12 HUNTERS AND HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



May en, should both have vividly called to my 

 mind Etretat. 



At four o'clock we doubled a huge basalt 

 column, isolated and separated from the cliff 

 to which it belonged. This column is known 

 as ' The Lighthouse/ 



To the east, a little boat with red sails met 

 our eyes. It lay off the Flotsam Shore and 

 seemed to await us. This is another remarkable 

 rock called the ' Pilot Boat ' from its great 

 resemblance to that class of vessel. The cliffs 

 along which we made our way were volcanic, 

 and thousands of birds nested in them. As we 

 passed they left their nests in flocks to wheel 

 and swarm about the ship. In the hollows of the 

 cliff rare herbs and mosses were to be seen, but 

 there were no signs at all of reindeer or hares. 



Still nearer we approached ; Vogelberg, sur- 

 mounting the irregularities of the isthmus 

 like some high tower, now took definite shape. 

 White and rugged as it is, it has all the appear- 

 ance of some old chateau dominating and 

 defending the isthmus. While I was examining, 

 through the binoculars, the thousands of birds 

 which make it their nesting-place, a man sud- 

 denly appeared above the crater line and stood 

 silhouetted against the sky-line. I announced 

 this fact to Merit e, who was incredulous. He 



