42 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



ropes was not to be thought of; they fell under the heavy 

 gashes of an ever-ready knife ; it rattled down ; another 

 cut or two and it was free, and flying under the strong 

 and long drawn strokes. Those were long and fearful 

 moments as we stood silently and with bated breath 

 following with our eyes the little craft, and for the first 

 time realizing how great the distance was. 



"Would the attempt to save him prove successful ? or 

 would this act of youthful thoughtlessness be punished ? 

 No ! we saw the boat reach its mark, we saw them rest 

 on their oars, and one lean over ; and now the drowning 

 man is drawn in alive. Then the gull and the life-buoy 

 had to be got in, and they pulled hurriedly back to the 

 vessel. Like a drowned poodle the sinner soon stood 

 once more amongst us, receiving as a reward a sound 

 lecture from the captain, followed by a good draught of 

 brandy. But the doctor took the corpus delicti (the 

 gull) in hand. On this occasion we unfortunately lost a 

 basket containing some fine flower bulbs, which had 

 been given us by some friendly hand with the hope that, 

 if successful, they might cheer our long Arctic winter 

 with their blossom, and had been placed in the boat as 

 being a dry airy position. 



In the North Sea we had already seen some spouting 

 dolphins ; now they often came up close to us. In the 

 beginning of July, they came so near, that our zoologist 

 had the great satisfaction of taking an exact drawing of 

 the back. It was the species well known to all sailors, 

 the "Nordkaper" or "Killer" (Delphinus orca,Fabr.), one 

 of the largest kind in the whale family, being sometimes 

 twenty-five feet long. It is distinguished, and for the 

 same reason easily recognized at a great distance, by the 



