AN AUTUMN VISIT TO SPITZBERGEN. 443 



numerous as the first, and about five skuas together. The night 

 was most beautiful, nearly full moon ; a light breeze, taking us 

 along at one knot or so, and the Aurora Borealis very pretty 

 (11 p.m.), though merely what may be called an ordinary display, 

 showing between N.E. and a point S. of W. ; most conspicuous 

 in the N.W. 



September 28. Lat. at noon, 75° 11' N., long. E. G. 16° 20'.— 

 Arnesen reported having seen, between 2 and 3 a.m., a lot of 

 Porpoises and a small Blue Whale ; a large one seen spouting by 

 one of the men, about 11.30 a.m. A good number of Kittiwakes 

 during the morning, flying round and behind the ship ; two or 

 three tried to settle on the vane, which they were effectually 

 prevented from doing by M. Rabot, armed with his gun. A few 

 Fulmars ; three or four single Briinnich's Guillemots, and four 

 together ; a single bird flying some distance off may have been of 

 this species or a Puffin ; a Richardson's Skua close by. About 

 1 p.m. a Snow Bunting flew past us in about a southerly direction, 

 calling as it passed. Kept on through the night, at an average 

 of a little over one knot per hour, but about 10 a.m. a breeze from 

 W.S.W. sprang up, improving our pace to about four knots. Fine 

 warm weather. About 2.30 p.m. Rabot reported five Briinnich's 

 Guillemots together. Bear Island sighted on port bow about 

 3 p.m., and we then found that we were nearly thirty English 

 miles to the west of our reckoning. This must be the same 

 current that took us so much to the west on our return to the 

 south the previous year. We threw over a bottle at 6, in the 

 evening, with a request, in Norse and English, that any one 

 picking it up would forward it to the nearest of the addresses 

 given. A westerly breeze now made it slightly colder. A small 

 Blue Whale, between twenty or thirty feet long probably, round 

 the ship about 8 p.m. Several more Briinnich's Guillemots, so 

 that they were rather common hereabouts. I to-day stuffed a 

 Fulmar Petrel that was killed in Green Harbour on the 9th, and 

 which had been hanging meanwhile in the hold, and was still 

 quite fresh. 



September 29. Lat. at noon, 74° 19' N., long. 19° 12' E.— 

 Dead calm from midnight to noon, when Bear Island was twelve 

 miles or so distant to port. Several Briinnich's Guillemots ; 

 I have not seen any young ones since those few on our first 

 arrival in Spitzbergen waters. A few Fulmars and an occasional 



