Bay was again clearly visible across Ice Fjord, so that -the Diadem and the Crowns can be seen from the hotel there, a fact -previously unsuspected. I set up the instruments and worked for more -than an hour, growing colder and colder in the raw air. Garwood and -Nielsen warmed themselves by building a big cairn as a monument of our -climb. - -The first stage of the descent required some care, for the slope was -steep and of ice, whilst the bridges over the _bergschrunds_ did not -appear particularly strong. Once on the main snow-slope the rope could -be laid aside and each could make for his ski by the shortest route. -Nielsen went on ahead and disappeared over the bulging declivity at a -great rate, but when I tried to follow his example I found it difficult -to maintain a footing on the hard, icy slope. The boards under my -feet shot away so quickly that without a powerful break I could not -maintain my balance. No application of the spike of the ice-axe to -the slope produced friction enough to prevent the bewilderment of a -lightning-like descent, which always ended in a shattering overthrow. -How Nielsen had managed remained a mystery to me, till I came up with -him and learnt that he had put his ice-axe between his legs and sat -upon it, thus turning himself into a tripod on runners. Riding, like a -witch on a broomstick, he gained the gentler slope below without delay -or misfortune. Garwood was less lucky, for one of his ski gave him the -slip and raced away on its own account. We heard him howling aloft, but -knew not what about till his truant shoe had dashed past, heading for -a number of open crevasses. It leapt these in fine style, but bending -away to the right, made for the hollow, north of the Exile, to which we -had to descend to fetch it. Rather than reascend and return over the -mile of snow-slope down which the ski had shot, we changed the route -of our return. To see Garwood walking about unroped among the maze -of crevasses and crossing _bergschrunds_ by rotten snow-bridges was -decidedly unpleasant. If he had fallen through anywhere we could have -done nothing for him, and he would never have been seen again; but the -fates were propitious. Instead of sliding down as we did, he had to -wade through knee-deep snow, but that was the limit of his misfortune. - -The great snowfield was joined at the north foot of the Exile, and -straight running made for camp. It was a long and thirsty shuffle -back, for, since my immersion, we had come across no drop of drinkable -water, all that flows from the Exile and the northern Crown being -chocolate-coloured and thick with sand. Areas of snow formation, new -to us in appearance, were passed below the Exile; the most remarkable -was where the surface of the _névé_ was covered with a kind of scaly -armour-plating, consisting of discs or flakes of ice, hard-frozen -together, piled up and projecting over one another. Wind was the -determining agent, I fancy, in producing this phenomenon. Steadily -plodding on over the now uneven and adhesive snow, at last we reached -camp, about midnight, well satisfied with the expedition. We had -travelled eighteen and a half miles over the softest _névé_ snow -imaginable, besides climbing our peak and devoting some hours, _en -route_ and on the top, to the work of surveying. Without ski this -would have been hard work for three days. During our absence Svensen -had cleaned out the tents, dried and aired our things, and otherwise -made himself useful. He had never expected us to appear again, so that -his work was perhaps the more meritorious. Late at night we heard him -lying in his tent and “prophesying” (as we used to call it) in deep and -solemn tones to Nielsen. The further we went from the coast the more -frequent and solemn were these deliverances, not a word of which could -we understand. I asked Nielsen what they were about. “Oh,” he said, “he -talks about his farm and his old woman, and what she gives him to eat; -and then he says if he ever gets back home he will not go away any more -as long as he lives.” - -A few hours later Svensen set forth on his ski to fetch an instrument -I required from the baggage below the Pretender. He was instructed on -no account to quit the tracks made by the sledges on the way up, and -to take care not to fall into any of the crevasses. Once fairly alone -on the glacier, he proceeded to set these directions at naught. The -tracks were devious; he would make a short cut and save himself time -and distance. What mattered the maze of concealed crevasses? He frankly -walked _along_ them, whether on their arched roofs or the ice beside -them being a mere matter of chance. We saw his tracks next day and -wondered at his many escapes. As it was, he fell into two crevasses and -only extricated himself with much difficulty. The Svensen that returned -to camp was a yet sadder and more pessimistic individual than the one -that set forth. He had looked Death in the face, and seemed to feel -swindled in that he had escaped destruction. - -This day the sky was actually covered with an unmistakable heat -haze. Thunderstorms, I believe, never occur in Spitsbergen; if we -had not known this, we should have thought one was brewing. It was -actually hot and stuffy within the tent, but outside the temperature -was perfect. Our intention was to climb the middle Crown again, when -Svensen returned, and to spend some hours on the mountain, Garwood -photographing and hunting for fossils in the limestone, I observing -angles. At last we could set forth with theodolite and whole-plate -camera for the top of the Crown. There was no novelty in the ascent, -except that the sky was steadily clouding over, so that we had to race -the weather. Unfortunately the clouds won. The sun was blotted out -when we reached the top, many hills were obscured by clouds, and the -panorama was rendered relatively uninteresting. There was nothing for -Garwood to photograph, and far fewer points for me to observe than I -could have wished. The cold became bitter. Fiddling with the little -screws of the theodolite was horribly painful. I endured it for more -than an hour before complete numbness rendered further work of that -kind impossible. Nielsen kept warmth in his veins by prizing crags -away; they thundered and crashed over the precipice on the north, -finding a swift descent down one of the many vertical chimneys, and -then rushing out on the snow-slope beneath. The results of his labours -were widely spread abroad below. Before packing up to descend we all -joined in building a big cairn, which, I think, will last for many -years. A hurried descent down rocks and screes and a fine ski-slide -to camp set the blood circulating merrily in our veins. The tents -were just within the margin of a fog, which hung like a veil over the -western landscape, where a mottled roof of cloud above the jagged crest -of the Cross Bay hills shone golden bright, fading away below into the -misty grey foreground of vaguely-outlined, broken ice. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -RETURN TO KINGS BAY - - -All appearances were convincing that the weather had finally broken -up, but a charm seemed to lie upon King James Land this year, for next -morning (August 7) was fine as ever, with skies brilliantly clear. The -white fog still covered the bay and the glacier’s foot, but retreated -before us as we advanced on the downward journey, for which the time -had now come. Instead of going far out on to the glacier, as in our -ascent, we kept a more direct course, for crevasses that are too -wide to drag sledges over when going uphill are passable on the way -down. The sledges had to make many a downward jump, and were greatly -strained, but we reckoned they would hold out to the coast, and so let -them take their luck. It was none of the best. A certain broad crevasse -opposed to our advance its yawning chasm, whose higher side was much -above the lower. The first sledge took the jump safely, but the second -landed heavily on its nose, and one runner snapped in half. We tied it -up with string, but the jagged edge greatly increased the friction -during the remainder of the journey. Near the Pretender we re-entered -the circuit of the nesting birds, and found their feathers at every -step of the way. A solitary fulmar sitting on the ice only stirred -when we approached him within two yards. Then he flapped his wings and -ran, gradually rising into the air and helping himself up by beating -the ground with his feet, the action used by fulmars when they rise -from water. He did not fly far, for he was obviously ill. Doubtless a -glaucous gull presently put an end to his existence. - -Having kept along the left side of the glacier, we came, at the foot of -the Pretender, as we knew we must, to a steep ice staircase, a slope of -about 200 feet, broken by a series of large crevasses. A longitudinal -fold in the ice, caused by the narrowing of the glacier at this point, -added a more complex irregularity to the step-like descent. This was -the worst place we had to convey sledges over on the glaciers of -Spitsbergen; nor shall I attempt to describe our labours. The sledges -were slung across some crevasses, let down over others, gingerly -conducted along ridges of ice narrower than themselves, with profound -chasms on each side, hauled round the flanks of seracs, and otherwise -forced forward as circumstances decreed. Once only did a misfortune -occur, and then the fault was mine. The slope was very steep, and -there was a crevasse in the way. Nielsen got on to its lower lip and -began lifting the bow of the sledge forward by means of the drag-rope. -I was hanging on behind with the pick-end of the ice-axe hitched into -the stern. Just at the critical moment something gave way. The ice-axe -slipped out; I fell backwards; the sledge lumbered down. That it -would go right into the crevasse and be utterly lost seemed certain. -But no! it merely turned a somersault and wedged itself in between -two projecting noses of ice, which held it firmly, till, with the -assistance of the others, we brought it safe to land. Shortly afterward -the site of Pretender Camp was reached, and our little heap of stores -found undisturbed by foxes or birds. - -We knew that the most tiresome part of the day’s journey was yet -to come; the lunch-halt was consequently prolonged. To the foot -of Pretender Pass the way was easy enough, but beyond that point -difficulties were bound to accumulate, for the glacier became so -crevassed as to be impassable even for men without sledges, whilst, -instead of snow-slopes along the left bank, there was a widening -lateral moraine. Fortunately we found an irregular belt of snow between -the ridge of this moraine and the _débris_-slope behind it; along that -belt we were able to make intermittent advance, though the snow was -freely strewn with blocks of stone, over and around which, up and -down and in and out, the sledges had to be lifted and dragged. We were -thankful even for this small mercy, seeing that, if the snow had not -been there, we must have raised the sledges bodily and carried them -more than a mile over the nastiest kind of moraine. As it was, we had -to carry them for several short spells. How easy it looks on paper! -Four men, one at each corner of the sledge; they lift her, and along -she goes. But in practice, when the ground to be traversed consists of -loose rocks, each about the size of a man’s head, with ice below them, -sloping this way and that, uphill two yards, downhill three yards, now -tilted to the right, now to the left, some one is always stumbling. -They jog one another from side to side. The weight gets bandied about -and heaved in all directions, so that each wastes most of his work in -counter-balancing the unintentional irregularities of his fellows’ -efforts. A halt had to be made halfway along, but we vowed to finish -this horrible part of the route before camping. The stove was lit -and cocoa brewed to put heart into the men; then on again, plunging, -tripping, twisting ankles, barking shins, till at last there came a -practicable though lumpy stretch of ice alongside the moraine, and we -could launch the sledges on it and haul them forward with less toil. -We were close to the angle where Kings and Highway glaciers join, -and the lateral moraines of both, uniting at the promontory of the -dividing mountain, flow out as a medial moraine, and are carried on by -the glacier and ultimately dumped over the ice-cliff into Kings Bay. -We crossed this medial moraine at the earliest convenient place, then -followed along beside it till near midnight, when somebody, turning -round to survey the view, found it beautiful, and proposed that camp -should be pitched straightway. - -The air was crisp and cold. The sun shone golden in the north, just -tinged with the first promise of its winter setting. The mellow light -flooded with unusual glory of colour the many-tinted rocks of the -Crowns and Pretender, grouped together in fine assemblage between the -two great glaciers, now both at once beheld back to their highest -snowfields. Such purples as the autumnal midnight sun pours out on the -so-called Liefde-Bay sandstones of Spitzbergen had no rival even in -the richest product of Tyrian skill. All night long the glacier worked -and cracked beneath us in its onward flow, squeezing its slow way down -through the narrowing channel. Loud reports disturbed our slumbers, and -at an early hour brought us back to consciousness of the beauty of the -world and the continuing loveliness of the weather. - -The sky remained clear, and the white fog brooded over the waters of -the bay, when the men started down with the sledges, leaving us to sit -awhile on convenient rocks, smoking and enjoying the splendid scenery. -Presently we also set forth, not down, but across Highway Glacier to -examine the rocks of its left bank. A very large lake-basin had to be -crossed at the margin of the ice. It proved to have been drained by the -biggest ice-tunnel I ever saw, a cavern at least fifty feet in diameter -and more than a hundred yards long. I bolted into it, under the stones -perched loosely on its brow, and took some photographs of the weird -grotto, whilst Garwood climbed the riskily loose cliff behind and -hunted for fossils. Keeping across the mouth of a minor side glacier, -we came to the moraine crossed by us with so much trouble on the upward -way. The great hollow beyond it was now perceived to be another and -yet larger lake-basin, drained in its turn by the ice-cañon which had -formed one of our first considerable impediments. This lake-basin is -more than half a mile in length, and some hundreds of yards wide. It -lies at the foot of Mount Nielsen. Here, losing sight of Garwood, I -turned to seek the sledges. Not finding them, and being too cold to -loiter about, I walked briskly on down the foot of the glacier, and -did not halt till the base camp was reached. It remained just as we -left it, thank goodness! But it must have had a narrow escape, for, at -some time during our absence, a flood of water came down the fan on -which it stood, cutting a new channel, whose still wet margin ran less -than a hand’s breadth from the angle of the tent. Had the channel been -deflected a couple of yards, all our goods would have gone to sea! - -The roof of fog was overhead, yet the view was most beautiful, for -the sun shone through holes in it upon the glacier’s terminal cliff, -barring it with vertical bands of light and colour. There were stripes -of purple, violet, green, blue, and white, made by the staining of the -ice with stone _débris_, or by new fractures manifesting the varying -transparency of the mass, or by the play of light and shadow upon it. -The jagged hills looked down through holes or behind veils of mist. The -water was absolutely calm, but more thickly covered with broken ice -than when we last beheld it; in fact, over great areas, the floating -blocks seemed to form a continuous ice-covering. In calm weather this -mattered little, but if a northerly wind set in, all the ice would be -driven and packed down upon us, and we should be imprisoned, who could -say for how long? Obviously, therefore, it would be our business to -shift camp as soon as possible to some more favourable situation. - -Long I sat in the tent-door gazing at the view and dreaming. What -changes had taken place here since Professor Sven Lovén’s visit -in 1837, the first visit of any man of science to this part of -Spitsbergen! The island of which he wrote so fully, with its -“diminutive Alps” and moraines, was separated from the glacier at that -time by a channel of open water 1000 feet wide; now the glacier almost -surrounds it and has buried out of sight the ground on which he stood. -It had already done so before Nordenskiöld’s visit in 1861, since when -no considerable changes have taken place. This is only one of many -instances of glacial advance during the present century. A comparison -between the seventeenth and eighteenth century Dutch charts and the -maps of the present day proves the general truth of this observation. -The development seems to be still in progress. Witness the great -glacier-front which has descended into Agardh Bay since 1871, and over -which we went in crossing the Ivory Gate last year. Glaciers which end -in shallow waters must, indeed, be advancing slowly as they fill up the -bay heads, but this does not suffice to explain so great an advance as -that of the Kings Glacier between 1837 and 1861. - -The arriving sledges, dragged by men soaking with perspiration, stopped -these meditations. Both sledges were on the point of breaking up, -such had been the strain upon them during the last fortnight. They -were extra strongly built, and the runners were protected with metal -sheaths, yet there was not a sound joint left in them. The metal had -all been scraped and torn away, the runners smashed up. If ordinary -arctic travel were as rough as this work over crevassed inland -glaciers, such a sledging expedition as Nansen made from the _Fram_ -would be impossible, for no sledge could hold out a tenth part of his -course. Our sledges, moreover, were lightly laden with about a third of -the normal arctic load. Had they been heavier, they could not have been -dragged along at all, or if forced forward they would have broken up -the first day. - -It is only on returning to the coast that one obtains a correct -realisation of the silence of the higher regions. The glacier-front -kept “calving”; the floating ice kept cracking up and turning over; -there was a noisy torrent flooding down close to camp. Stones fell; -waves broke on the shore. Such noises for a long time drove sleep -away. When I did slumber it was to dream of glacier-lakes bursting, of -avalanches falling, and other catastrophes. - -Next day we had the boat to drag down to the sea--two hours’ work--all -our baggage to overhaul, pack, and portage, so that it was late in the -afternoon before we were ready to sail. The long hours of work were -enlivened by the charm of the scenery beneath the grey roof of sea-fog, -which still remained just where it had hung for so many days. The -variety of effects was extraordinary, for there was no wind to move the -fog, nor sunshine coming through it. The floating ice sometimes stood -out white against the purple background and dark sky, sometimes dark -against a white curtain of mist, and sometimes it glittered behind -a vaporous veil. The water was now dark, like lead, now bright as -burnished steel. There was continual change, yet no visible cause for -change. Out into this fairy region of calm water and pure ice at last -we rowed in search of new scenes, new beauty, and new delights. - -Our first goal was one of Lovén’s Islands, away out in the midst of -the bay, right over against the ice-cliff of the Kings Glacier. To -reach this we had to row through a bed of water so closely covered with -broken ice that a way was made for the boat by pushing the fragments -asunder. They were of all sizes and colours. Surfaces that had been -exposed to the air for some time were white, as all ice