chap, viii STICKY KEEP 123 



near at hand. Its neve was grey rather than white, a char- 

 acteristic appearance in these regions, if the always low 

 sun happens to be at the back of the observer, so that 

 little light is reflected to the eye from the almost horizontal 

 surface of the snow-field. In the Alps neves are seldom so 

 horizontal, unless they occupy depressions, where the low 

 sun only casts shadows upon them ; moreover, in lower 

 latitudes the sun is much nearer the zenith most of the 

 time, and when it descends to the midday level of Spits- 

 bergen its light comes through dustier air beds, and is thereby 

 deprived of the whiteness which even the low Spitsbergen 

 sun generally retains. Owing to the relative gentleness of 

 winds here, and to the larger proportion of snow-covering 

 at high levels to bare rock, neves in Spitsbergen are cleaner, 

 carry less surface dust, than they do in Alps or Himalaya. 

 The whiter surface and the cleaner low levels of atmos- 

 phere thus conspire to deprive distant snow-fields of the 

 more varied colouring we are accustomed to in Europe. 

 Only at distances of twenty miles or more is enough of the 

 clear atmosphere interposed to cast a mellow glamour over 

 wide snowy prospects in the Arctic regions. 



About seven p.m. Gregory walked into camp, calling aloud 

 for tea and victuals. He was bearer of no good tidings. 

 He told how, after leaving us the day before, the tired 

 ponies dragged the light sledges slowly along the hill-side, 

 over boggy places, towards ever-receding Sassen Bay. They 

 passed the mouth of the first valley (into which we looked 

 from Sticky Keep), getting fairly ducked in the stream. A 

 while after, Gregory found the biscuits in his pocket sopping 

 wet, and set them on the sledge end to dry. It was the 

 last he saw of them. Spits lets no food remain long 

 untried within reach of her omnivorous maw, and she 

 already knew by experience that biscuits were good. The 

 next stage of the way was when they rounded the foot of 



