io SPITSBERGEN chap i 



belongs the credit for the two most important mountain- 

 climbs of the journey — those of Mount Starashchin and Horn 

 Sunds Tind — which were either accomplished by him alone 

 or under his leadership. My cousin, Mr. H. E. Conway, 

 came as the artist of the expedition. He worked industriously 

 and with no little skill in most uncomfortable surroundings 

 and ungenial weather. The present volume contains many 

 of his notes, whilst his sketches in water-colour and oils 

 have already been exhibited to the public. Lastly, we were 

 joined for a few days by Mr. J. T. Studley, who came in the 

 capacity of a sportsman. Finding nothing to attract him 

 in the appearance of the interior, he left us, to our no little 

 regret. 



Our first plan had been to secure a steamer for a shifting 

 base, and thus to attack the interior from various points in 

 succession. Had we been able to carry this out we should 

 have profited, but the expense of a steamer proved too heavy 

 for our means, and no generous yachtsman was forthcoming. 

 The boat must have been large enough to take the two ponies 

 on board, so that our choice was restricted. We thus had to 

 find some other means for reaching the island. In answer to 

 my advertisement a Norwegian firm communicated with me, 

 stating that the enterprising Vesteraalen Steamship Company 

 intended to build a visitors' hut in Spitsbergen that very 

 summer, and that it would be set up at Advent Bay, the point 

 I had already selected for our base. Accordingly I agreed to 

 share with them the steamer that was to take up the building 

 and the workmen who were to erect it, they undertaking 

 to carry our ponies, our open walrus-boat, and our two 

 Norwegian followers, and to fetch them back to Norway at 

 the close of the season. The agent whom I employed to 

 make this arrangement unfortunately bungled the matter and 

 committed us to return three weeks earlier than we had in- 

 tended. The tourist-hut itself was of course useless to us. 