becomes -under such conditions. Others newly cloven, or that had formed till -recently the submerged face of floating blocks, were blue or green. -There were pink pieces, dusted over with sandstone _débris_; but the -majority of the small blocks, and most were small, were crystal clear, -like lumps of purest glass. The water was absolutely still. Sunshine -lay upon it, and the great glacier-cliff, along which we rowed, was -reflected from the watery mirror. Every few minutes the glacier -“calved,” and the resulting waves rattled the ice about us, whilst the -booming thunder came echoing back from remote hollows of the hills. -Nielsen was reminded of days spent by him as a sailor in fogs on the -Newfoundland banks, when, as he said, they used to smell the icebergs -long before they loomed into view. Kings Bay, of course, presents no -bergs comparable in size to those that drift southward down the coast -of Greenland, though the floating masses we were soon to approach were -much larger than those ordinarily met with in Spitsbergen waters. As -our distance from the south shore of the bay increased, the mountains -behind it were better seen, and proved to be a fine ridge with many -peaks, the watershed between Kings and English bays. A series of -glaciers descend in their hollows, but none reach the sea, for there -is a broad belt of flat land all along the southern shore. The view -up Kings Glacier now became of entrancing beauty as the fog cleared -away, and all our peaks from Mount Nielsen round to the Diadem were -disclosed. How different was this view to our eyes, which recognised -every feature and knew what was behind every impediment, from our -first outlook there last year, in a brief interval between two storms! -The culmination of the charm came when the small, partly ice-covered -island rose into our foreground, and the surging waves of splintered -glacier thrown up behind it contrasted with the smooth wide-spreading -snowfields far beyond. The ice-cliff north of the island was more -shattered than any we had yet beheld. Here the greatest floating bergs -enter the sea. They do not fall into it, but simply float away, being -already quite detached from one another by the deep clefts of the ice. - -From an examination of a great many sea-fronting glacier-sections we -learnt that crevasses, however long and wide, seldom penetrate very -far down into the mass of ice. I do not remember ever to have seen -any crevasse (except at this point) which cut a glacier-cliff down -to sea-level. Higher up in the _névé_ region crevasses may be more -profound, but towards a glacier’s snout I am sure that their depth is -often greatly overestimated. The ice in the foundation of a glacier -exists under great pressure and behaves very differently from the -surface ice, which is free to break up under lateral strain. A careful -study of arctic ice-cliffs would, I think, give rise to several -unexpected revelations. The opening up of Spitsbergen to ordinary -summer travellers would enable such simple but illuminating researches -to be undertaken by holiday-making men of science. - -The archipelago, which I have named Lovén’s Islands, after the explorer -who first recorded a visit to them, was now close at hand. We made -for a convenient cove and landed. Countless screaming terns saluted -us with a chorus of unmistakable imprecations. No bird that ever I -saw can swear like a tern. Till it opens its mouth you would think it -the very incarnation of gentleness and grace, such the purity of its -white plumage, the slenderness of its form, and the elegance of all -its motions. But it is my matured conviction that in every tern there -resides the spirit of a departed bargee. On these islands Lovén found -countless nesting birds of many sorts, besides the spoor of reindeer -and foxes. We found only eider-ducks, terns, and a very few geese; of -reindeer not a trace. There are no reindeer left on the west coast of -Spitsbergen. We never saw a footprint on the shores of Klaas Billen -Bay, Kings Bay, or Horn Sound this year, though in all three bays are -square miles of country admirably suited to feed and maintain them -and once supporting large herds. The ruthless Norwegian hunter has -exterminated them utterly. - -I need not expatiate on the gorgeousness of the view from these -islands. It was especially fine to the north where white icebergs -of all fantastic forms floated in the dark purple reflections of -the hills. The only sound heard, besides the screaming of the terns -and the boom of the glacier-cliff, was the innumerable ploppings of -water against the myriad floating blocks of ice. We landed on another -island to cook a meal and survey. The little plants were putting on -their autumnal colourings, most of the birds-nests were abandoned, the -young broods--alas! sadly few in numbers--disporting themselves in the -neighbouring waters. All the islands are smoothed by ice, for the -Kings Glacier was once at least 500 feet thicker and very much longer -than now. Probably, there are other mounds of rock, continuing under -the glacier the line of these islands, and rumpling up the ice into a -crevassed condition otherwise difficult to account for. - -Turning away from the islands, we rowed toward the east end of the -rounded hill standing out into the fjord, to which we gave the -name Blomstrand’s Mound. From the published account of the Swedish -Expedition of 1861, we were led to expect that Scoresby’s Grotto -would be found in this direction. It was only afterwards, when we -procured a copy in the original Swedish, to which are appended maps, -not reproduced in the German translation, that we discovered the -whereabouts of this grotto in Blomstrand’s Harbour.[9] We now had -to wind about amongst large floating towers and castles of ice, -entrancingly beautiful. The number of the great floating bergs seemed -countless. We passed by devious ways along channels, between them, -often being so entirely surrounded as to seem on a lake built all about -with ice-castles. Some were hollowed out into caverns with walls thin -enough to let the light of the low hanging midnight sun shine through. -We manœuvred to get one of these directly between us and the sun, so as -to enjoy the resplendence of its opalescent shimmer, contrasted with -the blueness of the shadowed side of the ice. Deep in the substance -of the crystalline wall shone out a host of sparkling points like -many-faceted diamonds enclosed in cloudy crystal. The evening was -perfect: calm, bright, mellow, clear to the remotest distance, save -just at one point where a sea-mist came pouring over a pass from -English Bay, with a rainbow mantling on its shoulder. - -The drowsily creaking oars at length brought us to the mainland, -where camp was quickly pitched on soft ground near a brook. There was -no grotto anywhere in the neighbourhood. The slope of Blomstrand’s -Mound rose temptingly behind. With plane-table and camera we hastened -forth to gain a more commanding panorama. About 500 feet up was a -convenient knoll, whence the upper part of the mound was displayed as -an undulating plateau bending away to the culminating dome of the hill -over a couple of miles of bog land and broken rocks, extraordinarily -disagreeable to walk upon. The whole mound is encircled on three sides -by the bay, whilst on the fourth a large glacier descending from the -north abuts against it, and sends an arm down into the sea on either -side. The view was, of course, most extensive and beheld under rarely -favourable conditions, for the low-striking, golden sunlight mellowed -all the glaciers and the hills. The bay spread abroad below, as in a -map, and the icebergs on its surface were tiny dots of white, whilst -the areas closely covered with smaller, broken ice resembled surfaces -crisped by some gentle breeze. - -At 4 A.M. (August 10) we turned in. A few hours later the weather was -still fine, but at noon the Crowns began to put on caps of cloud. Mists -gathered in all directions, wind rose, and soon all was overcast and -rain was falling on the tent. The spell of fine weather was, in fact, -at an end. By 3 o’clock we were rowing away in water no longer calm. -Yet it was charming to watch the graceful rocking of the smaller pieces -of floating ice, and to see them turn over as their equilibrium was -disturbed. The old white surface went under, the new blue side came up. -There was now but one day left before the _Kvik_ ought to call for us. -The weather was too thick for surveying, so we settled to make at once -for Coal Haven, where tertiary fossil plants had been found, though not -the characteristic _Taxodium_.[10] Accordingly we rowed straight across -the bay, though no sign could be seen of any inlet such as the chart -marks. There is, in fact, no inlet at all, but only a low headland that -protects the anchorage from westerly winds. It is completely open to -north and east. On reaching the south coast and finding no trace of -the expected inlet, we rowed along the shore toward Quade Hook for a -couple of miles. It was an open, pebbly beach, on which we might have -hauled up the boat, but whence it could not have been launched in face -of any sea, like that now threatening to rise. Leaving the men to keep -the boat off shore, Garwood and I landed to prospect. Just behind the -narrow beach was a low cliff, the front of a wide area of boggy and -stony ground from which the hills rise, half a mile or so inland. -Westward was no bay whatever, so we concluded that Coal Haven lay to -the east, where, in fact, we presently discovered it, behind a low spit -of shingle a few yards wide, enclosing a lagoon. - -While the men pitched camp, Garwood and I walked inland to look for the -coal-bed. Its position is carefully described by Lamont, but we had -only the book on the Swedish expedition of 1861 with us, and, though -the members of that party visited and, I believe, discovered the coal, -they give no accurate account of its position. We dimly remembered that -it was found where a glacier-stream cuts a section into the ground. -There were two glaciers ending about a mile inland from the bay, so -we walked towards them and tracked up every stream flowing from them, -but found no coal. I then went to the west, Garwood to the east, till -every inch of land within Coal Haven had been traversed. It was no -good. A big stone man planted on a mound, and with a slanting stick -built into it, seemed likely to be a guide to the hidden treasure; but -there was no coal in the mound, nor anywhere in the direction to which -the stick pointed. We have since learnt that the cairn marks one of the -points whose position was astronomically fixed by the Swedes,[11] and -that it has nothing to do with the coal, which in fact is not found -within Coal Haven at all, but within the next bay to the east, where of -course we did not look for it. - -A low cloud-roof, intermittently dropping rain, hung continuously over -Coal Haven during our visit. Only the bases of hills and the grey -snouts of glaciers emerged beneath it. Sometimes a dense mist came up; -rarely the drizzle held off for half an hour. In this cheerless case -black melancholy invaded Svensen. At a moment of gloomy forgetfulness -he filled the pot with sea-water for brewing soup. The mistake was -fortunately discovered in time, for there was no food to spare. When -Garwood returned with half a dozen guillemots, the last shot-cartridge -had been fired off. Svensen skinned the birds for the pot with the -sadness of a man condemned to death. “We will only eat half of them -to-night,” he said. “Why?” I asked. “Because this is the last proper -food we shall have, and we may as well make it hold out as long as -possible. When did you say the _Kvik_ is coming for us?” “At midnight -to-night,” I answered. “Not a bit of it. _Ikke!_ I heard the sailors on -the boat say the captain would not come for us at all. We shall starve -here.” “Skittles! They’ll come for us to-day or to-morrow.” “_Ikke!_ -they’ll not come at all, I believe.” “I tell you they will; the captain -undertook to come.” “_Ikke, ikke!_” We finished all the birds, but the -food almost stuck in Svensen’s throat. - -When supper was done (it was the morning of the 11th) a surprising -vigour seized our gloomy companion. He jumped into the boat, pitched -its mast, sail, and some spars on shore, and carried them away to the -point. We watched him build a big stone-heap and plant the mast in it -with the sail suspended as a flag. Then he turned in and was heard -loudly and solemnly prophesying to himself in his fine declamatory -style. We breakfasted late in the afternoon on one of our last soups -and some mouldy biscuits fried in the scrapings of the butter-pot; -then we began to look out for the _Kvik_. The mouth of Kings Bay was -not visible from camp, so we went for walks to various higher points, -besides spending some hours over another hunt for coal; but neither -coal nor _Kvik_ appeared. The drizzling night dragged its slow hours -along. A meagre supper in the morning of the 12th was the occasion of -more loud lamentations from our Norwegian Jeremiah. The others then -turned in, whilst I went off to the ruins of an old Russian hut on the -neighbouring cape to watch for the expected steamer. - -Less than a century ago there was a big winter settlement of Russian -trappers in and about Kings Bay. As in the case of other Russian -settlements, there were a central house and a number of outlying huts -widely scattered from one another. The central house of this group -was in Cross Bay, in Ebeltoft’s Haven, I believe. The Coal Haven -hut was only an outlyer, inhabited by a solitary individual, who at -stated intervals visited the central depôt to leave his catch of furs -and renew his meagre stock of provisions. Numbers of these trappers -annually died of scurvy. The rock on which I sat had assuredly been -witness to such unrecorded tragedies. There now remains nothing but -the ground plan of the hut, with a few bits of mouldering wood and -broken brick lying about. There were fragments of both Dutch and -Russian bricks, as is not uncommon on these sites, for the Russians -used the remains of older Dutch whaling “cookeries” in building their -stoves. Against a big rock was a piece of stone wall and a rotting -beam, apparently part of an old store-cupboard. Moss had crept up -over it, and little arctic flowers were growing upon it with unwonted -luxuriance. The bones of foxes and bears were in the ground, which was -pervaded with corrupting wood-fibre and carpeted with a peculiarly -rank moss that only grows thus luxuriantly on the abandoned sites of -human habitation. What a desolate place for a winter dwelling, planted -between a bog and the icy bay! Who lived here? I asked myself. What -did he think about? Were the hills anything to him--the Three Crowns -and those other peaks rising all around? Did the beauty of the long -sunset heralding the arctic night find recognition in his eyes? Or -was life too hard for the growth in him of any sense of beauty? Was -he some poor creature forced as a last resource to come here for the -bare means of subsistence, or some criminal forcibly expatriated to -these inhospitable shores? Such indeed was the custom in Northern -Russia before Siberia came into fashion as a place of exile. Long I -sat, musing on these things in the grey night, and listening to the -far-off rumble of the calving glacier. Every few minutes I scanned -the sea horizon off Mitra Hook, and always thought I could trace the -faint appearance of a remote steamer’s smoke. Imagination is a dreadful -trickster, but time always shows up its character. No steamer came in -sight, though the appointed hour had passed. My watch completed, I -returned to camp and sent up Nielsen to look out. “They haven’t come,” -said Svensen, “and they won’t come. _Ikke, ikke!_ We shall never get -away from here.” This croaking raven of a man began to grate upon our -nerves. - -In the afternoon all turned out again. No signs of the _Kvik_. We -assured one another that it was of no consequence. A fire was lit, the -pot set on to boil and all our remaining provisions turned into it. -If this was to be our last meal it should be as big a one as we could -provide. Slowly the water came to the boil, all of us anxiously and -greedily watching. Nielsen wandered forlornly off to the point. “The -_Kvik_, the _Kvik_!” he shouted. “_Ikke, ikke!_” said Svensen, but no -one heeded him; this time there was no mistake. Before our last food -was swallowed she had rounded into the bay and cast anchor close by us. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -KINGS BAY TO HORN SOUND - - -On boarding the _Kvik_ we were again in contact with the outside world. -There was much to hear and something to tell, so that time passed -quickly. Baron Bornemisza, returning from a week’s cruise in Wijde Bay -and along the north coast, was full of information about the condition -of the ice in that direction. It was not so open as at the same time -in the preceding year. Hinloopen Strait was blocked about halfway -down; the _Kvik_ had been unable to reach the Seven Islands. At Advent -Bay we found the more boldly navigated _Expres_, with our friend Herr -Meissenbach on board, in a happy and triumphant state of mind. He had -had the best kind of time, and enjoyed himself vastly, spending three -weeks in the neighbourhood of the Seven Islands, and pushing as far -east as Cape Platen. Two bears had fallen to the rifles of the party, -and I know not how many seals; now he was on his way home. - -That was a busy day at Advent Point, and a blustery withal, for the -autumnal bad weather was setting in. All our baggage had to be packed -for transfer to the _Lofoten_, in which we were to sail for Horn Sound -that evening. At the inn were two Swiss artists and Professor Wiesner -of Vienna, come to take observations on the intensity of the light. -Presently a tourist steamer arrived and carried the artists away. -People were coming and going all the time; it was the culmination of -the tourist season. - -I have read in the London press that Spitsbergen, nowadays, is -“overrun” with tourists. This is far from being the case. A -considerable number come up with the _Lofoten_ and other tourist ships, -and pay a brief visit to the west coast, but few of them ever land -except for an hour or two at Advent Point. Apart from Herr Andrée’s -party, the only visitors who spent any time in Spitsbergen this year -were Baron Bornamisza and a few people who made trips on the _Kvik_, -the German party who hired the _Expres_, and ourselves. Besides Garwood -and me, only Baron Bornamisza and the artists made any attempt to go -into the interior. The Baron spent two or three days with one of our -tents in the Sassendal, shooting reindeer; whilst the artists dragged -a little sledge a day’s journey into the hills west of Advent Bay, and -camped there for a couple of nights. So much for the overrunning of -Spitsbergen. The simple fact is that to spend any time in the interior -of the island is no easier now than it was fifty years ago, nor is -there much probability that it will become easier in the immediate -future. All of Spitsbergen that the ordinary tourist needs to see is -visible from the deck of a ship, whence it can be beheld without either -labour or discomfort. To penetrate the heart of Spitsbergen glaciers -now involves just the same kind of work that the crossing of North-East -Land demanded of Nordenskiöld in 1873. - -When the hour came for the _Lofoten_ to sail, such was the -boisterousness of the embarkation that some intending passengers -preferred to stay behind for a week rather than be soused. The -disturbing wind was only a local draught, such as often blows down the -boggy valleys of Spitsbergen, and especially down the Advent Vale. -When we were out in the midst of Ice Fjord the gale diminished to an -ordinary breeze, by which we were well rolled all night long off the -west coast. It was past noon (August 14) when the _Lofoten_ turned -into Horn Sound; she steamed straight up the bay and finally came to -off the mouth of a small bay in the