190 Mr. H. J. Pearson on Birds 



shot. A colony of Samoyeds have been settled here three 

 years, and have several wooden houses — one of these being 

 most comfortable, well built, and lined inside with planed 

 boards. Last year they had sold to the Russians 115 deer 

 and 39 ice-bear skins. 



All the best points on Novaya Zemlya for shooting bears 

 and reindeer are occupied by these people ; and last year 

 one or two parties had gone north to winter on the west 

 coast of the North Island or Lutke Land, so that it is 

 scarcely necessary to explain how very slight the chances 

 of sport in this country now are. The men told us the ice 

 left the coast last year in May, and they believed the Scharr 

 was then open also. 



From Cairn Bay we proceeded through the Scharr to 

 its east entrance, where we anchored in Seal Bay, a very 

 safe place, and the best anchorage found during our voyage ; 

 it is formed by a small inlet on the east side of Belushja 

 Bay. We spent nine days in working the surrounding 

 country on both sides of the Straits, and found birds to be 

 much scarcer here than on the west coast. 



As we could see no ice on the Kara Sea from the hills 

 ascended, we steamed up the east coast of Lutke Land on 

 the 6th of August, and reached Pachtussoff Island, lat. 

 74° 24'. Here the sea was absolutely clear of sea-ice as far 

 as could be seen from an elevation of 130 feet, and no 

 ice-blink was visible ; in fact it was the most wonderful 

 year for open water on this east coast I can find recorded 

 since the sixteenth century. Unfortunately the constant 

 headwinds had nearly exhausted our coal, so that we were 

 unable to avail ourselves of such a favourable opportunity 

 to explore the coast further north, respecting which very 

 little is known. 



Returning down the coast we spent a day in Bear Bay, 

 and then steamed through the Scharr to Nameless Bay. 

 This bay and its wonderful wealth of bii'd-life have been 

 fully described by Admiral Markham in his '^ Voyage of the 

 * Isbjorn ' " (see 'A Polar Reconnaissance,' pp. 150-153). 

 Still no description can do full justice to the scene, which 



