TRAPPERS 13 



had eagerly desired to set foot on a desert 

 island, and this discovery at once disconcerted 

 and disappointed him. Soon where there had 

 been one man, two, three, then four appeared. 

 They were evidently fur hunters from Tromso 

 who had wintered on the island. 



Merite's disappointment quickly merged into 

 curiosity. The idea of inspecting the traps, 

 and of questioning the trappers as to the manner 

 in which they hunted foxes and other animals, 

 excited him greatly. 



At half-past six we anchored in eight fathoms 

 of water near the Flotsam Shore, in direct north 

 to south alignment with a high basalt column, 

 part of which rests in the lagoon. On the maps 

 this is known as ' Saul/ We dined, and at half- 

 past seven set out for the shore. The beach 

 before us presented no indentations. It is 

 composed of cinders and fragments of worn 

 lava, and extends smoothly for several miles. 

 The waves beat directly upon it, forming a surf 

 which renders disembarkment always difficult, 

 and sometimes quite impossible. 



As we neared the beach we found the sea 

 covered with thousands of petrels, who dis- 

 played no fear at our approach. They floated 

 on the surf in serried ranks, and as each wave 

 retired, they fluttered forward into the boiling 