south coast, the Goose Haven of -the old whalers. Our whaleboat was hoisted overboard, and such goods -as we needed for a week lowered into it. Svensen, who was to be left -on board, eagerly helping, and joyous to see the last of the hated -sledges. He said good-bye to us with monstrous enthusiasm, mixed in -apologies for not having enjoyed our company more keenly. If we would -come to his home and go a-fishing with him he assured us that we -should find no more active or willing companion. - -The exchange from the warmth and solidity of the steamer to the -rawness of the foggy day and the unrest of the tumbling sea was, to -say the least, undesirable. Our friends on board watched our departure -without envy, and it must be confessed that we rowed away with little -eagerness. Clouds hung low and heavy upon the hills, and no scene could -have been more desolate. In half an hour we landed on the stony beach -of the east shore of Goose Haven; the _Lofoten_ was then small in -the distance and just rounding out of sight. There was no novelty of -the unknown now ahead of us. We had come to make the ascent of Mount -Hedgehog or Horn Sunds Tind, which Garwood had almost succeeded in -accomplishing just twelve months before in company with Trevor-Battye -and a seaman. The object of this repetition was to see the view from -the top, a hope little likely to be fulfilled in such weather as was -prevailing. Garwood also desired to investigate certain rocks, which he -thought might prove interestingly fossiliferous. Save for these rocks -I do not think we should have come to Horn Sound again. They proved -to be a fraud, but that was not Garwood’s fault. My own wish had been -to spend our last week in Ekman and Dickson bays for the purpose of -completing and joining my two maps; but I could hardly expect Garwood -to be eager for such an arrangement, seeing that the area contained -no geological novelties for him. My alternative proposition was that -we should hire the _Kvik_ and make a run for Wiches Land--the islands -approached by us the preceding year, but never as yet landed on by -any geologist. Unfortunately, we could learn nothing of the condition -of the ice east of Spitsbergen, so hesitated to incur a considerable -expense for a very problematical advantage. If only we had known! It -was the one year of all recorded years in which the sea to the eastward -was most free of ice, and, during these very days, Mr. Arnold Pike was -steaming round and round and landing on the islands in question, where -he shot fifty-seven bears. - -For better or worse, we had decided on Horn Sound, and here we were by -the resounding shore of Goose Haven. There was no good landing-place -or protected creek for the boat. We had to land on the open beach. -The baggage was pitched ashore and the boat completely emptied. -Nevertheless, our reduced strength did not avail to haul it out of the -water. We began to regret the loss of Svensen sooner than we expected. -Camp having been pitched just above high-water line, there was nothing -for us to do on the dreary shore, so we rowed across to the far point -of the bay--Hofer Point--a convenient position for my survey. Garwood, -knowing the way about, steered the boat into a tiny cove, whither we -thought of transferring camp. The change was not made, fortunately, as -will hereafter appear. At the head of the cove are ruins of a Russian -settlement, on an exposed mound as usual, whilst on neighbouring knolls -are two groups of graves. There remains also a bench in a protected -corner. When the miserable life lived in these remote and solitary -huts by most of the exiles is considered, these poor benches, of which -I have now seen several examples, are peculiarly pathetic. Many a sad -hour must successive, lonely, fur-clad watchmen have passed while -seated upon them, marking the slow passage of miserable days. The -sentiment of the melancholy landscape is strangely enhanced by a human -interest of this kind, however remote. The savage regions of the earth -are always impressive to a spectator’s imagination, but they become -infinitely more impressive when they can be regarded as a theatre of -human suffering or endurance. - -The others returned to camp by boat, whilst I pursued my task and -wandered home round the bay’s head, at first over sea-eaten rocks, -afterwards, when the hills receded, over boggy land between the -shelving beach and the iceflat at the foot of the great moraine of the -glacier filling the bay’s valley--the Goose Glacier, as we afterwards -called it. On a mound of the bog are ruins of a considerable whalers’ -settlement, with quantities of great bones lying about, and the -inevitable group of graves not far away. In the seventeenth century the -Horn Sound whalers were English; in fact, this was one of the largest -English settlements. The beach seems to have risen considerably since -that time, for the whales used to be flensed between high and low water -marks, whereas the bones now lie far beyond reach of the highest tides. -It rained heavily as I walked on round the shore and waded the streams -that flow out from the glacier. The clouds descended lower than ever, -and the gloom, if possible, increased, so that the dreariness, by its -very intensity becoming almost novel, became also indued with the -pleasantness of novelty. - -[Illustration: TORRENT IN A GLACIER ICE-FOOT.] - -During our explorations of the previous year in the belt of boggy -interior between Advent Bay and the east coast, every glacier we came -across had an iceflat below its snout, formed by the freezing of the -winter snow when impregnated by water drained out of the glacier. This -year we had met with no examples of such iceflats before this one in -Goose Haven. It was of great extent and evidently destined to survive -the rapidly departing summer, for it still averaged about six feet in -thickness. The glacier streams had cut deep channels through it, which -the first heavy snowfall would easily block, again compelling the water -to soak into the new bed of snow and prepare it in its turn to be -frozen solid later on. The intermittent thaws of spring may be more -effective in forming the snow-bog, which is the needful preliminary -condition of an ice-foot, than is the autumn drainage held back by -the autumnal snowfall. As to this we possess no information. Between -the two the phenomenon is produced. As a rule the summer thaw must -suffice to melt the ice-foot away, for, if it did not, there would -be a continual increase in the thickness of the ice, and a kind of -glacier would be formed. Of such glaciers, however, we have seen no -examples. Though we found several cases of ice-foot apparently destined -to survive the summer, they probably owed their survival either to the -fact that they were produced by exceptionally heavy local falls of -snow, or to the summer’s thaw being below the average in total amount. -One year with another, the balance of formation and thaw appears to -be equalised. At all events, we have no evidence yet of any glacial -ice-foot that steadily increases. If, however, such an increasing -ice-foot were to arise, it would tend to bury the terminal moraine and -unite itself to the snout of the glacier, but before the process had -advanced very far the surface of the ice-foot would begin to acquire a -slope, on which a snow-bog could hardly be formed. The glacial water -would be drained quickly away and the conditions for further increase -of the ice-foot would no longer exist. - -Considering such questions, I dawdled about on the beach and the ice, -to the great disgust of some glaucous gulls, who kept swooping down -close to my head with horrid cries. Rain falling heavily did not add -perceptibly to the discomforts of the cold and blustery day. Near -camp was another ruined whalers’ settlement or cookery, surrounded -by quantities of bleached and rotting bones, and with the inevitable -grave-mound close by. The ruins in this case were better preserved, so -that their character was recognisable. A whalers’ cookery consisted -essentially of two parts, a “tent” and a cauldron. The tent was a -building of four low stone walls roofed with sailcloth passed over -a ridge-pole and held down by rocks round the edges. The walls of -the tent are still standing on a mound. Close by are the wrecks of -the brickwork belonging to two cauldrons for boiling down blubber. -Quantities of coal-slag showed the nature of the fuel employed. All -about the ruins and amongst the bones, moss was growing with the -peculiar rankness already mentioned as characteristic of the sites of -human habitation in Spitsbergen. - -Rain fell steadily all night long. The tide rising higher than before, -banged our boat about, for all we could do was to drag it as high -as the waves would carry it at high tide, and stand by to prevent -accidents till the waters had retreated again. Obviously, we must seek -some better haven. Accordingly Garwood and I set forth along the shore -northward to the point, and then eastward. Expecting no worse trouble -than rivers to cross, I wore only rubber waders, and hands in pockets -instead of carrying an ice-axe. This was all right so long as the beach -lasted, but where cliffs took the place of beach, difficulties arose. -The slope above the cliffs proved to be furrowed by couloirs filled -with ice. Garwood being somewhere aloft, stone-breaking, I had to cross -the gullies without assistance. This was accomplished by a new system. -Having selected a couple of sharp-pointed stones, like palæolithic -celts, I lay down and scrambled across, digging the stones in and using -them as handhold. Fortunately the slope was not steep. In case of a -slip I should have shot down the couloir fast enough, and been tossed -out at the foot of it over the cliff into the sea. The point of the bay -was reached beyond the fourth of these couloirs. The view over the head -of Horn Sound was tolerably good, though the strong cold wind made its -investigation anything but pleasant. The mountain-tops were hidden. -It is their remarkably bold forms that make fair-weather views of the -sound so beautiful. All the glaciers, however, were clear of fog. The -end of the sound is filled by a very big one; two others, descending -from Horn Sunds Tind, jutted out the cliffs of their splintered -sea-fronts between the end glacier and our point, whilst a whole series -of minor glaciers descend to, or almost to, the sea, along the north -shore, the principal one debouching into a fine bay almost opposite to -us. - -After taking observations at the point, I went eastward along the -south shore, where, above a low rock wall, is a belt of fairly level -ground intervening between the sound and a grand precipice that reached -up into leaden clouds. A group of graves was passed, near the little -rock-bound cove to which we afterwards moved camp. Half a mile on -came a remarkable assemblage of great fallen rocks, looking from the -distance like some ancient megalithic monument. The individual rocks -were as big as houses; ages ago they all fell together in a mighty -avalanche from the top of the neighbouring precipice. Almost all of -them have been cloven in half by atmospheric denudation and frost, and -the clefts afford delightful scrambles. In the midst of the ruin are -mossy lawns, springs of clear water, a few pools, and accumulations -of winter snow lingering in shady places. Here I came up with Garwood -enjoying shelter from the wind in a quiet nook. The views from the tops -of these rocks, and from various places among them, were most striking, -especially when some glacier-front could be caught within a framing -foreground of the splintered crags. We paid several visits to these -Stonehenge rocks, as we named them. Garwood, I believe, climbed them -all. Half a dozen contented me. Their quaintness grew upon us. We were -always finding new resemblances in their queer forms. Some had almost -dissolved away, leaving mere pillars to represent what had been mighty -cubes. One such pillar looked to me like an ancient Arabian bethel, but -Garwood called it “a ripping tombstone”! - -Some distance farther on came the first side glacier (Kittiwake -Glacier), emerging, past the end of the precipice, out of a gap in -the hills. Just at the angle is the resting-place of innumerable -kittiwakes, whose cries mingled with the noise of the wind. The glacier -was gained above its crevassed end, after a toilsome scramble up -moraine. It proved to be snow-covered and full of hidden crevasses. -Never, I suppose, was a glacier party less well provided than were we -two men to face such conditions. My boots had slippery rubber soles; -in each of Garwood’s were just two nails. We had neither rope nor -stick, our single implement being a small geological hammer. It may -be imagined, therefore, that our further progress was made slowly and -with much precaution. Ultimately we gained the middle of the glacier, -and saw up it to the rocks of what afterwards proved to be Horn Sunds -Tind disappearing into cloud. A few days later (19th) we returned -better equipped, but in weather no wise improved. That time we crossed -Kittiwake Glacier to its right bank, where are the red rocks which -Garwood once hoped would prove to be Devonian. They were an utter -disappointment, and he turned from them in disgust. Beyond came a slope -of screes, and then the next and smaller glacier, which likewise has a -splintered sea-front, almost joining that of the great Horn Glacier at -the head of the sound. We climbed on to a commanding hummock and gazed -inland. Horn Glacier is wide and of gentle slope, with hills of small -elevation immediately north of it as far as we could see. From the -south it receives two or three considerable tributaries, divided from -one another by mountain ranges of decided form, whose bases alone were -disclosed. The island is here only about sixteen miles wide. My idea -was to make a dash across and locate the position and direction of the -watershed, which is probably near the east coast, but in such weather -nothing could have been seen. A few miles inland fog rested on the snow. - -The inner part of the sound and the north bay were dotted over with -quantities of floating ice-blocks, fallen from various glacier-fronts, -and steadily drifting out to sea with the tide. It was near midnight, -and the sky was tinted with sunset tones just visible through thin -places in the roof of cloud, as we returned to camp. Only hunger -reconciled us to the sight of the tents, for the sea was rising with -the tide, and at high water we must get afloat and move away to one -of the more sheltered places round to the east beyond the point. -Everything was duly packed, the boat loaded, and all was ready, but we -could not get her afloat. Work as we might she would turn broadside to -the waves, and nothing would keep her straight. Two oars were broken -in the attempt. Then we unloaded her again and tried to get her off -empty, but that was no easier. The weather was continually worsening, -and our struggles became desperate; it was all wasted labour. A bigger -wave than usual at last broke into and filled the boat, rendering her -utterly unmanageable. There was nothing for it but to unpack everything -and pitch camp again. The tide presently going down, the boat was once -more left high and dry, so that at six in the morning we were able to -turn in. - -During the night Garwood was inspired with a new plan for hauling up -the boat. To me it did not seem promising, but, as a matter of fact, it -worked. Acting under his instructions, the three of us set our backs -under the bows and shoved them transversely a few inches uphill, then -under the stern and did the same. The double process moved her about -one inch. It was repeated again and again. After two hours’ work we -had the satisfaction of seeing the boat well above high-water mark. -But long before the time for high tide the waves, now grown large and -thunderous, were almost up to her, and we had to go at her again as -before and gain another few yards. - -The weather was miserable. Clouds lay almost upon the water. When the -tide turned we went for a walk inland to the foot of Goose Glacier and -up its right bank, following the route by which in the previous year -Garwood had approached the foot of Mount Hedgehog in exactly similar -weather. We kept on up the glacier for some way, and the clouds became -a little more broken as the distance from the sea increased. There -even came a momentary hole in them, at the end of which a point of -rock appeared with a stone man upon it. “There is the rock on which we -camped last year,” cried Garwood, “and there’s the cairn we built.” I -only had time to identify it before the fog embraced and hid it once -more. After that there was nothing to be seen. Rain fell, wind blew, -and we turned homeward. - -When the bay came in sight we perceived that conditions were not -improved. There was no wind in Goose Haven itself, but a heavy swell -was coming in from the open sea, breaking right over the rocks that -make the little cove where we landed on Hofer Point, and tossing -towers of spray into the air. I measured one of them by comparison -with the cliff beside it, and found it to be fifty feet in height. A -little anxious about our camp and boat, we hurried down and found them -threatened by the inroading waves, already at half-tide reaching above -the previous high-tide mark. The tents were quickly moved twenty yards -farther inland. All the baggage was carried after them, and then came -another turn at the boat, which was finally brought to a position of -safety. Long before that was accomplished the place where the tents had -been pitched was deeply covered by the boiling surf. Drenched with rain -and generally disgusted, we turned in about the middle of the morning -of the 17th. