264 



NATURE 



{Jan. 17, I J 



We found by experiments that the mineral in question 

 did not affect the magnetic instruments, and decided 

 therefore to estabhsh the station here. We had a hard 

 time to get everything in readiness, as, for instance, the 

 building of the magnetic hut and the thermometer cage, 

 by August 15, when the observations were to begin, but 

 on August 22 we had so far advanced that both mag- 

 netical and meteorological observations could be prose- 

 cuted simultaneously. 



The view from the observatory was grand. Heavy 

 clouds generally cover the sky, driven hither and thither 

 by strong gales ; below the sea roars, with ice floes float- 

 ing on its crest, while thousands of sea birds wheel in 

 the air. Suddenly the clouds part, and the sun comes 

 forth, the snow-white peaks flash in the rays, the stony 

 ridges become purple, and down below the dark gloomy 

 sea assumes the colour of the sapphire. 



On August 23 the sun set for the first time, and on 

 October 23 it did not appear. Already, on August 31, 

 the ground became covered with snow, but early in Sep- 

 tember, and towards the middle of October, it again 

 iliawed, and it was not until October 21 that the snow 

 remained. The birds now began to leave, and the 

 Tringa i/iariliiiia were last seen on August 20. The 

 brent geese soon departed in flocks, and flew cackling 

 southwards out of the fjord. The last was seen on 

 September 13. On October 14 we saw an eider, and 

 some specimens of Procillaria glacialis, and on October 

 21 a snow-sparrow appeared at the station. From that 

 date none of the migratory fauna was seen until the 

 spring. Quite alone, however, we were not, as the moun- 

 tain foxes soon appeared, and were not the least shy. 

 Ptarmigans were plentiful, too, in the ravines, where they 

 feasted on Polygonum seed. On October 26 we shot the 

 first two reindeer at Sauriehook, but it was not until the 

 spring that they came in any numbers. 



Our work progressed too. We had first of all to fix 

 the anemometer and the weathercock on the mountain 

 above the station, or Soo feet above the sea, and to con- 

 nect it with the observatory by a telegraph wire, as the 

 readings were to be made by electricity. Then there was 

 a workroom to be constructed, and the astronomical 

 observatory for the passage instruments to be erected. 

 On October 3 the wire to the anemometer v/as ready, and 

 the hut carried up to the top of the mountain, where it 

 was fixed. On October 25 the astronomical observatory 

 was finished. It was now so dark that no work could be 

 done outdoors, and on October 23 it was necessary to 

 light up at 3 p.m., on October 28 at 2 p.m., and on 

 N ovember 2 light was necessary throughout the day. The 

 Polar night had set in. 



From October 23 until February 18 the sun remained 

 below the horizon; thus for a period of 118 days and 

 nights. At first it was not quite dark at noon, but from 

 November 11 it was a night throughout. On November 

 12 a thin layer of ice appeared on the Ice Fjord, which 

 gradually increased in thickness, but it was afterwards 

 broken up and again formed several times during the 

 dark winter. It was only when the light came back that 

 the ice formed in a bridge across the fjord. 



Now the island was in darkness and perfectly deserted. 

 The terrible winter storms had commenced, and it was 

 16° C. below freezing-point. And the snow ! Snow on the 

 mountains, snow on the plain, snow on the huts, snow 

 covers the little windows, snow comes in through the 

 chimney, and even the thermometer cage cannot exclude 

 the tiny, pointed crystals which penetrate even a keyhole. 

 In such an hour it was a delightful sensation to seek the 

 hearth in the library ! 



Again I stand by the shore. The clouds have cleared 

 away ; only one enormous mass, which we never saw 

 lifting, lies over the mountains across the fjord. The sky 

 s clear, the oce in roars below, there is no ice ; the moon 

 js abiMt to piss hsr meridian. 



.Slowly one long tidal wave after another comes rolling 

 towards the shore ; they gather into one tremendous 

 wave, which, striking the lofty rocks, sends its spray a 

 couple of hundred feet into the air. Then it recedes 

 with a deep sigh, leaving two or three magnificent ocean 

 alga;, each a yard long, on the shore. 



When the moon is absent, it is, however, pitch dark, 

 provided there is no aurora borealis. The aurora borealis 

 was observed throughout the winter, when it was clear, 

 and in every form and position. 



Now a faint arc appears far down on the south horizon. 

 Below it is a dark segment. Slowly it travels towards 

 the zenith, increasing in intensity. It is perfectly sym- 

 metrical, and both its points almost touch the horizon, 

 and strike east and west as the arc moves upwards. 

 No streamers can be made out in it, and the whole forms 

 one continuous layer of light of a strange transparent 

 yellow colour. The arc is broad ; its size is three times 

 that of the rainbow, and its edge, which is far more 

 defined than that of the rainbow, forms a strong contrast 

 to the dark sky of the Arctic heavens. Higher and higher 

 the arc travels ; in the whole display there is a solemn 

 rest, and only here and there a wave of light suddenly 

 leaps upwards. Above the snowy fields yonder it begins 

 again to get clearer. Still it is far from the zenith, and 

 already another arc separates itself from the segment in 

 the south, and by degrees others follow. All of them now 

 travel towards the zenith, traverse the point and descend 

 on the northern horizon, while some rapidly recede to 

 where they originated. Seldom, however, does the aurora 

 appear in this regular and defined form. 



In the corner of the horizon lies a light cloud-mass. 

 Its upper rim is illuminated, and from this a luminous 

 band is quickly developed, which spreads east and west, 

 increases in intensit)-, and travels towards the zenith. The 

 colour is the same as that of the arc, but the intensity is 

 greater. In a constantly changing play the band slowly 

 alters, but remains continuous m form and plane. Now 

 It is interlaced into several plaits and folds, but through- 

 out there is an undulatory motion which throws waves of 

 light through the bind in its entire stretch from right to 

 left, or -iiice versa. Again it unfolds itself and forms into 

 draperies and festoons, which are lost in the depths of 

 the horizon. 



On another occasion the band assumes quite a different 

 form. It then consists not only of luminous matter, but 

 also of solitary streamers ranged in a parallel plane, all 

 pointing to the magnetic pole. In each of the streamers 

 the intensity is, through the light-waves which follow in 

 rapid succession, greatly increased, which gives the 

 streamers the appearance of being in a constant leaping 

 motion, while the two edges, green and red in colour, 

 move wave-like up and down, according to the play of 

 the coursing waves of light. Often the streamers prolong 

 themselves throughout the entire band ; they stretch even 

 as far as the magnetic pole, and then remain at rest. 

 They are sharply defined, but fainter in light than the 

 band itself, and do not lie close together. They are yellow 

 in colour, and appear like millions of fine threads of gold 

 thrown across the firmament. Again a thin veil of light 

 creeps over the starry heavens, and the golden threads of 

 which it is woven stand clearly out from the background, 

 while its \o\s<tx garniture is formed of a broad, intense, 

 yellow-white border with a thousand filaments in a slow 

 but constant motion. 



Again it appears in a third form. Throughout the day 

 bands of every form and grade of intensity have been drift- 

 ing over the sky. It is eight o'clock in the evening, the hour 

 when the aurora borealis reaches its greatest intensity. 

 At the present moment only a few groups of streamers 

 stand in the firmament, while down in the south, just 

 above the horizon, lies a faint band which is hardly 

 noticed. But suddenly it begins to move upwards with 

 great rapi'lity, spreads its folds out east and west, the 



