DENSE AND SUDDEN FOG. 167 



CHAP. XL 



Dense and sudden Fog. Our Hours and Habits. - 

 Supplies run short. Meet the Yacht. Their bad 

 Success in Sport. Novel Bullet-mould Geological 

 Specimens. Part Company again. Medical Treatment 

 of sick Men. Water up. News. Old Acquaintance. 

 Gradual Extinction of the &quot;Walrus. They are receding 

 further North. Nova Zembla. Illness of young Bear. 

 Attempt to escape. Aged Bull- Walrus. His pro 

 bable Eeminiscences. Coal and Fossils. Commander 

 Gillies Land. North-east Spitzbergen. Bear shot 

 from the Deck of the Sloop. 



THE thickest fog which I ever saw even in the 

 Spitzbergen seas came suddenly down upon 

 us from the north-east while we were seven or 

 eight miles ahsent from the sloop on the 2nd. 

 I had killed one large seal, and was look 

 ing forward with pleasure to killing five or 

 six others which we had marked, when the 

 fog came down like a curtain upon us, and 

 the ice being very intricate, it was hopeless to 

 attempt looking for the seals, so we made the 

 best of our way to the sloop. &quot;We had of course 

 carefully taken the bearings by compass, and 



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