THE UNFORTUNATE MIRANDA 



jump out again with a howl. Then a dense throng- of 

 mosquitoes and black flies settled upon him, for these are 

 wonderfully numerous along the banks of Greenland's 

 fiords, and rise in perfect swarms. When this happened, 

 there arose still louder howls as our English friend made 

 a grab for his garments, and for a time rushed in agony 

 along the strip of rock beach, wildly flapping at his tor- 

 mentors with his undergarments. He was the entomolo- 

 gist of the party, and probably at no time in his life had 

 he collected so large a number of specimens about him. 



In climbing a glacier, " peaks on peaks " arise, and none 

 of us was able to reach the top, for our time was too 

 limited; but at an altitude of about twenty-five hundred 

 feet we enjoyed a magnificent view of numerous islands 

 and fiords that lay below, of the mainland of Greenland, 

 and of the great ocean beyond. Twice we crossed spurs 

 of the glacier. Our feet sank deep in the soft and melting 

 snow, for the sun was so hot that we stripped ourselves of 

 coats as we ascended. The moss that covered the rocks 

 was green and beautiful, and scattered about this moss in 

 rich profusion were great numbers of wild flowers, gor- 

 geous in their hues. That evening we started back for 

 the ship and after a hard pull reached the Miranda in the 

 early morning. A few hours later the vessel started again 

 northward. Thoroughly tired I was sleeping heavily in 

 a top bunk, while below me was my English friend, also 

 overcome by his exertions. I was awakened by the 

 noise of the moving ship, and from out my port-hole 

 could see quite a fleet of kavaks racing along, and keeping 

 pace with the steamer. A high sea was running and the little 

 boats would sometimes be hidden from sight in the trough, 

 then rise in an instant on the crest of a wave, down which 

 they would shoot again like a toboggan. Gradually the 

 kayaks were distanced one by one, and still feeling stiff, I 

 lay down in my bunk again and dropped to sleep. 



I was awakened a second time, by a tremendous crash; 

 it seemed as if the whole ship was being torn to pieces, and 

 to a terrible ripping sound was added the din of breaking 

 glass and china. We had struck with fearful force upon 

 some sunken reefs, and men, furniture, and everything 

 loose about the ship were thrown about in the wildest 



