336 



PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1912 



and the carcases of birds half eaten by foxes were found upon 

 the floor of the wooden cabin. 



I was one of a party of nineteen' which made an attempt 

 (alas, an unsuccessful attempt !) to land on Jan Mayen in the 

 summer of 191 1. Under the leadership of J. Foster Stack- 

 house, F.R.G.S., we chose the month of August for our voyage, 

 for there are only three months in the year of possible open 

 water round the island. Leaving Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 

 little S.Y. " Matador " (230 tons) we steered our course due 

 north to the Orkneys, and thence through increasing fog to 

 the Faroes, and onward to Seydisfiord on the north-east coast 

 of Iceland. At the latter point we landed and took in provi- 

 sions—during which operation our little party dispersed in 

 various directions, some visiting the ancient glacier-bed and 

 beautiful falls three miles inland, some collecting plants and 

 geological specimens, and some replenishing the simple larder 

 by fishing in the fiord. The absence of trees, and the presence 

 of day-light far on into the hours of the night were perhaps 

 the most noticeable features here. The Icelanders were much 

 interested in our project, and would come down in the rain to 

 watch from the wooden wharf, our doings on the " Matador." 



A day or two later found us sheltering from a violent 

 north-westerly storm under the headland of Langanes* (the 

 extreme north-easterly point of Iceland, ten miles south of 

 the Arctic Circle). For thirty-six hours it lasted, and the sea 

 outside was no place for the " Matador " or ourselves. Driving 

 fog, and chilling sleet and snow were our portion as we 

 lay' at anchor in Eithisvik. To southward the imposing 

 coast-line was soon lost in the gloom ; to northward extended 

 the sharp-cut cliffs of Langanes. Some of us risked a wetting 

 and landed on the boulder-strewn beach, where the surf was 

 breaking. The loneliness of the spot was impressive. A few 

 fishermen's huts by a lagoon and that was all : beyond that, 

 dreary moorland lost in mist. A group of Arctic terns were 

 playing gracefully in the wind near the shore, and we also saw 

 eider-ducks, black guillemots, and snipe {tringa striata.) The 



1 Three Germans, two Swedes, two Americans, twelve British; with the skipper and a crew 

 of eight. 



2 Cf. Langness in the Isle of Man. 