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ASCENT OF MOUNT HEDGEHOG - - -After breakfast in the afternoon of August 17, as things looked a -little better, we loaded ourselves with provisions, instruments, &c., -and decided to make an expedition at all events to the base of Mount -Hedgehog, and thence perhaps back to Horn Sound by way of Kittiwake -Glacier. It was 8.30 P.M. when we set forth, all three in far from -hopeful humour. We retraced the steps of the previous day, passing -the ruined cookery, and going over undulating ground and up the -right bank of Goose Glacier, then crossing the foot of a small side -glacier, which brings down a moraine of grey marble streaked with -pink, and so reaching the open ice where Garwood’s cairn came into -view. Last year hidden crevasses were troublesome hereabouts, but -there was no such danger now. Crevasses were either open or covered -with firm roofs of frozen snow. We roped, of course, but the rope was -not required--fortunately not, for Nielsen disliked and distrusted -it, and would not keep it tight, ultimately refusing to wear it any -longer and preferring to go detached. Give him rocks or the sea, he -said; as for ice and snow he knew nothing about them, and did not feel -safe on them, roped or unroped. Overhead was the usual roof of cloud. -Gradually, as we advanced and left the coast behind, we perceived the -roof was becoming thinner. Small holes began to appear, with faint -suggestions of rock behind them. Our excitement increased, for Garwood -knew that they were the rocks of Mount Hedgehog’s great precipice. -Thinner and thinner became the veil of mist as we walked expectant over -the hard-frozen _névé_, the mountain behind becoming every moment more -clearly disclosed, till at last it was fully revealed to us, a glorious -wall of silver-dusted rock with the crimson fires of heaven falling -like a mantle upon it. It was about midnight, two days before the sun’s -first setting. The radiant orb was upon the north horizon, half-buried -in the fog above which we were rising. A flood of crimson light flowed -from it over all mountains that rose above the clouds, so that every -rock was like a glowing coal, whilst the snow-domes resembled silken -cushions. - -Now at length I realized the position and nature of that Horn Sunds -Tind of which I had heard and read so much. It is not a peak, nor a -mountain, but a range of peaks running, not parallel to Horn Sound, -as marked on the chart, but at right-angles to it and almost north -and south. At the north end of the range is the highest point, a -needle of rock very similar to the Aiguille du Dru in form. This is -separated by a deep depression from the larger, but, as we afterwards -learnt, lower, mountain-mass to which we have attached the old name, -Mount Hedgehog, originally given to the whole range by its English -discoverers. Of this mass the culminating point is at its south end. -From it there descends to the west a steep rock rib, ending below in -a shattered little peak, beyond which comes a snow-saddle. The west -ridge rises slightly again to a rock mound (Bastion Point), falls to -another and wider snow-saddle, and is thence continued as a splintered -rocky range, forming the left bank of the branch of Goose Glacier up -which we had come. It was upon an outlier of Bastion Point that Garwood -and his party encamped last year. We found their tent-platform as -fresh as if it had only just been abandoned. Garwood affectionately -identified the various empty tins lying about and was lucky enough to -find his own pocket-compass uninjured where it had been forgotten. In -the neighbouring cairn were the records of their climb, a separate one -written by each member of the party. - -[Illustration: HORN SUNDS TINDER.] - -There was no doubt in our minds what next thing demanded doing. We -must climb the peak above, while the chance offered, for the sky -overhead was brilliantly clear; there was no wind and no apparent -change of weather impending. Sea, shore, lowlands, and glaciers were -unfortunately buried beneath the floor of clouds, but all hills over -1000 feet high were likely to be disclosed, so that the view would be -of great geographical interest. Nielsen preferred not to accompany our -ascent, so we gave him the plane-table and whatever else could not -be carried further. At 12.30 A.M. (August 18) we parted in opposite -directions, Nielsen going back to camp, we two upward to the broad snow -col between Bastion Point and the foot of the great west ridge. - -Before describing the ascent it is advisable to show the rather special -importance attaching to it. In the year 1823 Sir Edward (then Captain) -Sabine was sent to Spitsbergen and East Greenland to make pendulum -observations for determining the figure of the earth. From what he -observed on that brief visit he was led to conclude that Spitsbergen -is a land-area excellently adapted to the purpose of measuring an arc -of the meridian in a high latitude, a measurement which would be of -the utmost value for well-known scientific reasons not in this place -needing discussion. It is enough here to say that Sabine set forth -his ideas in a letter (February 8, 1826) addressed to Davies Gilbert, -M.P., Vice-President of the Royal Society. From that day to this the -proposal has not been lost sight of, but before an elaborately accurate -measurement of a line some 240 miles in length could be undertaken -it was necessary to decide upon the various points to be used for -the angles of the trigonometrical net. This could only be done after -Spitsbergen itself had been roughly surveyed. The first definite -step toward carrying out Sabine’s project was made by Professor Otto -Torell,[12] who included in the plans of the Swedish Spitsbergen -expedition of 1861 a reconnaissance of the meridian-arc. The work was -to be divided between two ships, the _Æolus_ and the _Magdalena_. -Chydenius on the _Æolus_ was to lay out the northern part of the line -and select the points of observation from the Seven Islands down to -the south end of Hinloopen Strait, whilst Dunér on the _Magdalena_ was -to complete the preparations down Wybe Jans Water to the South Cape. -Owing to unfavourable ice conditions the work could not be wholly -accomplished in that year. Another Swedish expedition was accordingly -sent out in 1864, under Nordenskiöld’s leadership, with Dunér to pay -special attention to the geognostic observations. The result of these -efforts was the suggestion of three different meridian-arcs: (1) along -the west coast from South Cape to Vogelsang Island; (2) down the -middle of the island by way of Wijde Bay, Ice Fjord, Bell Sound, and -Horn Sound; (3) from Ross Island (north of the Seven Islands) to the -South Cape by way of the east coast, Hinloopen Strait, and North-East -Land. The third of these was the line recommended. It has, however, -never been run, because the sea east of Spitsbergen is seldom easily -navigable and the number of fine days are few. Moreover, in order to -link together the triangles set out in Wybe Jans Water with those of -Hinloopen Strait, observations must be made from a high hill in the -midst of Garwood Land close to the furthest point reached by us this -year from Klaas Billen Bay. Professor Nordenskiöld himself informed me -that the existence of a hill commanding the necessary distant views had -been to him doubtful, though he believed that they had identified as -one and the same the apparently highest point of a range of mountains -seen from three different points near the east coast (Svanberg, the -White Mountain, and Mount Lovén). That such a mountain does in fact -exist (and even more than one) was discovered and proved by us this -year. The surpassing eminence of Horn Sunds Tind, dominating as it does -the whole southern region of Spitsbergen, visible from the west coasts -of Edges Land and Barents Land, and easily recognisable when and whence -soever seen, indicated its summit as the best point for observations -but the mountain was believed to be inaccessible. It was also believed -that other useful mountain peaks might exist in the interior of the -south part of the island between Horn Sound and Ice Fjord, by use of -which as trigonometrical stations the necessity of visiting ice-blocked -Wybe Jans Water might be avoided. One of the minor purposes of Herr -Gustaf Nordenskiöld’s expedition of 1890 was to pay attention to -these matters. He accordingly landed in Horn Sound and made a rapid -journey across the glaciers and mountains between that point and the -so-called Recherche Bay in Bell Sound.[13] He concluded that Horn -Sunds Tind and the mountains of similar structure north of Horn Sound -were inaccessible, and therefore could not be used as trigonometrical -stations. Our discovery that Horn Sunds Tind is probably visible -from the Three Crowns added greatly to its importance as a possible -trigonometrical station. Thus it was now become a matter of unusual -interest to discover a way to its summit. - -An easy ascent up a snow incline brought us to the rocks of the -little peak in which the west _arête_ of Mount Hedgehog has its lower -termination. They are broken rocks, lying at a steep angle. Deep, -new, hard-frozen snow filled up their interstices and made the ascent -very laborious, though quite easy. From the top of the little peak we -looked abroad over the sea of cloud, beneath which we knew the ocean -must lie, though no trace of it was visible to the remotest horizon. -The surface of cloud was generally level but undulating, the crests of -its motionless waves dyed pink by the midnight sun, the troughs filled -with blue shadows. Straight ahead rose the steep splintered rock-ridge -to the desired summit. On our right of it stretched up a broad -ice-couloir, narrowing above to a snow-saddle close below the peak, and -broadening below to Hedgehog Glacier, which flows almost due south to -the sea, and along whose left bank lie the row of lesser peaks forming -the continuation of Horn Sunds Tind. Last year Garwood led his party up -this couloir, keeping close to the rocks of the _arête_ by its right -(north) side. There was no better way, so we went down to the col east -of our little peak, and attacked the snow-slope beyond, Garwood leading -now and throughout the ascent. - -I was astonished, on approaching the couloir, to hear the mountain, as -it were, singing over all its precipitous face. The cause of the sound -was not apparent; it resembled the noise of waterfalls. The bonds of -frost were, however, strong upon the mountain and must have held it -for many days in a thawless grip, so that I could not believe there -was any water to fall. Once in the couloir the mystery was explained. -The sound arose from a cascade of fragments of ice, varying in size -from a nut to a hen’s egg. We soon found out their cause and whence -they came. Fine snow crystals formed in upper regions of the air, so -different from the large flakes of lower levels, had been flung by -the gale upon the crags. Hour after hour and doubtless day after day -the bombardment continued. The flying icy dust clung to the rocks, -and, being constantly added to, built itself up into feathery icicles -pointing towards the wind. Where there had been a constant eddy it was -shown by the changed direction of the icicles. They were only an inch -or two long low down, but the higher we climbed the larger we found -them to be, till near the top they became splendid plumes eighteen -inches long or more and of the loveliest forms, like ostrich-feathers -glittering with diamond dust. It was these icicles, detached from above -by the leverage of their overgrown length, and smashed into smaller -fragments as they fell, that filled the air with the sibilant, rushing -sound which seemed like the noise of many waters. Throughout the ascent -we had to run the gauntlet of these missiles, and were often hit, and -hit hard, but never so severely that it mattered. They were not big -enough to knock us out of our steps, whilst, once they had taken their -first bound from the rocks, they kept close to the slope, so that they -seldom flew by at a level higher than our waists. - -Last year Garwood had escaped this particular annoyance, but instead -had found the couloir in a rotten condition with soft snow lying upon -ice, so that he had to cut steps through the snow into the ice from the -very start. This year, the snow being hard-frozen, step-cutting did not -commence till some way further up. Garwood started with hopes that much -of it might be avoided by scrambling up the rocks of the _arête_, but -the ice-covering on them rendered that impracticable, or, at the least, -highly dangerous. Across the foot of the couloir stretched two of the -inevitable deep crevasses or _bergschrunds_ which every couloir boasts. -Under the conditions they were, of course, well bridged, and presented -no difficulty. Bonds of frost likewise held the rocks together, so that -not a stone fell across the route of our ascent. In warm weather, and -especially after midday, falling stones must be very common here, nor -do I see how they can be avoided, for they rake every possible line of -ascent. - -Once really in the couloir, step-cutting became necessary, at first -mere slicing of the frozen snow, but all too soon laborious hacking -into hard blue ice. We kept close to the rocks and could sometimes -advance a step or two by jamming the foot into the crack between rocks -and ice. Such relief was rare. I calculated that Garwood cut altogether -five hundred ice-steps in the couloir. This does not include snow-steps -below it or on the final ridge. Garwood made them small and far apart, -whilst I enlarged them into regular shelves to last against our return. -The view, when we turned round to look at it in breathing intervals, -was restricted, for the walls of the couloir shut out everything except -the prospect over the cloud-covered ocean, which remained from hour -to hour bathed in the pink light of sunset or sunrise. The sun flung -the blue shadow of our peak far out upon the cloud-floor. When we -were fairly high up, the shadow of the summit became tipped with red, -which, as we mounted higher, developed into a series of four concentric -rainbows, apparently lying on the clouds in the remote distance and -haloing the shadow of the peak. This effect, as may well be believed, -was remarkable enough; but even more unusual, to my eyes, was the -appearance of what I can only describe as two radiantly white roads -of brightness, stretching directly away from us straight out to the -horizon, one on either side of the mountain’s shadow, and each making -an angle of about 37°, with a line from the eye to the centre of the -rainbows, or 143° round from the sun. All the rest of the cloud-floor -was still mottled in blue and pink, though the pink was now growing -faint, and the general tone was becoming blue-grey; the two “roads” -alone were snow-white by contrast. - -The higher we rose the steeper was the couloir, the harder the ice, -and the greater the cold. The distance from the glacier below steadily -increased; to look down upon it was like looking down a wall. The -distance to the skyline above did not seem to diminish correspondingly. -We came to the point where Garwood had led his companions on to the -rocks last year. We, however, kept on up the ice. Then we were level -with last year’s highest. It had been estimated at about eighty feet -below the summit, as far as the fog enabled a guess to be made; now -in perfectly clear air we saw that very much more than eighty feet -remained to be climbed. A strip of rocks, above on our right, descended -into the couloir from the final snow _arête_ at its top. We cut a long -staircase diagonally across to them up a yet steeper ice-slope than -any before. They proved to be nothing worse than rather steep screes -encumbered with ice. We scrambled up them to the final ridge, a real -knife-edge of snow of the giddiest description, for on the other side -the mountain wall plunged vertically, as it seemed, 3000 feet down into -the floor of cloud below. Here we entered the sunshine, and the view -toward Edges Land burst upon us, but we scarcely looked at it. There -was not a cloud in the sky; we should see it better from the top, and -to that our attention was anxiously turned. It was still 100 feet above -our heads. A thread-like snow-ridge of astonishing delicacy led steeply -up to the final tooth of rock. Carefully we advanced, planting our feet -on the very crest of the ridge, which had to be trodden down before it -was broad enough to stand upon. Here and there overhanging cornices -had to be avoided; but only care was required, there was no real -difficulty. In a few minutes we touched the foot of the summit rock. -It was a plumb vertical wall, perhaps fifteen feet high. I suppose -we might have climbed straight up it, but an easier way was found. -The rock was cloven in half from top to bottom by a crack just wide -enough to squeeze through sideways if we expelled our breath and made -ourselves thin. On the other side of it was a ledge giving easy access -to the highest point, on which we laid our hands with a great feeling -of joy. The ascent had taken five hours from the foot of the couloir. - -To express the beauty of the view that now surrounded us surpasses -my powers. A bare statement of its character and extent is all that -I shall attempt to set down. The lowlands, bays, and wide glaciers -were alike buried beneath the floor of cloud, so that much of the -geographical information which else might have been obtained was -withheld. Only in the south-east was there any sea or coast-line -visible, an appearance of low-lying flat land, which may indeed have -been merely a shadow upon water. The whole of Edges Land was in cloud, -but Barents Land was sharp and clear, with all its peaks quite distinct -and easy of identification, had one but known what to identify. Here, -too, the waters of Wybe Jans Water were disclosed with the sunshine -lying brightly upon them, and the long east coast of Spitsbergen -leading in that direction. Everywhere else were only peaks rising -like golden islands out of a silver sea. A row of such, the tops of a -range of hills, ran close by us down the middle of the land towards -the South Cape. In the north was a chaos of peaks, those near at hand -lying in north and south rows, but the remoter ones dotted about on -no discoverable plan. We identified the peaks about Bell Sound, and -Mount Starashchin at the mouth of Ice Fjord, but of hills more remote -we could be sure of none. So much for the distance and background of -the view; its great glory, however, was in the craggy ridge of Horn -Sunds Tind itself, along which we looked both to north and south. -Southward it sank rapidly, but in the opposite direction it reared -itself into successive jagged peaks rising out of a narrow zigzag ridge -of precipitous rock. Alas! we were not on the highest point; that was -now seen to be the splendid needle further north, divided from Mount -Hedgehog by a deep gap, and perhaps surpassing it in height by as much -as forty feet. All the rocks of this glorious ridge were covered with -ice-feathers, whereon the sun shone with great brilliancy, whilst a -bold shadow clothed the whole west face of the mountain. The zigzagging -of the ridge brought the bright and shadowed sides into alternate -prominence, and led the eye agreeably along to the sudden jut of the -culminating needle. How beautifully this wonderful group of bold, -snow-decked crags was enframed by the bright effulgence of the cloudy -sea and its emergent islands any one can imagine better than I can say. -The effect on the spectator was heightened by the sense of standing -high and alone, for, save along the knife-edged ridge, the mountain -fell from our feet with such utter abruptness as to seem everywhere -vertical, so that we had the sensation of looking from a balloon rather -than of standing upon the solid earth. - -We now observed that a very fine range of peaks, striking inland -northward from the west side of Horn Sound’s north bay, is the -orographical continuation of Horn Sunds Tind, the sound itself having -been cut right through this ridge. No visitor to Horn Sound can fail to -notice the remarkable end peak of this ridge, which rises from the sea, -a rock-blade of the narrowest description, one side very steep, the -other plumb-vertical. Numberless birds nest in the lower part of its -cliffs, inaccessible alike to men and foxes. - -Tearing ourselves away from the summit and its entrancing view, when -at last we were almost frozen stiff, we retreated a few yards down -the east face into a little hollow, sheltered from the wind and open -to the tepid sun. There a frugal luncheon was eaten and pipes duly -smoked, and there we left our cards in a crack, for there were no loose -stones out of the snow wherewith to build a cairn, nor, if there had -been any, was there room enough on the summit for a cairn to stand. In -such raw atmosphere, however, motion is needful for enjoyment, so that -neither of us was unwilling to commence the descent. Garwood’s notion -of traversing the whole length of Mount Hedgehog’s summit-ridge to its -north end and descending by another west _arête_ from that point was -silently abandoned. With the mountain in good condition it might be -accomplished and enjoyed, but the iced rocks made the attempt not worth -consideration. By the way that we came up by the same must we return. - -Trotting down the _arête_ to the top of the ice-covered screes was -easy enough, but from that point the greatest care was required. Both -of us afterwards confessed that we looked forward with trepidation to -the descent of these screes, for they were very steep, very loose, -and slippery with powdered uncompacting ice. Descents, however, -are generally worse in prospect than in actuality, and this was no -exception. We hardly realised where the bad place was till it had been -passed; but at the foot of the rocks there lurked a quite unforeseen -perplexity. Our beautiful ice-staircase had so completely disappeared -that for some time we could not discover its position. The steep -snow-covered ice-slope was absolutely smooth. No visible inequality -broke the evenness of its white surface. With some difficulty I found -our old footsteps on the rocks. Standing in them and leaning downward, -whilst Garwood