chap, vii THE SASSENDAL 113 



this time in the river. Between swimming and wading both 

 crossed, shook themselves like dogs on the farther bank, 

 and trotted off up hill. These reindeer have been shot 

 enough to be made shy, but they are essentially stupid 

 beasts, and if Spitsbergen is much hunted they will soon 

 be almost exterminated. I saw many more, and so, unfor- 

 tunately, did Pedersen, who cannot restrain himself from 

 shooting at them, even though they are not wanted for 

 food. He is not a good shot, and this day he was specially 

 unfortunate. Having stalked two deer and come within 

 fortv yards of them, he kneeled down and elaborately aimed. 

 The recoil of the rifle sent him over on his back, and no 

 harm was done ; the stupid deer wondered at the noise, and 

 came close to see the cause. Pedersen missed them again, 

 but brought one down by a long shot at a range of about 

 two hundred yards — a useless slaughter, as will be seen. 



My march was a solitary one down the mournful Esker 

 Valley, but it was not without interest. The very loneliness 

 and weirdness of the scenery gave it a charm. Had Sir 

 Palamedes lit on this place, assuredlv he would have believed 

 that the Questing Beast was nigh. On I went, plunging and 

 wading slowly downward. Perceiving that the exit into the 

 Sassendal was near at hand, I hastened forward, ascended 

 a bare and muddy mound, and lo ! the broad valley, and to 

 the north a bright line, the ice-encumbered waters of Sassen 

 Bay. Across the valley was the Colorado Berg, a long low 

 hill, extraordinarily flat-topped and tame, seamed by snow 

 couloirs, one of which, with its branches, mimicked the form 

 of an Assyrian bas-relief. Here was clearly the place for 

 camp if the ponies had come down this bank ; there was 

 nothing to be gained by descending the last low boggy slope 

 to the yet boggier flat of the valley. Long I sat gazing at 

 the view and shivering. It was not without its fine elements. 

 Best was the glimpse of Sassen Bay, with the purple wall 



