io HUNTERS AND HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



towers north and south of the isthmus ; the 

 northern is known as Vogelberg, the Mountain 

 of Birds ; that to the south, the Eier Busch, or 

 Island of Eggs, is composed of slopes of cinders 

 and lava. 



Altogether, the island is but a collection of 

 craters, dominated by a giant volcano whose 

 white summit is lost in the clouds. The volcano 

 has long since been extinct and we have no 

 record of its last eruption. Since the discovery 

 of the island by Dutch whalers in the seven- 

 teenth century (1609-1610), it has manifested 

 no activity. Occasional clouds of sulphurous 

 smoke arising in the vicinity of the Island of 

 Eggs proves, however, that internal fires still 

 exist. 



The island possesses no permanent inhabi- 

 tants. In the days of the great whaling ex- 

 peditions, the Dutch established an important 

 station, traces of which are still to be seen 

 between Vogelberg and the northern lagoon, 

 the water of which is drinkable. Six sailors 

 were left here in 1630 in charge of some appara- 

 tus ; they all died of scurvy before the re-arrival 

 of the fleet in the spring. In these days, when 

 whales have almost completely disappeared, 

 Jan Mayen no longer attracts the fishers. 

 Captain Swensen told me that fur hunters 