held the rope, I probed in all directions for the -topmost ice-step. It seemed as though an entirely new staircase would -have to be cut. But at last luck revealed the missing hole, which, like -all the rest below, was filled up and smoothed over by snow-dust and -ice-fragments that had fallen into it. I cleared it out and began the -descent. The next step was similarly masked and had to be sought and -cleared, though, of course, its position was more easily found. The -steps, having been cut as far apart as we could stride, were difficult -to reach down to, nor did we venture to tread down a pace till the -exact position of the foothold had been discovered. Sometimes new steps -had to be cut because the old ones were beyond reach of the axe. It was -interesting work which prevented the return from being monotonous, but -rendered progress rather slow. When the _bergschrund_ was approached -difficulties were at an end. We looked back and found the summit again -enveloped in cloud, whilst the sea-fog below was steadily rising. -Before we had quitted the rocks of the peaklet at the foot of the ridge -we were well into the dense mist, where, in a few yards, we promptly -lost our way and had to appeal to the compass for direction. Garwood’s -cairn was reached a few minutes later, and our remaining provisions -were consumed under its shelter. The descent to camp was without -incident. Tired and hungry, we reached it after an absence of fourteen -hours, and were delighted to find that the violence of the waves had -abated. - -It may be of interest to Alpine climbers to compare this ascent with -that of some known peak in the Alps. The height of the mountain from -the foot of the glacier is about 4500 feet. From the _bergschrund_ at -the foot of the couloir to the top is about 3000 feet. The ascent, -therefore, from the point where the climb commences is somewhat longer -than, and happens to be very similar in character to, the corresponding -part of the ascent of the Aiguille Verte[14] in the Mont Blanc range, -made by way of the south-east couloir. Horn Sunds Tind, indeed, may -be compared in other respects with the Verte group. Mount Hedgehog -represents the Verte itself, the west _arête_ corresponds to the Moine -ridge, whilst the highest northern needle resembles the Dru, both in -position and in form. Some day, no doubt, it will be climbed, though -I scarcely think Garwood and I shall return to climb it. Horn Sound -appears to be a bad weather region, and we have had enough of its -inhospitable shores. - -About 7.30 P.M., after a good sleep, we awoke to find the most glorious -drama of colour playing for us upon the sound. Already, through ten -hours of every night, when thin clouds covered the sky, marvellous -long-drawn-out sunset effects brooded over the southern extremity of -Spitsbergen. Day by day they were creeping further north, heralds of -the long winter night. What we saw that evening was no ordinary sunset -of the temperate regions merely extended in duration, but such a sombre -splendour as might fitly usher in the fiery consummation of the world. -The hidden sun, level with a low, thin roof of cloud, shone both upon -its upper and lower surfaces, painting the underside a ruddy brown. -Peculiar and unexpected reflections made lights in strange places. -The mountains were dark chocolate or rich purple in colour. Lighter -chocolate were the glaciers. The fjord was dark-green, shot with pink -reflections from above. Away beyond the sea was a belt of clear sky -beneath the cloud-roof. Overhead, pink clouds, rent and twisted by some -high gale, writhed in an island of blue in the upper regions of the -air. New snow whitened the lower hill-slopes. Chilly blasts came and -passed, telling of the winter that was at hand. - -Late in the evening we breakfasted and packed up camp. Soon after -midnight the boat was easily launched in the calm bay. It was our -intention to row to the far side of the head of the sound, where there -were rocks that Garwood thought might prove worth examination. No -sooner, however, was the point of Goose Bay rounded than a strong wind -from the north-east met us, against which we could not make headway. -Close at hand was a little cove, well protected by rocks, and there we -were compelled to land, just forty-eight hours before the steamer was -to call and fetch us away. - -The doings of these two days are not worth record. They were a time -of low clouds and frequent heavy rains. No exploration could be done, -because nothing could be seen. We made useless expeditions to Kittiwake -Glacier; we scrambled among the Stonehenge Rocks, and otherwise killed -time. Thick clouds and the dipping sun made the nights so dark that -candles had to be burnt in the tent during several hours. The sea -became quite calm; birds seemed to increase in numbers upon the water, -as though they were gathering in Horn Sound for their southern flight, -just as the whaling fleet in old days used to gather either here or in -Bell Sound. - -Early on the morning of the 21st, Nielsen called us with news that -the _Lofoten_ was in sight. To pack our baggage and launch the boat -was the work of a few minutes. We rowed out to the steamer, which -took us and our goods on board and promptly headed away for the open -sea and the south. As Horn Sound was quitted, the weather temporarily -improved. For a moment the clouds broke or lifted, and showed us, for -the first time, all the height and width of Horn Sunds Tind--a sight -to us most interesting, but not specially impressive in the dull -illumination that prevailed. We passed the South Cape at sunset and -enjoyed one memorable last look along the west coast, whose peaks and -promontories were visible as far away as the Dead Man at the mouth of -Ice Fjord. The northern horizon behind them was striped with ruddy -and golden radiance. The under side of the everlasting cloud-roof was -strangely illuminated with delicate pink light, reflected up to it -from the white surface of the interior of Spitsbergen, upon which the -low sun contrived to cast its rays just below the northern edge of the -cloud-cap--an effect I have never before observed. I have several times -seen the underside of Spitsbergen’s cloud-roof shining pink, and always -supposed that it reflected direct sunshine; but probably in such cases -a preliminary upward reflection of the light from a snowfield may be -assumed. - -Our voyage was delightfully calm. We saw many whales and hundreds of -seals in schools, especially near Bear Island, north-west of whose -south point we cast anchor for a few hours in the afternoon of the -22nd. The top of Mount Misery was buried in a soft grey cloud, but the -splendid cliffs below were close at hand, with pillared rocks jutting -out of the sea at their feet. A heavy swell broke upon the barren -island, casting towers of spray aloft. Off shore blew a stiff local -breeze that made landing a wet and laborious process, for it was only -just possible to row against it. Every one who landed returned to the -ship drenched to the skin. - -A few miles away from Bear Island the wind dropped and the sea was -calm. From hour to hour the temperature rose, so that those of us who -had spent any length of time in Spitsbergen felt that we were coming -into luxurious and almost tropical latitudes. About sixty miles north -of the North Cape two ships under full sail came in sight far away -over the calm sea. They were bound from Arkangel, laden with timber -for English ports. When they had been left behind, the hills of Norway -appeared along the southern horizon. Their low line gradually rose -from the bosom of the waters as we approached. The sun foundered into -the sea about nine o’clock, just when our ship passed under the North -Cape’s beetling cliff and rounded into the sheltered eastern bay, -where is a little landing-stage at the foot of a zigzag path leading -up a gully to the plateau above. Bay and gully were shrouded in the -gloom of evening, but the air was warm and rich with the smell of -the land. We rowed ashore, a motley international company. Something -like a race was started for the summit of the Cape, which is about -1000 feet above sea-level and a long distance from the landing-place. -I see that Bädeker gives seventy minutes for a rational ascent; we -most irrationally did it in twenty-eight. It was a merry party that -gathered on the top--Belgians, Poles, Hungarians, Swedes, English, -Norwegians, men of science, seamen, travellers. Nansen’s _Fram_ crew -were represented by three of its members, including the laughter-loving -giant, Peter Hendriksen, every one’s butt and playfellow. Bottles were -uncorked, and their contents shared round. Rocks were prized down the -cliffs. It was a gay hour. Though heated by the uphill race, we could -sit without chill on the exposed promontory; for the air to us was full -of southern warmth, and felt like the air of hot Italian valleys to a -man descending into them from the Alps. - -The party soon dispersed, and I found a secluded corner, under the very -point, with the northern ocean below. “In such moments Solitude is -invaluable; for who would speak, or be looked on, when behind him lies -all Europe and Africa, fast asleep, except the watchmen; and before -him the silent Immensity, and Palace of the Eternal”--thus thought -Teufelsdrökh, as he stood on this particular spot one June midnight, -clothed in his “light-blue Spanish cloak” and looking “like a little -blue Belfry.” “Silent Immensity and Palace of the Eternal!”--the words -are not too strong for the wonder of that view. There was no midnight -sun to look upon; a spot of brightness in the midst of the orange and -crimson north showed where, far beneath the horizon, it was looking -abroad over the cloud-covered arctic world. The delicate crescent -of the new moon beamed not far away, with a single planet near it. -Straight from my feet plunged the splendid cliff to the measureless -stretch of the Arctic Sea. In the east, air, ocean, and clouds merged -together in a harmony of tender violet, so soft, so rare of tint, that -the eye, once turned thither, was loath to wander again. A faint low -promontory of land, dividing sky from sea, lured the fancy onward to -the regions of romance--Novaja-Zemlja, the Kara Sea, and the way of the -North-East Passage. Not thitherward was our way, but home. By noon we -were again in Hammerfest. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -ON THE USE OF SKI - - -Since Nansen published his book, “The First Crossing of Greenland,” -the English public has known of _ski_ and their use. Ski (pronounced -_shee_) are Norwegian snowshoes, now admitted to be the best form of -snowshoe in the world. They are long, narrow planks for fastening one -under each foot, so as to distribute over an area of soft snow, many -times larger than the area of the foot, the weight of a man walking. -They not only prevent him from sinking into the snow, but, if it is -in suitable condition, they enable him to slide along on its surface. -The common idea in England is that the art of using ski is very -difficult of acquisition. This, as I shall show, is a mistake. No doubt -the almost miraculous expertness attained by the best Norwegian and -Swedish skisters (to coin a needed word) is beyond reach of ordinary -Englishmen, who take to the sport when they are full grown and have -rare opportunities for practising it. But for purposes of mere travel -far less skill is required. - -In fact, it is with skiing as it is with skating. Any person, with -normal habits of exercise and control over his limbs, can learn to -skate in a few days well enough to go straight ahead over good ice at -a tolerable pace. Within a fortnight of his putting on skates for the -first time, he might go a-touring along frozen Dutch canals without -being much, if anything, of a hindrance to a companion, the most expert -of figure-skaters. To pass the St. Moritz test as a figure-skater takes -months or even years of practice, but that is to learn the art, not -the mere craft of skating. So it is with skiing. The artist skister -can race down steep slopes at an appalling velocity, leaping drops -or crefts of almost incredible dimensions. A traveller who needs ski -for the purpose of exploring the great snowy areas of the world has -no occasion to acquire skill of that pre-eminent character. He is not -called upon to advance faster than a sledge can be dragged by men or -dogs, as the case may be, and that he can learn to accomplish in a -very short time. Sliding downhill is a little more difficult; but any -climber, who can make standing glissades with facility, soon learns to -glissade on ski down any ordinary slope of snow. - -When Garwood and I landed in Norway last year, we had never seen a pair -of ski, and did not know where to buy or how to choose them. During the -summer we travelled over 150 miles on ski, dragging our sledges behind -us. Later on we went to Stockholm and saw all manner of ski in the -Exhibition there, and availed ourselves of every opportunity that came -in our way to obtain information about ski and everything connected -with them. We soon learnt that there are ski of all sorts and kinds. -They differ in the material of which they are made, and they differ -in form. I am told that ash is the best material to make them of. The -points to be seen to are the straightness of the grain and the absence -of knots. Lightness is less important for a traveller than strength. - -The questions of form and size are determined by the purpose for which -the ski are to be used. Speaking generally, narrow ski are faster than -broad of the same area. In soft snow, however, the advantage vanishes, -for narrow ski sink in more deeply than broad; indeed, for very soft -snow, ski require to be both broad and long. The edges and the hinder -ends may be either rounded or cut off square. For hill climbing it -is certain that the squarer the angle of section of edges and hinder -ends the better, seeing they take a better hold of the snow, and -prevent sliding sideways or backwards; sharp edges also make steering -easier on hard snow. Relatively short, broad ski, are best for hill -climbing, and, in general, for the work of a traveller. They are easier -to advance on, easier to steer, and easier to turn round with. Their -length may be anything from two to one and a half metres, two metres -for choice; they should measure eight centimetres at the narrowest -part under the foot, increasing forward to from nine to ten centimetres -at the broadest part, just where the toe of the ski begins to turn -up. The front ends should be well turned up, the points being raised -from twelve to fifteen centimetres above the level of a horizontal -plane on which the ski stand. Such ski are of the Telemark type, and -can be bought under the name “Telemark ski,” from the Scandinavian -manufacturers. A good pair, made of selected ash, costs about fifteen -shillings. - -[Illustration] - -The most important matter for a novice is to learn how best to attach -his ski to his feet. There are various ways in which this can be done. -In all alike the attachment is such that the foot can be freely bent -and the heel raised, while the fore part of the foot is kept firmly -in contact with the ski. The roughest attachment is a mere loop or -strap of leather, fastened to the two sides of the ski, and gripping -the front part of the foot. This, however, permits the foot to wobble, -a most disagreeable condition for a beginner. Such fastenings were -all that Nielsen and Svensen used, and they seemed quite comfortable -with them. The common binding, and the best for a traveller, is more -complicated. The broad strap, going over the fore part of the foot, -is divided longitudinally on each side about the level of the sole. -Through the two loops thus formed there passes a stout piece of cane -covered with leather, the middle of which goes round the back of the -foot near the heel, whilst the two ends are brought forward and drawn -together in front of the toe, where they are fastened down firmly to -the wood of the ski. This fastening has to be adjustable, so that the -cane loop may be drawn close against the heel. There are several sorts -of adjustment; one is shown in the illustration. Another, perhaps -better, is a kind of vice that opens and shuts by a screw; it grips the -two ends well and enables either of them to be pushed forward ahead of -the other. A small strap, sewn on to the back of the boot, low down, -holds the cane in place. The same result may be less well attained by -using an additional strap that passes both under and above the instep, -and is sewn on both sides to the leather covering of the cane. This -form of attachment is usually employed by winter skisters in the Alps. -For advancing over level ground, all the fastenings may be loose; but -for hill climbing they need to be tight, so that the feet are firmly -attached to the ski and can direct them with certainty. Beginners will -certainly find tightly-attached ski much easier than loose to walk or -glissade on. - -[Illustration] - -The next question is that of footgear. For moderate cold, such as you -meet with in summer in the arctic regions, ordinary climbing boots -do well enough; but leather Lapp shoes are better. These seem to be -known by different names. I find them called “pjäxa-schuhe” in a -Swedish-German catalogue, which mentions two qualities, Norrbotten -(price 8s. 6d.), and Norwegian (price 14s. 6d.). A particular kind of -band is made, called a pjäxband, a kind of putti, for winding round the -top of the boot to keep out snow. - -Within these leather boots thick goathair stockings should be worn. So -far as I know, they can only be purchased in Norway and Sweden, the -price varying according to the length. For very great cold, such as -that of arctic winter, shoes of reindeer fur, stuffed out with hay, are -required. The adjustment of ski to these is a less simple matter, for -if the hay is badly packed the cane is likely to rub against the heel -and produce a painful raw. - -One more part of the equipment for skiing has yet to be mentioned. It -is the staff. Racing skisters use two sticks, one in each hand, but -for glissading the two have to be held together like a single staff. -To facilitate this, there are specially constructed staves made to fit -together. The ordinary ski-staff is provided with a kind of plate near -the spike, to prevent the point penetrating too far into soft snow, and -to give resistance for a push off. Travellers using ski in mountain -regions will probably find it best to carry an ordinary ice-axe and -make shift with it. An axe is far less convenient than a longer bamboo -staff, for mere purposes of skiing, but its other uses, when ski are -laid aside on steepening slopes where real climbing is required, -overbalance its obvious defects. It would be easy to devise some form -of small, circular plate to slip over the point of the axe a little -way up the stick, and wedge there, quickly removable when the axe is -required for step-cutting. - -The skister’s equipment is really simple enough, but its various parts -are not easily purchasable in England. The following manufacturers -of ski showed exhibits at the Stockholm Exhibition of 1897: Helmer -Langborg, 6 Birger-Jarlsgatan, Stockholm (who also sells the various -kinds of boots, goathair stockings, gloves, pjäxbands, &c.); L. H. -Hagen & Co., of Christiania; L. Torgensen & Co., of Christiania (who -also make arctic sledges); Langesund Skifabrik, Langesund, Norway (a -very good exhibit); Fritz Huitfeldt, of Christiania (gold medal at the -principal Norwegian show for ski). I give this list of names quite -ignorantly, just as I copied them down. I have no knowledge about the -estimation in which they are held, their relative expensiveness, or -anything else concerning them. One or two of these firms issue priced -catalogues, which, I suppose, may be obtained on application. Ski are -also made and sold in Austria; they will be found advertised in the -publications of the German and Austrian Alpine Club. Ski of this make -are sold in winter at the