194 NEW LAND. 



have been easy for us to capture walrus for the dogs, but we should 

 not then have been able to keep such a good look-out on the ice. 

 My idea was to round Brevoort Island and anchor in Payer 

 Harbour. This we attempted, and found impracticable; the ice 

 barred the way. So then I went back a little, and anchored under 

 the lee of Pirn Island, in a little bay about a mile from Payer Har- 

 bour. I climbed to the highest point of Pirn, whence, the weather 

 being clear, I had a splendid view both north and south but there 

 was the pack, and nothing but the pack as far as the eye could see. 



A shooting party started off at the same time that I went to 

 see the lie of the ice. They did not come across walrus, but did 

 a good deal of damage among the sea-fowl their bag consisting of 

 more than a hundred little auks, a number of black guillemots, a 

 few guillemots and eiders, and countless gulls. 



The following morning we had to beat a precipitate retreat, for 

 the pack set inwards so violently that we hardly had time to heave 

 anchor, though we were lying with steam -up and everything 

 clear. There was nothing for it, then, but to go back and moor in 

 our old winter harbour. The north wind, however, only lasted a 

 couple of days, and directly afterwards was succeeded by the 

 wretched southerly gales. 



The only thing for us to do now was to get together all the food 

 we could for the dogs, and so I took Isachsen, Peder, and Simmons 

 with me to Hayes Sound, where, for once in a way, the south 

 wind was of help to us. Abreast of Cape Rutherford we came 

 across a couple of walrus, and we at once lowered sail and made 

 ready to capture them. But the scoundrels always took care to 

 swim against the wind. We rowed as hard as we could, but still 

 we went the way the hen kicks, and that is not forward. We fell 

 farther and farther astern, and soon saw that our wisest course 

 was to hoist the sail and go ahead inwards, but then the wind 

 went down, and in near ' Eskimopolis ' all that was left of it was 

 a light breeze ; we then lowered the sail and rowed under land to 

 be in readiness. 



The only animal we came across was a bearded seal, which rose 

 and gazed at us a little distance from the boat. We set to work at 

 once to capture it, but it proved to be the very mischief, and led 



