REINDEER 119 



began to grow cold, so I returned without 

 attempting this game. 



The next day the weather continued fine, 

 with the sun very warm. We might have been 

 in the Italian Alps instead of in Spitzbergen, 

 so near the Pole. At eight o'clock, Rachlew, 

 Swensen, and myself embarked in the canoe 

 with three men, carrying our rifles and provisions 

 for the whole day. Before leaving, the Captain 

 pointed out to us a reindeer half-way up the 

 mountain. Its pasturage was, however, on the 

 farther side of the river running through the 

 valley which was our destination. We decided 

 to follow the right bank of the river, and to 

 leave this reindeer until our return, after having 

 crossed the torrent nearer its source. We did 

 this because the Captain was convinced that the 

 two reindeer he had seen two days before could 

 not be far away ; these animals rarely move 

 great distances. We steered our course for a 

 small hill formed of broken rocks, at the foot 

 of the higher mountains. The ground we first 

 crossed was rather swampy, but was not a 

 morass, and progress was rendered easy by 

 reason of the mosses and other plants. There 

 is but little similarity between the valleys of 

 Bell Sound and those of Ice Fjord. In the 

 latter, one frequently sinks to the knees in thick 



