NORWEGIAN DEEP-SEA EXPEDITION OF 1878. 269 



a small stream, the so-called English River, came trickliDg down. The 

 place was well chosen, and it appeared on our later investigations that 

 it would not have been possible at any other point to get over the preci- 

 pice, which from the flat land within descends into the sea. Here the 

 ascent was not difQcult, and Ave soon found ourselves upon the plateau, 

 whence endless flat and barren wastes strewn with boulders, with here 

 and there a little lake, stretched as far as the eye could see. Some rare 

 birds, among which a broad- tailed Lestris pomerina, resembling a bird of 

 prey, soon attracted our attention, and three fine specimens were brought 

 down by our guns. We followed the coast northward as far as seven 

 miles from the English River, now making excursions into the interior 

 of the island, now approaching tiie coast, whence we got splendid views 

 of a couple of wonderfully shaped rocks standing isolated in the sea, 

 the EngUsh Block and the Xorth Loaf, where myriads of sea-birds had 

 chosen their places for nesting. But now came the fog, dark, cold, and 

 wet, driving upon us from the interior of the island, and it soon became 

 so dense that it robbed us of every outlook, wherefore we concluded that 

 it was about time for us to make an end to further progress and begin 

 our march back. On the way we liad the good fortune to stumble u])on 

 some fossil-bearing rocks, which here cropped out, and were so loose and 

 crushed by the ice that we found no difiBculty in making a large collec- 

 tion. Some slate-formed layers of coal were also found, of which s])eci- 

 mens were gathered. 



After a pretty exhaustiiig march through the dense fog, over the sharp 

 stones, we flnalty reached our landing-place at about four o'clock in the 

 morning. Whence we could, through the fog, barely catch a glimjDse of 

 the Voring, which, in the mean time, had anchored as near to the shore 

 as possible. On board, the captain, with his usiial thoughtfulness, kept 

 in readiness for us a cup of steaming coflee, which tasted excellent after 

 our wearisome excursion, and, together with a glass of good grog, gave 

 our bodies the requisite amount of heat. 



Meanwhile, there was taking place near the stern of the ship a scene 

 which kept, us awake for several hours longer. A couple of the crew had 

 gotten out the trolling-lines, and in an incredibly short time had brought 

 on board some beautiful codfish. As soon as this became known all was 

 life and activity among the crew, and all the trolling-lines that could be 

 found on board were brought into service in a hurry. Several of the 

 members of the expedition also took part in the fishing, and that with 

 a zeal scarcely less intense than that of the crew. One splendid cod- 

 fish after another was hauled in over the rail, and soon the deck was 

 strewn with sprawling fishes, so that there was scarcely room to walk 

 without stepping on them. About two hundred codfish were in the 

 course of a few hours drawn up, which showed conclusively what a 

 wealth of fish there must be around this island, in other respects so des- 

 olate and inhospitable. At six o'clock in the morning we at length tum- 



