NORWEGIAN DEEP-SEA EXPEDITION OF 1878, 273 



inatiou of the materials brought up brought to light several inter- 

 esting forms of animals ; nor -were fishes Avanting, three specimens of a 

 beautifully banded species of Lijcodes being seciu^ed in good condition, 

 and preserved. 



Toward evening of the same day we caught sight of land ahead. It 

 was off the northwest coast of Spitzbergen, and proved to be the long 

 and yet but little known Prince Charles' Foreland, the sharp pinnacles of 

 which first lifted their tall heads above the horizon. The following morn- 

 ing the weather was fair and the sun shone clear and bright. We were 

 then only about thirty miles distant from land, and the mountains on 

 Prince Charles' Foreland and around Icefjord lay perfectlj' clear with 

 their mighty masses of snow and ice. At 125 fathoms' depth we sent 

 down a dredge which brought up a considerable portion of loose mud, 

 containing the usual Arctic animal forms. 



It was determined that the next dredging was to take place at a depth 

 of about 400 fathoms, or where the bank declined toward the deep. So 

 we steered to the west, to the r>oint where according to the i>reviously 

 sketched contour-lines we could exjject this depth. Upon casting the 

 lead we found, however, to our surprise, that the depth was only 97 

 fathoms. We were here clearly on a sharp edge, and the soundings 

 made immediately afterwards further out also showed an unusually 

 steep descent toward the deep. At 416 fathoms the dredge went down 

 and came up again with its net full of gravel and stones. On the tan- 

 gles were hanging beautiful specimens of a sort of Medusa-head {As- 

 trophyton) up to two feet in diameter, together with a few specimens of 

 the same beautiful branched sponge which we on our first expedition 

 had caught in the UmbeUular region; and from among the gravel was 

 separated a large number of other marine animals, some of which were 

 of great interest. 



According to our plan two passages more were to be made between 

 Spitzbergen and the Greenland ice further to the north. Meanwhile 

 from the experience now gained it was thought sufficient to make one 

 cruise to the north, and in this manner considerable time would be gained. 

 The stem was therefore turned to the northwest and then to the north, 

 in order if possible to determine the point where the Atlantic current 

 meets the Polar current. Meanwhile the wind had begun Mowing from 

 the northwest, with a chopping sea, so that the ship on account of the 

 constant consumption of coal lay a great deal too high in the water and 

 consequently made extremelj' slow progress. But fortunately we were 

 sailing with the current, and were thus helped along a little more 

 rapidly than we had expected. The weather remained unchanged aU 

 the next day, and the ship lay the whole time fighting the chopping sea, 

 while the propeller was lifted by every heavy swell entirely out of the 

 water, and beat about wildly in the air, without being able to push the 

 vessel forward with its usual force. Still we did go forward, and on the 

 following morning we observed the first floes of ice. We had then ad- 

 18 F 



