THE NEW YEAR, i8g6 47 S 



indicated much open water in that direction. I conse- 

 quently thought we should have good use for our kayaks 

 on the journey to Spitzbergen. I mention this open 

 water several times in my journal. For instance, on 

 April 1 2th: "Open water from the promontory in the 

 southwest, northward as far as we can see." By this I 

 mean, of course, that there was dark air over the whole 

 horizon in this direction, showing clearly that there 

 was open water there. This could not really surprise 

 us ; indeed, we ought to have been prepared for it, since 

 Payer had found open water in the middle of April at 

 a more northerly point on the west coast of Crown 

 Prince Rudolf Land ; and this had been continually in 

 my thoughts all through the winter. 



Another thing which made us believe in the close 

 vicinity of the sea was that we were daily visited by 

 ivory-gulls and fulmars [Procellaria glacialis), sometimes 

 skuas also. We saw the first ivory -gulls on March 

 1 2th; throughout April they became more and more 

 numerous, and soon we had plenty, both of them and 

 of the burgomasters [Lanis glaiicus), sitting on our roof 

 and round the hut, and drumming and pecking at the 

 bones and remains of bears they found there. During 

 the winter the continual "nawino- of the foxes at the 

 meat up there had entertained us, and reminded us that 

 we were not quite forsaken by living things ; when half 

 asleep we could often imagine that we were in our beds 

 at home and heard the rats and mice holding their rev- 



