INTRODUCTION 



As Kolguev Island lies but fifty miles off the coast of 

 Arctic Europe it may fairly be regarded as European. 

 A glance at the map will show that it is the only island 

 in that part of the Arctic Ocean known as Barents Sea. 



It seemed time that something more certain should 

 be known about it than could be gathered from chance 

 references in the old books. Also, lying thus between 

 east and west, it held out to a naturalist promise of 

 interesting- thino-s. 



In the autumn of 1893 I crossed in a trading vessel 

 from this country to the White Sea, with the object of 

 finding out something about Kolguev. I failed. I 

 asked the Governor of the Archangel Province. He 

 was kindness itself, but confessed himself uninformed 

 on the subject. 'But,' he added, 'when my gun-boat 

 goes next year to Novaya Zemblya they might pos- 

 sibly be able to set you down.' It was a kind offer, 

 but the oun-boat would be Sfoino- altogether too late for 

 my purpose. I asked of the traders and fishermen, I 

 asked of the monks on Solovetsk — but with no result. 

 They knew nothing of Kolguev ; only they were agreed 



