100 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
rest, Captain Nares and [ again visited the fossiliferous strata, 
and added to our collection. It would be merely recapitulation 
to recite the incidents of each day separately; suffice it to say 
that we gave ourselves barely sufficient time for meals, and 
hardly any to sleep. 
On the lst June we moved camp a little further northwards, 
but found our travelling much impeded by the weight on the 
sledge. The 2nd June turned out a wretched day, with snow 
and mist, and we failed in an attempt to reach the actual 
promontory of Cape Joseph Henry. By the evening of the 3rd 
we had to start on our return journey to the ship. Shortly 
after leaving this our most northern camp, we came upon an 
almost entire skeleton of a Musk-ox. Heavily laden as our 
sledge was with fossils, I could not help transferring the skull* 
of this animal to it. As it was, we were very often obliged to 
unpack the sledge and proceed with half loads, going back for the 
residue. From the large collection of carboniferous fossils that 
we made near Cape Joseph Henry, we were only able to take away 
a selection ; and a very large collection, ready for transportation, 
is now lying on the coast of Grinnell Land, in lat. 82° 45’ N. 
Up to the date of the 5th June, I had only observed the 
following species of birds since the return of daylight, namely, 
Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, and Ptarmigan. We had just got 
into our bags on that day, when the cook called ont that there 
was a Ptarmigan close to the tent, so I crawled outside and 
shot it. Whilst returning to the tent I heard the cry of some 
waders, and, looking in the direction it came from, saw a flock 
of fourteen Knots, J'ringa canutus, circling over a small bare 
patch near the summit of a hill, where they alighted and com- 
menced picking. To get near them was very difficult, the sun’s 
heat had turned the hill slope into ice. Over and over again 
I fell down, sometimes sliding back several paces, at another 
time breaking through the ice-crust and sinking above the 
knees in the sodden snow. As often happens under analogous 
circumstances, just as I was getting within range the Knots gave 
a merry whistle and made off. By this time I was dripping, with 
tumbling about in the wet snow, but seeing three Hares feeding 
further up the valley, went in pursuit of them; my efforts, 
however, were not successful. Before reaching camp a pair of 
* This specimen is now in the collection of Mr. E. R. Alston. 
