NORTH DEVON AND ST. HELENA. 315 



While Isachsen, helped by Stolz, next day was measuring 

 angles and observing for longitude, Schei worked in the 

 mountains, or with me at the ruins. As far as we could see 

 the drift-ice still closed all passage towards the south and east 

 along the land, and our time was growing so short that if we were 

 to reach Nordstrand on the appointed day, we must be getting 

 north as soon as possible. 



On August 1 we shaped the course straight across 'Vest- 

 fjord.' It was calm, fine weather, and we were able to row at a 

 good pace until we reached mid-fjord, when we got into a quantity 

 of ice, which came drifting into the fjord with the current, and 

 settled at the edge of the fast ice. We had no time to lose ; 

 across the ice we had to, and intended to, go. First we dragged 

 the boat with its contents up on to the edge of the ice, then hoisted 

 it on to the sledge, and then away with the whole thing across 

 the floe. Well, well, we got through that day too, and again began 

 to row northward without allowing ourselves to be tempted by 

 all the walrus we saw, both on the ice and in the water. We 

 lost way sadly that day, for both the breeze and the current 

 were against us, and we could not make head against them. 



We intended to sleep at St. Helena; but, difficult as it had 

 been to get there before, it was ten times worse now that it was 

 low water. The ice-foot, which was ten or twelve feet above us, 

 was hollowed out underneath, so that a roof of ice projected out 

 fourteen or fifteen feet in length. We rowed backwards and 

 forwards for a long time along the wall of ice, until at last we 

 discovered a kind of tunnel or roofed canal, and through this 

 narrow channel we slipped. 



We walked about the island again, and among other things 

 paid the eider colony a visit in the hope that our previous looting 

 of the nests might have brought the birds to lay some more eggs ; 

 but they had wisely refrained. Several of the eider mothers had 

 taken their young ones to sea, and were busily engaged in teach- 

 ing them some of the wisdom of the world. We came across the 

 skeleton of a reindeer, on which large portions of skin and flesh 

 still remained. Poor beast ! Its wanderings had brought it to this 

 poverty-stricken island, whence it had been unable to escape, and 