chief Alpine centres, but they are very -inferior to ski of Scandinavian manufacture. - -Little need be said about how to learn the use of ski, but one or two -hints, even from so poor a performer as the present writer, may be -suggestive to an absolute novice. The first desideratum is to fasten -the ski properly to the feet, so that the boards run truly with the -feet, not with an independent motion of their own. The trouble at first -is to keep the two ski constantly parallel with one another, and in the -direct line of advance. People whose habit is to turn out their toes in -walking, however slightly, will find themselves constantly impeded by -that trick. To keep the ski parallel, the feet must be parallel. The -motion is not one of walking but of shuffling. The ski are not raised -from the ground, but merely pushed forward, the knees being kept bent, -and the action resembling a sort of easy run. If the snow is in good -condition, the ski will slide forward a little at the end of each step. -The use of a staff or a pair of staves is to prolong the distance of -this sliding. If a staff is used it is grasped in both hands and thrust -into the snow on one side every time the foot on that side is advanced. -If two staves are used, one in each hand, each is thrust back (like a -walking-stick) against the snow, turn about, the left when the left -foot is advanced, and _vice versâ_. Another way is to take three quick -steps and to thrust with both staves at the moment of the fourth step. -Yet another trick is to thrust with both staves at every third step; -this changes the foot each time, but is more difficult. About four -miles an hour is an average kind of pace on the flat with fairly good -snow. Fifty kilometres in 4h. 20m. 17.5sec. was, I believe, the record -for flat racing two or three years ago. - -The ascent of hills on ski involves new problems. If the snow be soft -enough for the ski to sink into it about half-an-inch, and if the slope -be gentle, there is no difficulty in walking straight up. If the slope -gradually and steadily steepens, there will come a point at which the -ski no longer hold, but slide backward when the weight of the body is -thrown upon them. The beginner must then zigzag, pressing the edge of -the ski into the slope but, otherwise advancing as on the flat. This -is easy enough; the trouble comes at the angles of turning, where his -legs are almost sure to slide asunder, or he will tread with one ski -on the other. In turning round, even on the flat, it is at first no -easy matter to avoid fastening one ski down by treading on it with the -other. You should begin turning by moving the foot which is on the side -towards which you are going to turn; keep the legs well apart and make -the rear ends of the ski the approximate centre of rotation. In turning -round on a hillside it is easier to turn with the face, rather than the -back, towards the hill. Another way of walking uphill in suitably soft -snow is to turn the toes well out and lift each ski over the other; -this is more difficult than zigzagging. In very steep places neither -method can be applied; you have to advance sideways with the ski kept -horizontal, an easy but slow method of progression. - -Downhill the real fun begins, and the difficulty of maintaining the -balance becomes serious. The weight must be thrown forward, the knees -kept bent, and the staff, or pair of staves held as one, used as in -glissading. The ski must be kept strictly parallel and close together, -with one foot a little in advance of the other. The problem is to -adjust the balance to every varying degree of slope and alteration in -the slipperiness of the snow. Such alterations have to be foreseen and -prepared for. The beginner must expect to fall often on hands and knees -and to sit down with undesirable frequency when he least expects. He -will find it much easier to fall than to rise again. He should practice -glissading on a gentle slope, then on a steeper. Slopes that he finds -too steep for direct descent can be negotiated by zigzags, but much -time will be lost at the turns. - -Whether ski could be advantageously used in summer in the Alps is -doubtful. The ascent, still more the descent, of Mont Blanc between -the Grands Mulets and the Vallot Hut would certainly be facilitated by -them, but they are unsuited even for a broad snow-_arête_. Agreeable, -however, as ski would be on any snowfield, and valuable as a protection -against concealed crevasses, they are far too heavy to be carried by a -mountaineering party for incidental use. Still they might be employed -with advantage in certain places. For example, if a party of climbers -were to make the Concordia Hut the centre for a week’s climbing, they -could not do better than provide themselves with ski. Thus equipped, -all the surrounding mountains, anywhere between the Lötschenlücke and -the Oberaarjoch, would be brought within their easy reach. The new -Monte Rosa Hut would likewise be an excellent ski centre, and so -would the Becher Hut by the Übelthal Glacier in the Stubai Mountains -of Tirol. For winter climbing in the Alps ski have already established -their utility. I understand that several of the easy Oberland passes, -such as the Strahleck, have been crossed on them, whilst at lower -levels their value is even more obvious. Whether ski-running will ever -attain in western and central Europe the rank as a sport which it holds -in Norway and Sweden is a question that only the future can decide. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -GEOGRAPHICAL RESULTS - - -Before taking leave of the reader it seems advisable to indicate -briefly the general geographical results of our two seasons of -exploration in the interior of Spitsbergen, and to state what is -now known about the structure of the surface of one of the most -interesting areas of arctic land. On Nordenskiöld’s chart, the best -map of Spitsbergen existing at the time when we began our labours, -both Garwood Land and King James Land are described as covered with -“inland ice.” Now, if the phrase “inland ice” merely means glaciers, -so that it may be correctly applied to the glaciers of any district of -snow-mountains, such as the Alps or Caucasus, it is a useless phrase, -and ought to be abolished. Most persons of whom I have inquired receive -from it a different impression, and judge it to be descriptive of a -complete and continuous icy mantle enveloping a whole country, as -Greenland, for instance, is enveloped. In fact, Nansen, in his book on -Greenland, always uses the term “inland ice” to describe the great -interior ice-covering. “Ice-sheet” is apparently a better descriptive -term for such a mantle, and I shall accordingly so employ it. The term -“inland-ice,” being essentially vague, should, I think, be erased from -geographical literature, or only used as an indefinite term for the -land-ice of an unexplored region, the exact nature of which is unknown. -As long as a flowing body of land-ice is contained within definite -watersheds and mountain ranges, it is a glacier and not an ice-sheet. -The juxtaposition of no matter how many glaciers does not form an -ice-sheet, but merely a glacial area. It is necessary to be thus -particular in definition because, as has been stated above, neither -Garwood Land nor King James Land, nor any large part of Spitsbergen, -except New Friesland and North-East Land, is covered by an ice-sheet. -They are all merely glacial and mountain areas. The discovery of this -fact is the principal geographical result of our second expedition. -That it is a not unimportant result I now proceed to demonstrate. - -[Illustration: NEW FRIESLAND FROM HINLOOPEN STRAIT.] - -The old theory that glaciers not only polish but systematically -excavate their beds is practically abandoned. Its supporters naturally -considered that the larger the mass of ice the more vigorous would be -its excavating action. A great arctic ice-sheet was regarded as an -extraordinarily powerful excavator. We now know that moving land-ice -does not so operate upon its bed, but, beyond polishing the surface -of the rock it covers, has mainly a conservative effect upon it. In -the case of a country like the interior of Greenland, wholly buried -under ice, the buried land-surface undergoes modelling to a very -slight degree, except round the coast. On the other hand, in the case -of a glacial region, where mountains rise above the mean level, and -where rock-faces are exposed to the rapid denudation that takes place -at all snowy elevations, great developments of surface-formation are -going forward. In the case of an ice-sheet, the forces acting on the -land-surface are conservative; in the case of a glacial region, the -acting forces are formative. Hence the immense importance of clearly -distinguishing between these two types of ice-bearing country. - -Without pausing to describe the particular places or views in -Spitsbergen that suggested particular conclusions to my mind, let -me rather, for briefness, indicate how it seems to me that one or -two well-known mountain groups in Europe have been acted on by -glaciers--for instance the Mont Blanc and Bernese Oberland ranges. -Both, in their present developed condition, have been carved out -of more solid masses which may be described as originally wrinkled -plateaus, the original wrinkles having been approximately parallel -to their length. Of course the denuding forces, whatever they were, -operated simultaneously with the elevating forces; but the two may be -considered separately for convenience’ sake, and we may speak of the -plateau as first elevated and afterwards denuded. It must, however, be -understood that during the earlier stages of the elevating process, -water, not snow and frost, was the denuding agent. The culminating -point of each plateau was approximately in the position of the highest -point of the present ranges. The original main drainage must have run -along the lines of the wrinkles; now, in both cases, it runs at right -angles to that direction. - -In order to indicate my meaning, it is not necessary to reconstruct -entirely the original form of the plateau and its lines of drainage; -one or two instances will suffice. In the case of the Mont Blanc -range,[15] I suggest that originally there was a glacier with its head -near the present summit of Mont Blanc, having for its left bank a ridge -(or plateau-edge), now represented by the Aiguille du Midi and other -_aiguilles_, the Aiguille Verte, the Aiguille du Chardonnet, and the -Aiguilles Dorées; whilst its right bank was approximately coincident -with the modern watershed as far as Mont Dolent, except between Mont -Blanc de Courmayeur and the Tour Ronde, where it has been denuded -away. This ancient drainage system has been broken down, and now the -snows of the upper reservoirs are all discharged by such glaciers as -the Mer de Glace or the Glacier d’Argentière, which cut across one or -other of these old containing ridges or plateau-edges. Similarly with -the Bernese Oberland, I suggest that the original crinkled plateau -was drained along depressions approximately parallel to its length, -whereof one was a high glacier basin with its head near the top of the -present Finsteraarhorn and flowing W.S.W. over the Grünhornlücke and -the Lötschenlücke and down the Lötschenthal. The old watersheds to -right and left of this glacier have been driven back by the general -disintegration of the plateau-edge, and broken utterly down in various -places, so that its snows are now drained away at right angles to its -direction by the Great Aletsch and Walliser Viescher glaciers. - -In fact, in these cases it is with the glacial drainage as in the -Himalayas it is with the rivers. When the great Asiatic plateau was -elevated, whereof Tibet alone retains anything approximating to the -original surface condition of the whole, the drainage ran off along the -hollows in the line of the crinkling of the surface coinciding with the -strike of the strata. Now, however, by the operation of rivers eating -their way back into the plateau at right angles to the strike of the -strata, all the great rivers flow at right angles to their original -direction. The Indus was originally a stream no bigger than the Swat -River, flowing down the edge of the elevated region. It ate its way -through the Nanga Parbat range into the depression which goes on to -Gilgit, and thus it stole all the waters of the upper Indus of to-day, -which in the remote past, I believe, discharged themselves (over a high -region since excavated into mountain ranges) into the Kunar River, and -before that into the Oxus. Similarly the Gilgit River has eaten back -through the Rakipushi range and stolen the waters of the Hispar-Hunza -valley and the Hunza stream has eaten back through the Boiohaghurdoanas -range, and so reached the Kilik Pass. It is noticeable that, in each -case, the river has broken its way through a range in the immediate -proximity of its highest peak, that is to say, just where the fall and -gathering of snow has been greatest and the denudation most energetic. - -In the case of rivers the eating back process is well recognised -and understood. It is not really the work of the river, but it is -accomplished by the various forces of atmospheric denudation, by -frost and thaw, by avalanches and so forth, all taking place about -the head-waters of the stream. I suggest that, under the action of -similar forces, glaciers likewise creep back, and that the modelling -of snow-mountains out of high plateaus is largely due to this process. -According to this theory, though glaciers do not excavate their beds -to any great extent, they widen them by carrying away the results of -atmospheric and other denudation, and similarly they eat back at their -heads. The most striking examples of this process I have seen are in -Garwood Land. There, far in the interior, are a series of cliffs, -several hundred feet in height. What the origin of these cliffs may -have been is immaterial to the question under consideration. They form -the front of the remains of the old plateau, which is being and has -been eaten away. At the foot of the cliffs are the snowfields of the -great glaciers which flow thence in a south-east direction to the head -of Wybe Jans Water. By the melting of the snows above the cliffs and -on their ledges, and by the action of frost and thaw, the rocks are -rapidly broken up. The _débris_ fall upon the glaciers below, and are -carried away. If there were no glaciers in this position, the _débris_ -would pile up, a slope would be formed, and would presently reach up -to the top of the cliff, and protect it from further denudation. The -presence of the glaciers below prevents the _débris_ from collecting. -The cliff thus continues its existence, and merely moves backward -by a steady progress, just as the cliff retreats over which Niagara -falls. Where weaker rocks are encountered, or denudation is locally -more energetic, the cliff eats backward more rapidly. An embayment is -formed, which tends both to widen and to creep backwards, becoming in -time a tributary valley. Of such valley heads which have crept back -into the plateau we saw several examples; one in particular I remember -in the midst of King James Land, which had annihilated a portion of a -mountain range dividing two great glaciers, and had thereby caused what -had originally been the chief _névé_ basin of one of these glaciers -to drain into the other instead of down its own tongue. When two -neighbouring embayments, reaching back from the lower level into a -plateau, send arms to join one another, or meet obliquely, a nunatak -is formed. The nunatak near our farthest point in Garwood Land was -produced in this manner. - -[Illustration: BLUFFS OF THE SASSENDAL.] - -Keenly possessed by the memory of these phenomena, I went recently -to Grindelwald, and was immediately struck by the resemblance in -character between the great bluffs of the Bernese Oberland--the Eiger, -Mettenberg, and Wetterhorn--and the bluffs of Spitsbergen’s Sassendal. -The latter, as we know, were formed, and are still in process of -development, by means of the torrents draining the snowfields above, -which eat away the plateau and cut back into it, thus carving out -a row of flat-topped steep-fronted hills that jut forward into the -ever-widening main valley. It seemed evident that the ancient Oberland -plateau had been similarly cut down, the excavation not having been -accomplished by the grinding action of glaciers pushing forward and -filing down their beds, but by the action, first, of torrents, before -the plateau was elevated above the snowline, afterwards of glaciers; -both torrents and glaciers creeping backwards at their heads, where -faces of rock are exposed to rapid atmospheric denudation, and the -_débris_ that fall are transported to low levels by the movement of the -flowing ice. - -It was thus, I suggest, that the Upper and Lower Grindelwald glaciers -and the Rosenlaui Glacier invaded the plateau and crept back into the -heart of the mountain mass, isolating as high individual peaks the -Wetterhorn and Schreckhorn. Originally they were “corrie glaciers,” -plastered on to the north face of the plateau--just such glaciers, -in fact, as is the Guggi Glacier, which lies in the hollow between -the Jungfrau and the Mönch. They have crept farther back than it, -because they had the better start, but the Guggi Glacier now emulates -their former vigorous initiative. The cliffs at its head are being -continually broken and worn away by the action of frost. The rocks -that fall from them either tumble on to the _névé_ and are carried -down or roll into the _bergschrund_, and so get under the ice, where -no doubt they are ground to dust, and may do some excavating in the -process. That, however, can only be in the upper regions; lower down, -the waters below the glacier are the excavating agent, rather than -the glacier itself, except, perhaps, at the edge of some sub-glacial -cliff beneath an icefall. In this way the rocks of the north face of -the ridge between the Jungfrau and Mönch are being eaten away, and the -ridge itself is not merely being lowered, but its crest is being pushed -backward towards the south. Every yard of its movement is made at the -expense of the Jungfrau Glacier. Let the process go forward for a -sufficiently long time, and the area now occupied by the upper basin of -the Jungfrau Glacier will be occupied by a snow-basin lying at a lower -level, and draining northward down the Guggi Glacier. - -Similar, I suggest, was the development of what is now the Great -Aletsch Glacier. Originally, according to this theory, the Lötschen -Glacier stretched back to the Finsteraarhorn, and had for its left bank -a ridge parallel to, but south of, the range of which the Aletschhorn -is now the culminating point. The Aletsch Glacier’s original head was -on the south face of this range, but the glacier ate its way backwards, -its head advanced to the north, finally broke its way right through the -range and drew off a portion of the ice of the Lötschen Glacier.