THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 519 



past one large herd on the ice, and could hear them a 

 long way off lowing like cows. 



We glided quickly on along the coast, but unfortu- 

 nately a mist hung over it, so that it was often impossible 

 to determine whether they were channels or glaciers be- 

 tween the dark patches which we could just distinguish 

 upon it. I wanted very much to have seen a little more 

 of this land. My suspicion that we were in the neigh- 

 borhood of the Leigh Smith winter quarters had become 

 stronger than ever. Our latitude, as also the direction 

 of the coast -line and the situation of the islands and 

 sounds, seemed to agree far too well to admit of the pos- 

 sibility of imagining that another such group of islands 

 could lie in the short distance between Franz Josef Land 

 and Spitzbergen. Such a coincidence would be alto- 

 gether too remarkable. Moreover, we caught glimpses 

 of land in the far west which in that case could not lie 

 far from Northeast Land. But Payer's map of the land 

 north of this .•* Johansen maintained, with reason, that 

 Payer could not possibly have made such mistakes as 

 we should in that case be obliged to assume. 



Towards morning we rowed for some time without 

 seeing any walrus, and now felt more secure. Just then 

 we saw a solitary rover pop up a little in front of us. 

 Johansen, who was in front at the time, put in to a sunken 

 ledge of ice ; and although I really thought that this was 

 caution carried to excess, I was on the point of follow- 

 ing his example. I had not got so far, however, when 



