

SPITZBERGEN REINDEER. 279 



direction, while it would of course act as an effectual 

 check against the entrance of ships ; moreover the 

 broken and hummocky nature of the ice field has 

 hitherto to a great extent baffled the efforts of sledging 

 parties to penetrate any very great distance among 

 this ancient ice, though such difficulties would probably 

 not be sufficient to stop the advance of migratory deer. 

 There are the further facts of flights of birds being 

 observed coming from the north east, which is of itself 

 a strong indication of the existence of land somewhere 

 in that quarter, and also the occurrence of stained and 

 dirty ice also seen in that direction, apparently as if 

 it had been in contact with the land : all of these 

 "together with other minor considerations, of a more 

 general character," * according to the Encyclopaedia 

 Britannica, seem strongly to support this theory, of the 

 truth of which the Spitzbergen hunters are, it states, 

 strongly persuaded, so much so that they feel con- 

 fident these great herds do descend, as stated, from 

 some unknown continent, situated in a north-easterly 

 direction. 



The Spitzbergen group itself consists of six large 

 and a number of smaller islands, the chief of them 

 being West Spitzbergen, which has an area of nearly 

 15,200 square miles, and which is mostly of a moun- 

 tainous character, high mountains reaching 4560 feet 

 covering its southern part, f The whole of the Spitz- 

 bergen group are, however, of a very barren, rocky 

 nature, and therefore to all appearance unable to afford 

 subsistence to the immense herds of deer which have 

 been met with there. At first sight it would certainly 



* Encycl. Brit., gth Edition, Vol. xxii, p. 409. (Art. "Spitzbergen"). 

 t Ibid., p. 408. 



