7-i TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



the sun is still skirting the northern horizon, and with 

 rifle on shoulder to cautiously ascend some command- 

 ing eminence whence a telescope may be brought to 

 bear on the most likely pastures on the slopes of the 

 mountains. The keen morning air, the blue sky, the 

 crisp snow crunching under one's feet as ever and 

 anon great drifts have to be crossed, with the sweet 

 scent from the arctic flowers nestling in the sheltered 

 spots, and the twittering warble of snow-buntings, 

 all add to the delights of the hunter's heart as he 

 gradually ascends to his chosen position. "When at 

 length there, I, for my part, have often been more 

 inclined to rest for an hour and enjoy the splendid 

 scene, and even to smoke, than to go straight on. 

 Look ! there lies the winding strait Matotchkin 

 Shar its sinuosities gradually fading in the distance 

 till the sharp shoulder of yonder black mountain with 

 the little glacier shining above it cuts off the view 

 along the glassy surface. Mark how the bay ice is 

 streaming out from that great gulf on the opposite 

 side ; that is Silver Bay, whose sloping shores afford 

 the finest pastures to our quarry. But we need not 

 look there for them, for the strait separates it from 

 us, and we have sent our boat back to the ship. And 

 there, further to the left, lies Mitucheff Island bask- 

 ing in the sun, with the dark-coloured cairns erected 

 by the Russian surveyors sixty years ago standing 

 out clear against a background of snoAv on the main- 

 land beyond. Two miles out to sea from that island 



