Finner Whales 
enters and recedes from these various fjords 
according to the wind’s direction. You may 
enter a fjord practically free from ice, and the 
wind may veer round, blowing strongly from 
an opposite direction, when the ice drifts back, 
completely blocking up the open water. Owing 
to this, especially in the late autumn, ships are 
particularly careful to leave before the hard 
frosts set in, for they may in this case be com- 
pelled to remain in this inhospitable and desolate 
land throughout the long Northern winter. 
This had actually happened to a crew of 
sealers the autumn previous to our visit, in fact, 
our steamer was the first vessel to put in an 
appearance and to offer aid to these men after 
their terrible experience. We had observed 
smoke rising as it were from the ground, and 
so soon as the anchor was dropped and a boat 
lowered, some of us went ashore to investigate. 
We found a sealing vessel embedded in the ice 
close to the shore. On a flat piece of ground we 
discovered whence the smoke came. Then two 
men appeared, one a Norwegian and the other a 
Lapp. They were both dressed in long coats 
that they had made from skins of reindeer which 
they had killed themselves. The Norwegian, 
who spoke English well, told me the story of how 
they had been caught late the previous autumn 
in the ice, and why they had been obliged to 
remain where they were. They left their vessel, 
149 
