76 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



look at the end of Sir George Nares' book on the Arctic 

 Expedition of 1875 you will find a most interesting account 

 by Colonel H. W. Feilden of this animal's habits as 

 observed in Grinnell Land. Had I known of this before 

 I should have made a closer inquiry into the interior of 

 the holes. As it was, I noticed only that the place was 

 strewn with the remains of geese, and that the sternum 

 and fore-legs of a small seal were lying there. I was on 

 the look-out for the remains of the lemmings, so I did of 

 course look down into the burrows as far as I could see ; 

 but very possibly a little digging might have revealed 

 the larders described by Colonel Feilden. We could not, 

 however, afford to wait if we were to find the firer of 

 shots. 



It was not long before we came upon the track 

 of a sleigh drawn by five reindeer. This was very 

 cheering, for it might have been made yesterday — it 

 looked so fresh. 



We began to follow that sleigh-track. It doubled and 

 twisted all about. The man had been collecting- willow- 

 grouse eggs, or else the dog (for he had a dog) had been 

 collecting them : I could not quite make out which. 

 But we saw several plundered nests and places where a 

 bird had been shot, or more probably caught by the 

 dog. Often it was very hard to follow the track. I was 

 very much struck with the lightness of the runners. 

 Of reindeer sleighs I at this time knew nothing, of 

 course. 



