SriTZnEUGEN AND GREENLANn. IT 



Concerning the beasts that live on this land, I believe they 

 come over the ice in the spring, when the ice stands firm, 

 into these coimtries, and that the same way they go away 

 from thence again, when the long nights begin. ^ 



Concerning the birds, ■sve have partly a good account of 

 them ; their places and food are known, as I shall mention 

 wlien I come to write about them. 



AV'hen, on the 18th of June, on a Simday, in the forenoon, 

 we first came to the Foreland of Spitzhergcn, the foot of these 

 mountains looked like fire, and the tops of them were covered 

 with foggs ; the snow was marbel'd, and looked as if it were 

 boughs and branches of trees, and gave as bright and glori- 

 ous a gloss or shining to the air or skies as if the sun had 

 shin'd. AMien the mountains look thus fiery, a hard storm 

 generally ensues. 



These countries are in the winter encompassed with ice 

 from divers places, according as the winds blow ; as, if it be 

 east, from Nov:a Zemhla, if north-west, from Greenland and 

 the island of Jolin Maycn : it also happeneth sometimes that 

 the land is begirt with ice in summer, as they have often 

 seen that go thither every year. But when the ice comes 

 floating on too hard, or in too great a quantity, then the 

 ships make to the harbours, havens, bays, or rivers, as they 

 call them, that run up into the country ; the wind useth to 

 receive us something unkindly when we sail into them, roar- 

 ing over the dry hills with small whirl-winds. The water 

 in these rivers is salt. 



W^e meet here with no fresh streams or rivulets ; nor did I 

 ever see a spring there. Of some rivers we know their be- 

 ginning, of others it cannot be found out, because of the 

 danger of the ice, which they are never free from ; some, 

 because of the hidden rocks underneath the water, which 

 are discovered by the vehement breaking of the sea, or by 



^ This applies to tlie Reindeer, but not to the Arctic fox :iud Arctic 

 hare, which are constant inhabitants of the island. 



3 



