30 



da Skiliet efter Bestikket nærmede sig Land, hvilket dog 

 paa Grund af Taagen ikke kunde sees. blev Dybden atter 

 over 1200 Favne, senere 1060 Favne og derpaa 054 Favne. 

 Ikke en halv Time senere tik vi gjennem Taagen Øje ' paa 

 en af de stejle Isbræef paa Østsiden af Jan Mayen, og da" 

 Taagen en Stund efter lettede sig noget op. kom ogsaa 

 Øens Nordspidse tilsyne. Hvor vi stoppede, var Dybden 

 144 Favne. Pladsen blev nu bestemt, idet vi blev liggende 

 med Loddet i Bund. forst Afstanden fra Land ved Ekkoet 

 a f et Kanonskud. der tydelig lod sig iagttage. og dernæst 

 Retningen ved Peilinger af. de synlige Pynter i Kord 

 og Syd. 



Da Soen stud paa Østsiden af Jan Mayen, besluttedes 

 at sejle omkring Øen til Vestsiden. Vi tog da Loddet ind 

 og stod nordover langs Kysten med de mange Isbræer, 

 men i det samme Øjeblik vi var tvers af Nordpynten, 

 lagde Taagen sig atter ned paa Havet og tog bort al Ud- 

 sigt. Der var imidlertid nu Intet til Hinder for at gaa 

 omkring til Vestsiden. Vi styrede først Kord, derpaa Vest. 

 saa Sydvest og endelig Sydost. medens Havoverfladens Tem- 

 peratur maaltes hvert femte Minut. Den holdt sig jevnlig 

 over 3". og gik kun en Gang ned til 2°.3 0. Af Is var 

 intet Spor. Da vi efter Bestikket nærmede os Vestkysten, 

 loddedes ilogle Gange indtil endelig Taagen løftede sig 

 igjen, saaat Strandpartierne blev synlige. Vi kunde saale- 

 des vælge vor Ankerplads, og Kl. 11 om Aftenen fåldt 

 Ankeret paa 20 Favne Vand i Marie-Muss Bugten. hvor 

 der. uagtet hele Havet staar paa. var saa roligt som i en 

 indelukket Havn. 



Den følgende Dag var Havet ligesaa roligt. men Taa- 

 gen skjulte fremdeles alt undtagen de lavere Partier, og laa 

 smn et" Tæppe over vore Hoveder i omtrent et Par hun- 

 drede Meters Højde. Strax om Morgenen blev der gjort 

 Landgang paa Stranden søndenfor -Fugleberget." et ejen- 

 dommelig formet og farvet Fjeld. Levningerne af et gammelt 

 Krater, der springer noget frem søndenfor den paa denne 

 Side af Øen værende Lagune. Der var forskjellige Par- 

 tier iland hele Dagen, som gjorde botaniske og geologiske 

 [agttagelser, tog Skitser og gik paa Jagt efter Søfugl og 

 Polarræve. Af de sidste blev skudt 3 Stykker. 



hen 30teJuli foretoges Skrabninger fra Baad i Marie- 

 Muss Bugten, men da det begyndte at blæse en Bris af 

 nordvestlig Vind, blev Brændingerne paa Stranden snart 

 saa sture, at iii.in ikke kunde komme iland. Over Middag 

 tiltog Vindens Styrke, og Kl. 5 Bftm. lettede vi for at gaa 

 om paa. den anden Side af Øen. Under Letningen kom 

 Sulen frem et Øjeblik, der blei maarl et Par Højder af 

 den. og strax etter rev Vinden en Aabning i Taagen. saa 

 vi første (lang tik se Beerenberg, hvis blændendé hvide, 



fathoms. when the soundings were set closer. < )n the 28th. 

 when by dead reckoning the vessel was nearing land. 

 which. however. we could not see owing to fog, the depth 

 bad again mcreased to upwards of 1200 fathoms; it then 

 fell iift'. the two next soundings gi ving respectively 1060 

 and 654 fathoms. Scarce half an hour later we caught 

 sight through the fog of one of the beetling glaciers 

 on the eastern shore of Jan Mayen, and shortly after, the 

 fog lifting a little, the northern extremity of the island rose 

 in view. The depth where we stopped the engine was 144 

 fathoms. Lying to. with the lead on the bottom, the position 

 of the vessel was now determined, — viz. by computing 

 the' distance of the land. from the echo following the dis- 

 charge of a cannon. which could be distinctly observed. 

 and then. by taking the bearings of the promontories vis- 

 ible in the. north and south. 



With the wind then blowing, the sea broke on the 

 eastern shore of Jan Mayen, and we determined. therefore. on 

 steaming round to the west side of the island. Accordingly. 

 we hauled in the lead. and stood north ward. coursing along 

 the coast. with its numerous glaciers; but. at the verj 

 moment we were abreast of the northern extremity of the 

 island. the fog dropped like a curtain, cutting off every 

 glimpse of Jan Mayen from our view. Meanwhile. there 

 was nothing to prevent us from steaming on to the western 

 shore. First we steered north, then west. then south-west. 

 and finally south-east, recording every tive minutes the 

 temperature of the surface-water. Uiis. with one excep- 

 tion, when it sank to 2°.3 ('.. was every where registered 

 above 3° C. Ice there was none. So soon as our reckon- 

 ing showed us to be nearing the west coast of the island. 

 we sounded at intervals, till the fog at length rose. dis- 

 closing the lower parts of the island. We could now look 

 about us, and at 11 p.m. let go our anchor in 20 fathoms. 

 in Mary Muss Bay. which. notwithstanding its exposed 

 situåtion, was then as smooth as a mill-pond. 



On the following day the sea was équally' calm. but 

 the dense fog. stretching like a blanket about a couple of 

 hundred metres above our heads. shut out from view. as 

 on the previous afternoou. all but a low-lying strip of 

 shore. Early in the morning we landed. south of the 

 -Fugleberg." or breeding-cliff. a rock of singular hue and 

 formation, the remains of an ancient crater, jutting forward 

 to the south of the lagoon that lies on this side of the is- 

 land. Several exploring parties ]iassed the day on shore. 

 doing botaiiical and geologieal work, sketching the scenery. 

 and shooting sea-fowl and Polar foxes. The number of 

 foxes killed was three. 



On the 30th of July we dredged the bottom from a 

 Imat in Mary Muss Bay: but a breeze springing up from 

 the north-west. there was sunn too niueh surl' mi the shore 

 tu adinit of landing. Shortly after noon the wind began 

 to freshen. and at 5 p.m. we weighed anehor. deeming it 

 lust to run back to the opposite side of the island. Whilst 

 tin' ship was gettiiig under weigh, the sun came out a mo- 

 ineiit. enabling us to obtain a couple of altitudes; and im- 

 niediately after, through a sudden rent in the fog, we caught 



