SHANNON ISLAND. 293 



On the 27tli Paj^er and his party returned full of the 

 wonders of the Tell-platte; their tour had been most 

 satisfactory. 



We now held a consultation, and all agreed that for 

 the moment there was no prospect of getting further 

 northward; so at four p.m. we steamed for Klein-Pen- 

 dulum, which we reached at half-past eleven p.m. 



Since the 12th of August the sun had again risen and 

 set for us, and at midnight it was already twilight, so 

 that for the first time for two months we could see the 

 bright stars, and at midnight on deck we could see to 

 read the smallest print. 



These uniform and uneventful days on Shannon Island 

 were useful to us, in so far that they showed us the 

 capabilities as well as deficiencies in our tents, coverings, 

 cooking apparatus, and so on. 



So much for Dr. Copeland and his party. We will 

 now give some account of Lieutenant Payer's first sledge 

 journey to the Tell-platte. 



On the 16th of August, on the plateau north of Cape 

 Philip Broke, Payer had measured a base 1600 

 fathoms long, and in order to conclude this work he on 

 the 25th started on a small sledge journey, accompanied 

 by Sengstacke, Ellinger, and Iversen, to the south-west 

 of Shannon, called the Tell-platte. They pulled a small 

 sledge, without either tent or sleeping-sack, across the 

 monotonous snow-fields of Freeden Bay. A layer of 

 fog hung over it only a few fathoms high, disguising the 

 real distance from the travellers. Suddenly icebergs 

 emerged like ghosts from the surrounding fog, apparently 

 far off, yet close at hand ; then a yellowish spot began 

 to move, and a bear stood a few steps from the sledge- 



