TRAPPERS 37 



j I enquired whether any of the survivors were 

 ill, and was informed they were all in excellent 

 health. A little snow had fallen during the 

 winter, but the glass had on no occasion regis- 

 tered below thirty-eight degrees. The bay 

 had remained ice-free until Christmas, and 

 throughout the winter the sea had been clear. 



On the other hand, the trappers were by no 

 means satisfied with the result of their expedi- 

 tion. They had killed only four walruses, 

 forty white bears, from thirty to forty foxes, 

 and twenty musk-bulls. In the beginning of 

 the autumn they had driven into a swamp and 

 taken alive five calves. These calves, being 

 extremely rare, obtain high prices, often selling 

 at fifteen hundred crowns. 



Unfortunately their provisions had run 

 short during the winter and they had been 

 compelled to kill four of these calves. Their 

 despair at this loss was almost comical. The 

 man who related it to us was not to be consoled, 

 and returned to the subject constantly. They 

 had been so foolish, it transpired, as to endeavour 

 to ship the calves to Iceland towards the end of 

 September. The passage, however, had proved 

 so difficult that after two days they were 

 compelled to turn back. 



We went together to the house standing 