[16] -The snout of the Lötschen Glacier was thus disconnected from its former -_névé_, and a pass (the Lötschenlücke) was formed between them. The -_névé_, at what is now called the Place de la Concorde, flowed as a -great icefall over the remnant of the old left bank of the original -glacier. It no doubt deepened and widened the breach, and, as it did -so, lowered the level of the snow in the upper reservoir, whose various -branches were thus likewise enabled, each in its place, to creep -backwards at the expense of the plateau. In this manner were formed the -Ewig Schnee Feld, the Jungfrau Firn, and the other _névé_ tributaries -of the present great glacier. The great icefall gradually diminished -in turbulence as the cliff beneath it was broken and rounded away, -till now it is merely represented by the crevassed area just below the -Concordia Hut. - -If there is any truth in the theory thus briefly propounded, in a -form which must be considered altogether incomplete and preliminary, -it follows that the distinction I have endeavoured to make between an -icesheet and a congeries of glaciers is a distinction of the first -importance; for under an icesheet none of the processes are going -forward which are vigorously proceeding in a glacial region. The -old idea of Spitsbergen was that its interior consisted of a great -icesheet, fringed at the edge by a number of boggy valleys and green -hillsides. Our explorations have shown the utter falsity of this -conception. Let me now briefly indicate the outlines of the true -geography of the main island. - -Whether at one time the whole island was enveloped in an icesheet which -was gradually withdrawn from the west towards the east, or whether -the west part of the island has merely been longer raised above the -sea than the east part, I do not attempt to determine. At any rate, -it seems to be a fact that the forces of denudation have been longer -at work, or, at least, more vigorously at work, all down the west -part of the island, and that the resulting mountain formation is most -developed in the west, and becomes continually less developed as you -proceed toward the east. All down the western region you find highly -specialised mountain-forms--peaks and ranges of considerable abruptness -and marked individuality. As you advance eastward the mountains become -generally more rounded, till the original plateau-form, and even parts -of the undenuded plateau itself, are encountered. - -Bearing in mind this general structure of the land-surface, it will -now be easy to describe the character of different parts of the main -island. The whole of the north coast, as might be expected, bears -evidence of a more rigorous climate than districts further south. This -was specially noticed by us when proceeding down Wijde Bay, at whose -mouth the snow lay down to sea-level in the month of August, whilst, -twenty miles in, the snowline was almost 1000 feet above sea-level. The -northern rim, therefore, may be regarded as a separate geographical -division. At the north-west angle of the island is a region of very -bold mountains and large glaciers. It is well represented by the -beautiful and often described Magdalena Bay. Nothing is known about -the interior south-east of it, but some old Dutch charts mark a -valley leading from the extremity of Mauritius or Dutch Bay up to -a sequestered lake in the hills. Whether the draughtsman intended -his winding valley and river to represent a glacier and the lake -a snowfield, or whether a true lake and river existed here in the -eighteenth century, can only be settled by some one going to look. - -Passing southward down the west coast, we come to the seven parallel -glaciers ending in the sea, known to the whalers as the Seven -Icebergs. These all appear to flow down from a high common snowfield -which stretches east toward Wood Bay and south almost to the head of -Cross Bay. South-eastward this high plateau is broken by a series -of _névé_-valleys, the chief of which discharge themselves towards -Ekman and Dickson bays. Their general direction is south-south-east. -South of this plateau region comes the mountainous area of King James -Land, whose character has been described in this volume. The main -watershed runs north and south. A series of parallel glaciers drain -south-south-east from it to Ice Fjord. The valley system on the west is -less regular, but the glaciers are equally numerous and fine. - -The deep north-and-south depression filled by Wijde Bay and Dickson -Bay is bordered on the west by a range of mountains, a group of which -intrude between and divide the bays. Some of these are of striking -form, but no one has ever been amongst them or accurately determined -their position. East of the two bays comes the plateau region. Its -edge is cut up by a few deep valleys, down which the icesheet of New -Friesland sends glacial tongues to Wijde Bay, but east of Dickson Bay -the marginal valleys are longer, and no glaciers come out of their -mouths. The portion of the plateau between Dickson and Klaas Billen -bays is a good deal cut up by deep valleys, such as the Rendal, the -Skans valley, and the Mimesdal (all well known to geologists), but -there are no large glaciers found upon it. Further east comes a great -glaciated area approximating to an icesheet in appearance, but with -many exposed faces and peaks of rock. From it several large glaciers -flow into the sea, namely, the glacier that ends in the head of East -Fjord of Wijde Bay, the glacier that fills a wide valley debouching -into Hinloopen Strait opposite the South Waiigat Islands, some more -glaciers that empty into Bismarck Strait and that neighbourhood, the -series of great glaciers at the head of Wybe Jans Water, and the -Nordenskiöld Glacier (specially explored by us) near the head of Klaas -Billen Bay. All these glaciers are divided from one another by more or -less well-marked watersheds. - -The neck of Spitsbergen, which may be defined as bounded on the north -by a line from the mouth of Nordenskiöld Glacier to Wiche Bay, and on -the south by the Sassendal and the depression across to Agardh Bay, is -a district that would well repay exploration, and is easily accessible -from the Post Glacier at the head of Temple Bay. Nowhere are better -illustrated than here the phenomena of mountain formation by plateau -degradation under the action of rivers and glaciers. In the east are -the remains of an ice-sheet; in the west are deep and wide glacier and -river valleys. Between the two are many mountain ranges, and some peaks -of considerable height and abruptness. - -A line drawn from the head of Van Keulen Bay to Whales Bay forms the -southern limit of the next region to the south--the region that I call -Adventure Land, using the old name which in the case of Advent Bay -has been clipped of its last syllable in the present century. It is a -country of boggy valleys, rounded hills, and relatively small glaciers. -Originally it was one large plateau formed of soft, almost horizontally -bedded rock, except along its west margin. It has therefore been -penetrated by wide valleys radiating in all directions and cut down -almost to sea-level. A range of rather fine peaks lies along the west -coast; behind them are some large glaciers descending north into Green -Harbour and south to the mouth of Low Sound. Then the undulating -country begins. Several valleys lead inland from Coles Bay, whilst -from Advent Bay starts the Advent Vale with its many branches. From -Low Sound a series of boggy valleys strike in to north and south. At -the north angle of its head opens the deep valley of the Shallow River -(after the Sassendal the largest valley in Spitsbergen), whose upper -part has never been explored. The eastward prolongation of Low Sound, -which was known to the Dutch as Michiel Rinders Bay is very poorly -charted, but we know that at its north angle there is a secluded inner -harbour, with a big ramifying valley leading back from it, while at its -extreme east corner three large glaciers debouch together. One of these -probably connects by a high snowfield with the head of Strong Glacier -descending to Whales Bay. - -Last comes the south division of the island, over which we had a -panoramic view in 1897 from the summit of Mount Hedgehog. Unfortunately -a roof of cloud covered the glaciers, and we could only see tops -of mountains rising clear above it. The north-west angle of this -region was explored in 1897 by Mr. Victor Gatty,[17] who found it to -consist of a ring of snowy mountains surrounding the _névé_ of the -Fox Glacier, which discharges into the so-called Recherche Bay. A gap -or col, south-east of Dunder Bay, separates this group from a range -of hills running for some distance south along the coast, and called -Roebuck Land. The extremity of these hills abuts against the right -foot of Torell Glacier, one upper bay of which rests against the hills -immediately south of Recherche Bay, whilst another stretches inland -to the east as far as the main watershed of the island. There are -one or two other approximately north and south ranges of hills lying -west of this watershed. East of it the plateau-character resumes its -predominance. The southernmost part of the island, south of Horn Sound, -is dignified by the boldest mountain range in the country, that of the -Hornsunds Tinder, which lie west of the watershed, and run almost due -north and south. East of them are at least two lower parallel ranges, -beyond which the ice-covered country seems to dip to the sea. - -Of the other islands in the Spitsbergen group, North-East Land is the -largest. It is known, from Baron Nordenskiöld’s exploration, to be -covered with a true icesheet, the edge of which descends to the sea all -along the south-east coast. The north coast and the small islands off -it altogether resemble the northern belt of the west island. The west -belt is a low undulating region, from which the icesheet has retreated -in relatively recent times. - -In the sea east of Spitsbergen are two islands whose existence has -long been known. They were named Wiche Land, after an old navigator. -Walrus hunters have landed on them, but they were first really explored -in 1897 by Mr. Arnold Pike.[18] The west island, now called Swedish -Foreland, has a high flat-topped backbone. The east island, King Karl’s -Land, consists of two hills, about 1,000 feet high, united by a low -flat isthmus. There is no ice-sheet on either island and only small -unimportant glaciers. - -I have never landed on Barents or Edge Islands, though I have seen -them from east and from west. Neither possesses an icesheet. Both are -practically devoid of glaciers down their west coast, and have large -glaciers in the east. The whole of the south-east of Edge Island -is occupied by a great glacier ending in the sea. Barents Land has -several sharply pointed peaks, but the Edge Island hills are mainly -flat-topped, like those along the east coast of the main island. - -Prince Charles Foreland now alone remains to be considered. It is very -badly represented on the existing chart. At its southern extremity is -an isolated hill. Then comes a very flat plain of about fifty square -miles, raised but a few feet above sea-level. North of it is a mountain -range consisting of fine, sharp snow-peaks. It is cut off on the north -by a deep depression, running in a south-west direction from Peter -Winter’s Bay, which, though marked south of St. John’s Bay on the -chart, lies some miles north of it. North of Peter Winter’s Bay and -Valley the mountain range is continued; but the peaks, though fine -in form, are not so high as those of the south group, but they send -down eastward an almost uninterrupted series of glaciers into Foreland -Sound. Further north are yet lower snowy hills, which end in the bold -headland called Bird’s Cape or Fair Foreland. - -[Illustration: FAREWELL.] - - - - -APPENDIX - -ACCOUNT OF HERR G. NORDENSKIÖLD’S TRAVERSE OVER THE GLACIERS FROM HORN -SOUND TO BELL SOUND IN 1890.[19] - - - _June 15th, 1890._--At six o’clock in the evening we landed - by boat at the foot of Rotges Mount at a spot where a small - valley gave access to the mountain above. We imagined that - on the other side of this mountain we should meet with the - smooth inland ice and that it would extend all the way along to - Bell Sound. After taking a hurried farewell of our comrades, - we buckled on our ski, put our knapsacks on our backs, and - commenced our course up the little valley. When we reached its - highest point, however, we found that it was connected with - another valley which led down to Horn Sound. We were therefore - obliged to climb the face of the mountain on the north side of - the valley, which was extremely laborious, because the snow - was frozen so hard that we could not use our ski on the steep - slope. One of us went in front and stamped holes for the feet - in the hard crust--tough work in which we constantly relieved - each other. The rest followed in his steps. At midnight we had - mounted a ridge, uniting two summits, and here we rested for - an hour. The temperature of the air was 28° Fahrenheit and the - altitude 994 feet above sea-level. - - We continued on the 16th in a northerly direction, but were - obliged to stop again after a few hundred steps, because a - thick mist shrouded the whole landscape. When, after a little - while, this cleared off, we hurried up and descended the - other side of the ridge towards a huge glacier. Down this we - made good speed and in a short time were close to the smooth - snow-slopes. The mountains in this district are built up of the - so-called Hekla-Hook strata--hard slates, quartz, and dolomite. - The mountains which belong to this system always possess much - more precipitous and wilder outlines than those which are built - up of the softer rocks belonging to newer formations. Many of - the former are probably extremely hard or perhaps impossible to - climb; for example, Hornsunds Tind. This is probably the case - with many of the steep-pointed peaks around the wide expanse of - snow over which we travelled. They gave the landscape a wild - and desolate beauty. - - In the north, on the other side of the glacier, lay another - mountain range with several lofty summits. In the west a - heavy bank of fog obscured the view the whole time. Probably - the sea would be visible in this direction in fine weather. - Sometimes the fog-bank was driven up the glacier by the wind, - and enwrapped us so completely that we were obliged to retreat - for a time. In the east numerous summits were visible, and the - glaciers in this direction did not appear to be connected with - the inland ice. The snow-mantle which covered the glacier-ice - was perfectly smooth; there was not even a spot to break the - dazzling whiteness, not the smallest unevenness on which - the eye could find a resting-place. This accounted for one - under-rating the distances in this district more than usual, - as happened to us in the case of the mountain on the southern - (? northern) side, because we thought we only had before us a - snow-covered sloping valley, not worth thinking about, which - from its depth could not possibly take more than half an hour - to traverse. In reality it was only after several hours’ - walking that we gained the summit of the opposite ridge. - - It was long after midday on the 16th when we reached that - summit. The height above the sea at the spot where we crossed - was only 2215 feet, but on the east and west were several - considerable heights. We attempted to scale one of these which - lay nearest to us on the east, so as to obtain an uninterrupted - view over the country; but, after we had with great difficulty - dug a few hundred steps in the hard surface and crept up so - far, it was found impossible to go any farther. We were then - 2457 feet above sea level and could easily recognise again from - this point the highest point of Hornsunds Tind. The mountains - to the west of us seemed to be of considerable height and also - easy to ascend. In the north the snow-covered ridge on which we - were fell almost precipitously down to a considerable glacier. - We were therefore obliged to make a little to the west before - we could begin our descent. - - Even here the slope was steep and covered with a crust, - hard and shining like ice, so that our advance became pretty - dangerous to our necks, and ended in our losing our balance - and rolling down the slope at top speed without being able to - stop. After we had happily reached level ground, collected - ourselves, and gathered together our widely scattered baggage, - we set forward over the glacier. It sloped gently downwards - and promised a connection with the wide field of inland ice in - the north-west. A little further down the glacier the outlook - became more extended. We had now only a few kilometres left to - the inland ice proper,[20] which spread out before us like a - level white sheet bounded in the distance by blue peaks. Late - in the evening we put up the tent and rested a few hours at the - edge of the glacier. After a long search we were lucky enough - to discover water on a slope. It was the first water we had - seen since leaving the coast. As it was so early in the year we - found neither pools nor runlets on the surface of the glacier. - Our supply of spirits was rather scanty and only sufficed for - warming up our food, not for melting the snow; hence, while - travelling over glaciers and the inland ice we suffered much - from thirst, and were often compelled to eat snow, which is - said to lower the strength considerably. - - On _June 16th_ we rose at 11 P.M., and began our journey over - the inland ice proper. The temperature of the air was 31° F. - The weather was lovely, not a cloud was visible in the sky, and - the atmosphere was wonderfully clear. We first passed a number - of mighty moraines, which were heaped up where the smaller - glacier joined the inland ice. At the very brink of the latter - flowed a small brook. The surface of the inland ice itself - was perfectly even, covered with fairly hard frozen old snow. - No crevasses could be distinguished along the whole of our - route, and only in a few places did slight hollows betray the - existence of such. - - We first went toward some high mountains which rose out of the - ice some kilometres distant. They formed the spurs of a range - of mountains, running north and south, which continued up to - the end of the mountains at Cape Ahlstrand, east of Recherche - Bay. In the west, along a width of more than ten kilometres, - the inland ice opened into the sea (it bears the name of - Torell Glacier). In the east the horizon was bounded by the - inland ice. To the north-west it extended, shut in between two - mountain chains, unbroken to Recherche Bay, to whose large - glacier it joins on. That was the way we took. - - After some hours’ journey, in the early morning of the 17th we - reached the foot of the mountain mentioned above, which forms - the southern point of the eastern range of mountains. At the - foot of the mountain we found several small watercourses, and - therefore chose this place for a halt. A large number of fallen - blocks at the mountain’s foot afforded a strange sight. The - part of the inland ice from the east here joined that from the - north. A bank of gravel, which stretched like a black streak - towards the west, probably formed the middle of the moraine. - The height above the sea at this point was 358 feet.