SUMMER SPORT IX NOVA ZEMLA. 65 



will probably long remain one of the last refuges 

 of the reindeer ; whilst its ice - choked fiords and 

 frozen seas will still be haunted by the white whale, 

 the seal, the walrus, and the polar bear. 



Frequented, until of late, only by some dozen 

 Russian schooners, who visit its shores every year, 

 chiefly for white whale and salmon, and by a few 

 roaming families of Samoyedes from the mainland, 

 these arctic shores have hitherto afforded an un- 

 disturbed asylum during the winter to the game of 

 all kinds, marine or terrestrial, which there abounds. 

 Eecently, however, the Eussian Government have 

 seen fit to plant a colony consisting of a few fa- 

 milies of Samoyedes it is supposed with the view 

 of occupying the country in the Eussian name 

 and these skilful hunters, of whom I shall have 

 occasion to speak further on, harry the game through- 

 out the year with great vigour. Beyond visits from 

 European sportsmen or explorers, so rare that they 

 might almost be counted on the fingers, no other 

 human intruders ever invade these wild regions. 



Having not long ago returned from this happy 

 hunting-ground in the Hope, with the crew of the 

 ill-fated Eira, I have obtained a glimpse of the 

 country, which I hope will enable me to give an 

 intelligible and not uninteresting account of what 

 is to be seen and done there in the way of sport 

 and adventure. 



Till the present century the ' contour of the two 



VOL. IV. E 



