THE IVORY GULL " PORTAGES.'' 1 155 



corbeaux of the West Indies. This is the most 

 beautiful of all the gull tribe, being of a dazzling 

 snowy whiteness, all except his feet and eyes, which 

 are black. They are perfectly tame and fearless, and 

 flutter impatiently about, or sit on the surrounding 

 ice, and even on the boat, making a harsh, disagree- 

 able scream until the flensing is concluded, when 

 they make an immediate onslaught on the carcass ; 

 but so greedy and rapacious are they, that they al- 

 ways commence by fighting and squabbling among 

 themselves, as if the huge carcass of a seal or a wal- 

 rus was not sufficient for them. 



Lord David saw a large bear to-day, but he got 

 the wind of the boat and escaped over the fast ice 

 to the north. There is a large quantity of this fixed 

 ice immediately to the north of the great glacier, 

 and I fancy it is the edge of the interminable ice- 

 field extending all the way to the pole. 



Several square miles of this ice became detached, 

 and gradually broke up into fragments during the 

 night ; and on proceeding to hunt next morning, 

 my boat got beset in such quantities of it that we 

 lost great part of the day in extricating her. Upon 

 such occasions we often have to get out, and drag 

 the boat over large pieces of ice which "stop the 

 way ;" and as the boats are not only heavy in them- 

 selves, but additionally so on account of the number 

 of indispensable articles we are obliged to carry, this 

 becomes very severe work when these "portages' 1 are 

 long or of frequent occurrence. 



