30 ADVENTURES IN THE NORTHERN SEAS. 



water and small coals for ballast) ; salt for the 

 skins ; provisions for the crew, consisting of salt 

 beef and pork, dried fish, butter, rye bread, peas, 

 molasses, tea and coffee, etc, etc 



As the "Anna Louisa" had a small walrus boat 

 belonging to her, independently of the two being 

 built for us, we determined that, in order to save 

 time, she should sail at once ; so, after a little dif- 

 ficulty in collecting the crew, who seemed more in- 

 clined to the worship of Bacchus than that of Di- 

 ana, we got her off, with a fair wind, on the 26th 

 of June. We had previously arranged with the 

 " skyppar" to rendezvous at a little bay on the 

 southeast corner of Spitzbergen ; and, if that should 

 be unapproachable from ice, then at Bell Sound on 

 the west coast 



We had to wait three days for the boats to be 

 finished and painted, and, as may be supposed, we 

 soon exhausted the resources of Hammerfest in the 

 way of amusement. I believe the principal fact in 

 connection with it is, that it is the northernmost 

 town in the world, being in lat. 70° 42' N., and 

 long. 23° 35' E., yet from the influence of the Gulf 

 Stream the sea never freezes here. Although great 

 masses of snow still lay on the hills, and even close 

 down to the water's edge, the weather was extreme- 

 ly hot, and the musquitoes as numerous and annoy- 

 ing as I ever knew them in Africa or America. 



There is a large, ugly, bamy-look'uxf, rod-tiled, 

 and yellow-ochre painted wooden cathedral, which 



