294 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



drawers. To halt and fire was tlie work of a moment, 

 and, after a vain attempt to rise again, the bear died at 

 the feet of the travellers. Gradually the sun broke 

 through the fog, and the terraces of the Tell-platte looked 

 like a violet silhouette. 



The further they advanced the more impractible the 

 ice became, being perforated by numerous springs. With 

 some trouble they at length reached the lowlands to the 

 west of the bay ; here the sledge remained behind as the 

 land was perfectly free from snow. And after dividing 

 the baggage the wanderers continued their ascent, when 

 after fifteen hours' march they reached the highest point 

 of the Tell-platte (670 ft, above the sea). 



" Here on the broad mountain top were masses of 

 rubbish of gneiss formation resembling those on Pendulum 

 Island. We were also astonished by the sight of a large 

 flat promontory (south of Haystack) which is not distinctly 

 marked on Clavering^s charts. The view of the front 

 coast of Greenland was full of majestic beauty." 



Brown and blue lines of mountains with their sharp 

 pinnacles rose in the warmth of the midnight sun on the 

 other side of a snow desert some miles broad, long 

 shadows lying on those parts turned from the sun. 



Whilst for six hours Payer was busy with measure and 

 theodolite, his companions had discovered a herd of musk- 

 oxen and killed two of them. Heavily laden they returned 

 to the sledge at midnight. The sun had gone down some 

 hours. The mountain country had taken those fantastic 

 hues of deep red and violet, even to the coldest, palest 

 toning of the snow ; in the zenith shone a faint whitish 

 blue; to the south a lively greyish blue; and the newly-risen 

 copper-coloured moon, distorted by refraction, shone in 



