CHAPTER V 



OUR FIRST LANDINGS 



June 1 6///. --The weather was so still and quiet that 

 it seemed quite safe to leave the Saxon for a bit and see 

 something of the island, before going south again to 

 find whether the ice had moved. 



So at 10.30 on this morning we got into the small 

 boat, Powys with Duchess his retriever, rifle and gun, 

 I with the old spaniel Sailor, my gun with various shot, 

 and four rounds of ball cartridge. We took with us in 

 the boat Thomas Hyland (our bird-skinner), the skipper, 

 the mate, and four men to pull. 



We found the beach partly covered with a coating of ice, 

 formed no doubt by the washing of the waves. This ice 

 stretched away out over the sea, forming a solid platform 

 indented with little creeks and bays. Into one of these 

 we ran the boat, and jumped out at last on to the ice. 



Powys took the mate and two of the men, while 

 Thomas Hyland came with me. The other two men 

 returned to the Saxon with the skipper to prosecute 

 soundings. It was of course arranged that if anything 

 should call for our sudden return the steam whistle 



should be sounded. 



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