436 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



turned to ice on our persons. I became so cold, having to sit 

 still, that it seemed a question how long I could hold out, feeling 

 as if some part of me must go, and I was extremely thankful when, 

 at 1 a.m., we got on board. The Captain wore sea-boots, and on 

 taking tbem off on his return on board, though he had been rowing 

 hard all the time, he found the leg parts completely lined with ice. 



September 18. Temperature, 2 p.m., press. 701, air 30'38, 

 water 35"78. — Still blowing rather fresh this morning, with occa- 

 sional snow. The men busy all day cutting up and salting the 

 deer — by no means pleasant work to keep on at all daj r , when it 

 made one's fingers numb in a few minutes. Some of the deer- 

 meat which had been " baunched" was floating alongside to wash, 

 when suddenly there was an alarm of Shark, but he sheered off. 

 He was seen again presently, and came right alongside, intent on 

 venison. Arnesen seized a lance and spitted him, but a lance has 

 no barb, and the harpooner was very slow in getting a harpoon 

 from the fangst-boat, so the shark got away. About an hour 

 later a shark again appeared, — perhaps, from what Scoresby says 

 (Arct. Reg. i. 538, quoted by Yarrell, ' British Fishes,' ii. 525), it 

 may have been the same individual, — and a harpoon being this 

 time available, Arnesen fixed him, and one of the men gave him 

 several thrusts with the lance. After awhile the harpoon drew, 

 but the shark was so sluggish that Arnesen was able to harpoon 

 him again, this time getting a good hold, and after some more 

 lance-thrusts, he was dropped astern to wait until the reindeer- 

 meat was cleared off the deck. The extreme sluggishness of 

 this species of ground-feeding Plagiostomc was very remarkable. 

 "When at length the deck was somewhat clear, he was hauled on 

 board with a tackle from the yard-arm and a bight round his 

 neck. It seemed impossible to kill, and we were therefore 

 perforce obliged to vivisect him. The total length was ten feet 

 nine inches. Brown colour — almost snuff-colour. The liver, 

 which was enormous, we duly put in a cask, and sold on our 

 return to Tromso, where it fetched kr. 6"23 (about seven shillings). 

 The stomach, from which I had expectations, proved to be quite 

 empty. A good many Fulmars, and three or four Glaucous Gulls 

 astern to-day picking up scraps of venison. 



September 1 ( J. Temperature, 12 noon, press. 760, air 33'8, 

 s. water 37*22. — Wind light from about S.E. Under way about 

 5.45. Arnesen had intended to weigh about 3, but it was then so 