[21] - - After some hours’ rest we continued north-west over the - inland ice, which was smooth in all directions and free from - crevasses. We had already been a long time out on the endless - white plain when, at nine o’clock in the morning, we pitched - the tent to get a little sleep. The height of our resting-place - above the sea was 1011 feet. We had walked by night because, - notwithstanding that the temperature does not rise above 39° - F. in the shade, the heat when the sun was high was quite - unbearable. After midday signs of a change of weather appeared, - and heavy clouds began to rise behind the mountain summits. We - hastily got up again, but after a few hours’ walking we were - enveloped in a dense mist. We continued, however, for some - hours, steering our course by a pocket compass which we had - brought with us. On the night of the 18th we stopped because - we feared to make our way among the northern coast mountains, - which could not be very far distant from us now. All the - spirits were finished, and our store of provisions was by no - means abundant. - - Next day (19th) we tried to advance toward the coast in spite - of the fog, which had lifted at intervals and given place to - a heavy snowstorm, a terrible hindrance to our progress. The - snow was very wet and fastened in large lumps on Björling’s - ski, which were not covered with sealskin. Our ski, too, which - had been stripped of part of their skin-covering by the hard - snow-crust, slid very heavily. Björling preferred to go on foot - and carry his ski on his back, but he found this pretty hard - work. We soon noticed that we were already quite amongst the - mountains and, after searching about for a long time in the fog - for a way forward, we finally came to a halt, recognising the - necessity of waiting until it lifted somewhat. - - We set up our tent near a steep snow-slope, evidently leading - down into a broad valley. As it drew on towards evening the - fog lifted a little. Right down in front of us spread a - broad valley, apparently the continuation of a bay. In the - south-south-west there appeared to be sea, and in the north we - thought we could also see the water. I thought that the bay in - the north-west was Dunder Bay, and that we must have strayed - somewhat too far to the west. Our provisions were scarce; there - would only be sufficient to last the four of us one day; it was - therefore necessary to find the ship without delay. Björling, - partly on account of the unfitness of his ski, was thoroughly - exhausted and was unable to travel any farther. I therefore - determined to leave him in the tent with the sleeping-bags and - the remaining stores, and with Erikson and Joakim, unencumbered - by impedimenta, to endeavour to reach the ship and thence send - to rescue Björling. The way to the ship however was longer - than we supposed, for the _Lofoten_ did not lie in the harbour - in the inner part of Recherche Bay as I had expected. The bay - being ice-packed, the ship lay off Cape Lyell, a circumstance - which added a good ten kilometres to our distance. - - It was only after nine hours’ unbroken march, tired and hungry - indeed, that we reached the _Lofoten_, and our way would - certainly have been longer still had we not, after walking a - few hours almost due east, thought we could see water on the - horizon, and so were induced to take a more northerly course. - After we had followed this direction for a time, Erikson - declared he could see a ship in the distance. Our joy was - great when I ascertained with the field glass that three - masts were visible a long way off to the north. The ice over - which we had passed was continuously smooth. Only the last - few kilometres nearest the sea were very full of crevasses, - generally covered by snow-bridges, which we could cross on our - ski without difficulty. Luckily for us the ice on the inner - harbour of Recherche Bay was strong enough to bear, so we - avoided a long detour. - - We continued on the other side of the bay to Cape Lyell over - a large glacier, terminated in the north by a precipitous - ice-wall, below which begins a wide expanse filled up with - moraines and cut up by numerous crevasses. We did not see this - precipice at first from above, and were nearly falling over it - on our ski, but just managed to pull up at the last moment. - After following the edge of the glacier for a good distance - to the west, we at last succeeded in finding a place where a - snowdrift had built a bridge upon which we could get down. At - last we stood on the beach, and only a couple of gunshots off - lay the _Lofoten_. Firing our revolvers and shouting loudly, we - aroused the captain’s attention and were soon safe on board. It - was six o’clock in the morning of the 19th. - - My first care was to send some men back to rescue Björling. - Unfortunately it was several hours before any one could start. - Klinckowström had gone away in one of the boats with part of - the crew to the east side of Recherche Bay, hoping to meet - us there. A message was sent off to him immediately, and his - boat’s crew were soon on board. Klinckowström offered to go - himself with two men to rescue Björling. The three skisters - were soon ready for their journey. As they rowed in a light - boat to the bottom end of Recherche Bay they shortened the way - considerably. Following the west side of the bottom of the - glacier between the mountain and the ice, they found ski tracks - which they endeavoured to follow right up to the tent. After an - absence of about six hours they returned. They had been able to - follow the tracks for about a couple of hours or so, but the - snow, which had fallen heavily high up among the mountains, - had stopped them completely. Under such circumstances - nothing remained for them but to turn back with their errand - unaccomplished. There was however no very great reason for - anxiety, for the sleeping-bags and provisions enough for one - man for several days had been left in the tent. - - It cleared up again a little on the 20th, so I sent off Joakim, - who had been my companion and consequently knew the position of - the tent; two men accompanied him. On the morning of the 21st - one of them came back with the news that they had certainly - found the tent but that Björling had left it. They had found - a card with this communication--that “after waiting in vain - for one and a half days he had started with all possible speed - to the west beach of Recherche Bay.” He had however clearly - mistaken Dunder Bay for this, and started in quite the wrong - direction, as his tracks plainly showed. Joakim followed up - this track while the other two returned on board. I now sent - a boat round Cape Lyell to Dunder Bay to meet Björling there. - Joakim, after following his track for a distance, had overtaken - Björling who was on his way south; he came back then with the - boat, and on the afternoon of the 21st we were all together on - board again. - - The ski expedition thus described shows that the inland ice of - West Spitsbergen differs considerably from that of North-East - Land as well as of Greenland. It consists in this (at least at - the time of year when we undertook our expedition), namely, - a perfectly level tract covered with snow without any of - the crevasses and mounds which generally make expeditions - over glaciers and inland ice so dangerous and difficult. - Glacier-rivers, fountains, and glacier-lakes, which are so - often met with in Greenland, are here altogether absent. - Similar formations are also wanting in North-East Land’s inland - ice, but its surface is more uneven; crevasses and channels - are very common. This circumstance--viz., the fact that the - inland ice of West Spitsbergen seems to be very much easier - to traverse than glacier ice in general--gives a certain - importance to the plan of measuring an arc of meridian in this - district, a proposal which has been suggested several times. - A number of triangulation points ought to be established on - the mountains, which are surrounded on all sides by the inland - ice. This might have been thought to be very difficult, but, - far from proving an obstacle, the inland ice forms a capital - medium for connecting the points of triangulation. To convey - instruments and equipment on proper sledges for some tens of - kilometres over this smooth surface would surely be no very - severe task. - -A few remarks are called for by this pleasant account of a very -interesting little expedition. The inland-ice referred to was not -any part of an ice-sheet and in no wise resembled the icesheets of -Greenland and North-East Land. It was merely the snowfield of Torell -Glacier, which consists of two great arms, one coming from the north -and reaching to the watershed behind Recherche Bay, the other from the -east, where it is limited by the main mountain-backbone of the island, -the orographical continuation of the Hornsunds Tinder. The time of the -expedition being the month of June, the glaciers and snowfields were -still deeply covered with winter snow, which buried the crevasses out -of sight. Later on, no doubt, there would be no difference in character -between Torell Glacier and the Nordenskiöld and other glaciers explored -by us. The same waterlogged snow, the same large lakes, the same -deep and broad torrents, must be formed in all the glacial regions -of Spitsbergen. Hence it follows that the month of June is specially -favourable for expeditions over glaciers in this part of the world, -for then the chief impediments to progress have not been formed, the -weather is likely to be fair and the surface of the snow to be hard -and smooth. Unfortunately it is not till the end of June that, under -present steamship arrangements, the island is cheaply accessible. An -exploring party desiring to land upon Spitsbergen at the end of May -could only do so by coming up in a vessel specially hired to bring -them. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] K. Vetenskaps Akad. Hand. Bihang, ix., No. 2, p. 46. - -[2] This is doubtless the direction of West Fjord of Wijde Bay, but it -seems doubtful whether any considerable proportion of it can be visible -from the summit of De Geer’s Peak. All along the south-east side of -West Fjord lies a continuous range of hills, a photograph of which is -now before me. The lowest point of this range between Cape Petermann -and Mount Sir Thomas at the head of the fjord can scarcely be as low as -500 feet, whilst almost the whole of the range is 1000 feet high. The -average width of the fjord is about two miles, but just at one point it -is five miles wide. The height of De Geer’s Peak is given as over 1200 -metres, say 4000 feet. Its distance from West Fjord is about thirty -geographical miles. If the intervening hill range happens to sink below -the level of about 600 feet, exactly in the line of sight to the place -where the fjord is five miles wide, the extreme edge of the water would -just be visible; yet, even then, no considerable body of water could be -seen. But De Geer states that there were no hills between the fjord and -his peak. Is it not possible that what he saw was the East Fjord, at -whose head are no mountains? Some undetected iron in the rock on which -he stood might be responsible for the compass deviation. The rocks of -Spitsbergen are full of such surprises. - -[3] “My Arctic Journal,” London, 1894, p. 232. - -[4] “Die Schwedischen Expeditionen nach Spitzbergen und Bären-Eiland -ausgeführt in den Jahren 1861, 1864, and 1868 unter Leitung von O. -Torell und A. E. Nordenskiöld. Aus dem Schwedischen übersetzt von L. -Passarge.” Jena, 1869. 8vo, pp. 470 _et seq._ - -[5] Mount Chydenius is, however, north-_west_ of Mount Edlund. - -[6] These are continued northward by some lower snowy hills ending in -the bold Fair Foreland or Birds’ Cape. - -[7] The first English explorers of Spitsbergen, Hudson and other -servants of the Moscovy Company, formally took possession of the -country on behalf of the King of England. They named it “King James, -his New Land.” This name has long been disused. Now that the interior -of the island begins to be explored, names are needed for the different -natural divisions of the country. I have therefore given the name of -King James Land to the mountainous area included between Ice Fjord and -Foreland Sound. - -[8] I cannot give the exact altitude, because Nielsen, who was carrying -the instruments, dropped the aneroid here and smashed it before I had -registered the reading. - -[9] It is greatly to be regretted that no scale is attached to these -six maps of harbours, which cannot therefore be applied with certainty -to any general map of Spitsbergen. - -[10] Garwood was fortunate enough to discover a fine specimen of this. - -[11] The position as determined by the Swedes does not agree with the -position determined by the Austrians.--_Vide_ R. von Barry, _Zwei -Fahrten_, &c. Vienna, 1894. 8vo. - -[12] As to the whole project, see: N. Dunér and A. E. Nordenskiöld, -Förberedande Undersökningar rörande utförbarheten af en Gradmätning -på Spetsbergen. K. Svenska Vet. Akad. Handl. Bd. vi. No. 8. In 1891 -a Swedish committee was appointed to reconsider the question, and a -further scheme was drawn up by Professor Rosen and published as a -pamphlet in 1893. It has now been decided by the Swedish Academy of -Sciences that the scheme shall be carried out, perhaps in conjunction -with Russia, and expeditions to that end are to be sent to Spitsbergen -in 1898 and following years. - -[13] A translation of his interesting account of this expedition is -inserted as an appendix to the present volume, by kind permission of -Baron Nordenskiöld. - -[14] The summit of the Aiguille Verte is 3700 feet above the Jardin. - -[15] Herr Imfeld’s new map is the best on which to examine this theory. - -[16] The Walliser Viescher Glacier was similarly employed. - -[17] _Alpine Journal_, vol. xviii., p. 501. - -[18] Vide _Geographical Journal_, 1898. - -[19] Translated by the Rev. E. Shepherd from Herr G. Nordenskiöld’s -paper, _Redogörelse för den Svenska Expeditionen till Spetsbergen -1890_, published in _Bihang till K. Svenska Vet. Akad. Handl._ Bd. 17, -Afd. 2, No. 3, pp 10-17. - -[20] The _névé_ of Torell Glacier. - -[21] 109 metres. From the context it seems certain that this should be -309 metres, = 1014 feet. - - - - -INDEX - - - Advent Bay, 1, 67, 90, 121, 126, 154, 221 - - Adventure Land, 36, 121, 220 - - Agardh Bay, 220 - - Ahlstrand, Cape, 229 - - Andrée and his balloon, 155 - - Atmospherical phenomenon, curious, 180 - - - Baldwin, Mr., 67 - - Bar, The, 70 - - Barents Land, 28, 46, 47, 183, 223 - - Barrel-vaults of ice, 51 - - Bear Island, landing on, 191 - - Bernese Oberland, glacier action in the, 210, 213 - - Birds Cape, 224 - Nesting-places of, 3, 50, 65, 79, 98, 108, 133, 143, 165, 184 - - Blomstrand Harbour, 71, 145 - Mound, 71, 145 - - Boat, troubles with our, 167 - - Bornemisza, Baron, 154, 155 - - - Calving of a glacier, 13, 74, 77, 140, 141 - - Chydenius, Mount, 28, 43 - - Clouds, low-lying, 63, 104, 113, 131, 138, 140 - - Coal Bay, _vide_ Coles Bay - Haven, 71, 147 - - Coles Bay, 68, 221 - - Cookeries, whaling, 151, 160, 162 - - Crevassed glacier, 16, 77, 110, 133 - - Crevasses, Depth of, 143 - Difficulties with sledges amongst, 16, 132, 133 - - Cross Bay, 10, 71, 151, 218 - Mountains, 104, 122, 131 - - Crowns, The Three, 72, 85, 109, 116, 119, 120 - Ascent of one of, 119 - Glacier, 72, 105, 114, 122 - - - De Geer Peak, 21, 22, 23, 48, 50 - Ascent of, 27 - - Deceptive appearances on snowfields, 24 - - Deer Bay, 71 - - Diadem Peak, Ascent of, 124 - - Dickson Bay, 33, 39, 218, 219 - - Dubbin, Norwegian and other, 49 - - Dunder Bay, 221, 231, 233 - - Dutch Bay, 218 - - - Eating-back rivers and glaciers, 210, _et seq._ - - Ebeltoft’s Haven, 151 - - Edge Land, 223 - - Edlund, Mount, 28, 41 - Ascent of, 42 - - Eiderdown, 65 - - Ekman Bay, 73, 92, 116, 121, 218 - - Ekstam, Herr, 1, 67 - - Elevation of the land, 59 - - English Bay, 69, 70, 85 - - Equipment, 18 - - Exile Peak, 124 - - _Expres_, The, 2, 154 - - - Fair Foreland, 224 - - Falling ice, 177 - - Fleur-de-Lys Point, 5 - - Fog on snowfield, Puzzling effect of, 31 - Travelling through, 21, 31, 32, 33, 34 - - Foreland, Prince Charles’, 68, 122, 223 - Sound, 68, 122, 224 - - Fox Glacier, 221 - - Foxes, 88 - - _Fram_, Crew of the, 2, 192 - - - Garwood, E. J., 1, and _passim_ - Land, Description of, 56, 57, 58, 212, 219 - Land, Wide view over interior of, 38, 46 - - Gatty, Ascent by Mr. Victor, 221 - - Glacier, Ice-tunnel in a, 137 - Phenomena, notable, 51, 111, 128 - Torrents, 79, 83, 103, 106, 111 - Cliffs, 9, 77, 141 - - Glaciers, Action of on their beds, 207 - Advance of, 138 - Calving, 13, 74, 77, 140, 141 - Ending in deep water, 10 - Ending in shallow water must advance, 11 - That eat back at their heads, 60 - - Goose Glacier, 159, 168, 170, _et sqq._ - Haven (Horn Sound), 157, _et sqq._ - Islands (Ice Fjord), 64 - - Green Harbour, 220 - - Greenland and Spitsbergen, Contrast between, 36, 61 - - - Heat on the snowfields, 87, 100, 108, 130 - - Hedgehog, Ascent of Mount, 170 - - Heley Sound, 44 - - Highway Dome, 91 - Pass, 90 - - Himalayas, How rivers have “eaten back” in the, 210 - - Hofer Point, 158 - - Horn Glacier, 166 - Sound, Visit to, 157, _et sqq._, 225 - To Bell Sound over Torell Glacier, 225, _et sqq._ - - Hornsunds Tinder, 121, 165, 170, _et sqq._, 222, 226, 227 - - Hyperite Hat, 67 - - - Icebergs, 141, 142, 145, 147 - - Ice-encrusted rocks, 178 - Flat below a glacier’s foot, 160 - Honeycomb, 19, 55, 81 - Sheets, 36, 37, 206, 207, 216 - - Inland ice, 206, 234 - - - King James Land, 89, 96, 218 - King Karl Island, 223 - - Kings Bay, 70, 138, _et sqq._ - Landing in, 74 - - King’s Highway, 72, 76, _et sqq._, 115 - Expedition up, 76, _et sqq._ - - Kittiwake Glacier, 165 - - Klaas Billen Bay, 5, _et sqq._, 48, 55, 62, _et sqq._, 219 - - - Lakes, Burst Glacier, 53, 100, 137 - - Lerner, Dr., 3 - - Lovén Islands, 72, 141, 143 - Mount, 45 - - Low Sound, 221 - - Lyell Cape, 231 - - Lyktan, 33 - - - Magdalena Bay, 218 - - Mauritius Bay, 218 - - Meridian arc in Spitsbergen, Proposal for measurement of a, 173, 234 - - Michel Rinders Bay, 221 - - Mimesdal, 7, 17, 219 - - Mitra Hook, 71, 152 - - Moraines, Struggle with sledges up and over, 15, 80, 134 - - Mount Blanc Range, Previous form of, 209 - - Mountain exploration, Difficulties of, 95 - - Mountains, Scale of, 91, 118 - - - New Friesland, 207, 219 - - Nielsen, Edward, 22, 32, 84, 125, 127, 131, 141, 170 - Mount, 76, 78 - - Nordenskiöld, Baron, A. E., 41, 156, 174, 222 - Herr Gustaf, 176, 225 - Glacier, 6, 8, _et sqq._ - - Nordenskiöld Gl., Expedition up, 15, _et sqq._ - - North Cape of Norway, 191 - - North-East Land, 207, 222, 234 - - Nunataks, 38, 84 - - - Osborne Glacier, 98, _et sqq._ - - - Palæolithic climbing, 163 - - Peter Winter’s Bay, 69, 223 - - Pike, Mr. Arnold, 158, 223 - - Plateaus carved into mountain ranges by rivers and glaciers, 57, 208 - - Post Glacier, 220 - - Pretender Pass, 104 - Peak, 73, 85, 105, 107, _et sqq._ - Scramble on, 113 - - Prince Charles Foreland, 68, 122, 223 - - Prismatic Ice, 102 - - Pyramid, The, 7 - - - Quade Hook, 70 - - Queens, The, 73, 85, 101, 104, 105 - - - Recherche Bay, _vide_ Schoonhoven - - Reindeer, Destruction of, 9, 144 - - Roebuck Land, 222 - - Rotges Mount, 225 - - Russian trappers, 69, 151, 159 - - - Sabine, Sir Edward, 173 - - St. John’s Bay, 68, 99, 223 - - Sassendal, 213, 220, 221 - - Schoonhoven (Recherche Bay), 221, 222, 229, 231 - - Scoresby, Dr., 71 - - Scoresby’s Grotto, 145 - - Screes, 114, 119 - - Seven Icebergs, The, 218 - Islands, 154 - - Shallow River Valley, 221 - - Shoes, Lapp, 49 - - Silence of the snowfields, 89, 123 - - Skans Bay, 3, 219 - - Ski, 24, 30, 34, 37, 55, 93, 100, 106, 123, 125, 127, 129, 194, - _et sqq._, 230 - Fastenings of, 197 - First attempts on, 25, 201 - Footgear for, 199 - Glissading with, 203 - In the Alps, 204 - Kinds of, 196 - Makers of, 200 - Records with, 202 - Staff for, 200 - - Sledges, Misfortunes with, 55, 79, 80, 103, 132, 139 - - Snow blown by a gale, 35 - - Snowfield, Different aspects of surface of, 94, 98 - Travelling over, 21-50 - Waterlogged, 82, 102, 124 - - Snowshoes, Canadian, 26, 30, 32, 49 - Norwegian, _vide_ Ski - - Spitsbergen, Geography of, 217 - - Stonehenge Rocks, 164 - - Stones, Falling, 110 - - Storm on a snowfield, 34, 35 - - Strong Glacier, 221 - - Svanberg, Mount, 43 - - Svensen’s troubles, 23, 32, 34, 35, 36, 40, 48, 50, 66, 84, 101, 119, - 129, 149, 153, 156 - - - Temple Bay, 220 - Mount, 66 - - Terrier Peak, 18, 30, 47, 50, 52 - - Teufelsdrökh on North Cape, 193 - - Thordsen Plateau, 3, 28, 93, 219 - - Tibet, Partially undenuded plateau of, 210 - - Torell Glacier, 222, 228, _et sqq._, 235 - - Tourists in Spitsbergen, 1, 67, 155 - - Trevor-Battye, Mr. A., 157 - - - Views, Notable, 6, 17, 19, 23, 28, 33, 38, 46, 48, 71, 87, 92, 105, - 112, 114, 120, 126, 136, 140, 144, 177, 180, 182, 192 - - - Weather, Bad, 22, 34 - - Whales Bay, 221 - - White Mountain, 41 - Ascent of, 45 - - Wiche Bay, 220 - Land, 45, 158, 223 - - Wijde Bay, 29, 39, 122, 217, 219 - - Winter, Approach of, 136, 166, 171, 180, 188, 189, 190 - - Wood Bay, 218 - - Wybe Jans Water, 28, 39, 41, 43, 46, 47, 183 - - - Zeehonde Bay, 69 - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - London & Edinburgh - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of With ski & sledge over Arctic glaciers, by -Sir William Martin Conway - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH SKI & SLEDGE *** - -***** This file should be named 52435-0.txt or 52435-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/4/3/52435/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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