58 



the sea always continues free from ice, and tlie inhabitants are accus- 

 tomed to fish through the whole winter without appearing to suffer in 

 their health from exposui's to severe cold. The cattle appeared well 

 conditioned, though small, the cows standing only about three feet 

 high. 



While at Haramerfest, I as usual employed part of my time, nearly 

 every day, in dredging, either in the bay where the depth was 

 from 20 to above 30 fathoms, or outside, in 50 to above 100 fathoms. 

 I obtained several interesting specimens, among others, for the first 

 time, Rhynconella Psittacea, also the Emhla Korenii of Loven, Ceri- 

 thiimi metula, and Cardium eleganudum, a beautiful and rare Goniaster, 

 and one or two other starfishes supposed to be new. 



One afternoon while I was occupied with my favourite pursuit, my 

 young companions landed on an island called Hogen, which rises in the 

 form of a wedge to the height of probably 700 to 800 feet, terminating 

 in a perpendicular precipice. It contains a surface of several square 

 miles, but no trace of man or beast could be discovered upon it, though 

 it was clothed with a luxuriant vegetation, and many beautiful flowers, 

 including our own Forget-me-not, appeared here doomed " to waste 

 their sweetness in the desert ai-r." On another similar occasion Mr. 

 Barrett and my son made an excursion to the top of the highest moun- 

 tain in Qualoe, (the island on which Hammerfest is situated,) and 

 ovei'looking all the land to the north of it, they enjoyed a most 

 extensive prospect. The height I should estimate at about 1500 or 

 1600 feet; in the ascent they found the remains of a reindeer crushed 

 between two masses of rock. 



The communication between Hammerfest and the rest of the world 

 is mainly dependant upon a line of government steamers which leave 

 Drontheim at alternate intervals of a week and a fortnight during the 

 summer season, calling at numerous stations. They perform the 

 voyage with great regularity, and notwithstanding the very intricate 

 nature of the navigation, during a period of fifteen years no serious 

 accident had occurred till the time of my visit to Hammerfest, when 

 the packet, which should have arrived there on the 9th of July, became 

 disabled by running in a fog upon a rock, the consequence of which was 

 that a period of three weeks elapsed without the receipt of any post from 

 the south of Tromsoe. A steamer constantly runs during summer 

 between the last named town and the north-eastern stations, going 

 round the North Cape as far as Wardhaus on the Voranger Fiord, a 

 frontier garrison of the Russian territory. Although this is the only 

 fortification I heard of north of Drontheim, I do not suppose it capable 

 of offering any very pffectual resistance in case of a hostile attack, at least 



