August 27, 1896] 



NA TURE 



397 



most of the instruments on board, picked up at Hamnier- 

 fest Mr. A. Fowler and Dr. W. J. Lockyer, who had 

 been sent forward to erect and adjust tlieni. 



On the evening of the 24th the / 'olage arrived some 

 seven miles south of \adsd, and proceeded to land a 

 party of explorers to find a suitable site for the encamp- 

 ment on the south side of the N'aranger Fjord, which 

 had been determined on, and also to make a survey of 

 Bras Havn in order to find the most convenient 

 anchorage. 



After sending the party on shore, the Volage pro- 

 ceeded to \'ads6 to communicate with the Governor (the 

 Norwegirm Ciovernment had already given permission to 

 camp) as to the local weather conditions. The landing 

 party, which consisted of Lieut. Martin and Sub.- Lieut. 

 Beal, Mr. Fowler and Dr. W. Lockyer, and several blue- 

 jackets, together with Lord Graham, who had volunteered 

 to help, proceeded to the shore in the steam cutter, 

 having in tow the sailing cutter and the dingy, and 

 provided with the necessary coal, water and provisions 

 for two days. During the three-quarters of an hour 

 steaming from the ship they 

 encountered a sharp squall, 

 which would have saturated 

 everybody if it had not been 

 for the invaluablesou'- westers 

 and oilskins ; and it is well 

 here to note that if one goes 

 to the north of Norway, these 

 should always be found in 

 the kit together with a pair 

 of sea-boots. 



The party landed,however, 

 safely on a small island on 

 the eastern shore of Bras 

 Havn, and commenced im- 

 mediately to put up tents. 

 By eleven o'clock p.m., local 

 time, all preparations were 

 finished. The evening turned 

 out so beautiful that a chat 

 round the camp fire and a 

 •drop of grog were indulged 

 in before turning in. 



The first morning^ on this 

 island was not by any means 

 cheerful, rain was coming 

 down in torrents, and the 

 wind whistled round the tents 

 in a most unwelcome manner. 

 It was decided that the sur- 

 vey of the bay should be 



taken in hand first, so Lieut. Martin, Sub.-Lieut. Beal, and 

 Lord Graham started off in the steam cutter and com- 

 menced operations. The weather did not improve, but 

 rather the reverse ; the survey, however, made good 

 progress notwithstanding the unfavourable conditions, but 

 all hope was given up of finding on that day a site for the 

 observatory on the island nearby. 



-Sunday morning was of a different type, and work was 

 ■commenced at an early hour. .Mr. Fowler and Dr. W. 

 Lockyer were landed on Kio Island while the survey was 

 being finished. The island of Kifi lies nearly north of 

 Bras Havn, at a distance of about a mile and a quarter. 

 The island itself is small, and consists of gneiss mou- 

 tonned and polished to a wonderful degree, the surface 

 putting on the appearance of snow in many places. The 

 rock is covered here and there with peat. At the first 

 glance it seemed that a suitable site for the observatory 

 was out of the question, but on examination a very fair 

 spot was selected which appeared to improve the more 

 acquaintance was made with it. To economise time the 

 sites for the concrete pillars were settled upon, and pits 

 were dug in the peat to sound for the solid rock. 



NO. 1400, VOL. 54] 



With the evening came the Volage from Vadso, and 

 her arrival was gladly hailed by the whole surveying 

 party, as provisions had run rather short, and peat water 

 was not regarded as a luxury. The return of the ship 

 meant that work could now be begun in earnest, so plans 

 were laid for an early start on the morrow. Fortunately 

 the day proved fine, and a good start was made at putting 

 up the large 6-inch hut. This is the time when a war- 

 ship at one's back makes everything easy. The gunner 

 turned bricklayer for the occasion, and commenced, with 

 the help of a couple of bluejackets, mixing and setting 

 up concrete pillars for the 6-inch and siderostat. The 

 ship's carpenters, with their assistants, went to work with 

 zeal with the erection of huts. Others were employed in 

 fetching from the beach sand and stones, which were 

 required for the concrete pillars. 



Levelling the camp occupied also the time of another 

 half-a-dozen bluejackets. At the close of the day's work 

 the appearance of the spot had entirely changed, and 

 the Lapps who came and watched the work seemed to be 

 very much astonished at the alterations taking place on 



F[i;. 2.— The erection of the Huts. 



their island. They were, however, very friendly, and 

 seemed to be only too pleased to help in any way they 

 could ; their assistance, however, was not required, as 

 sufficient was at hand. 



The following day, which proved fine, saw even greater 

 progress ; for besides erecting the 6-inch prismatic camera 

 and siderostat, a party of bluejackets was employed in 

 carrying stones from the beach to place on the peat cover- 

 ing the floor of the camp. This was done in sailor 

 fashion, and at the word of command "stone camp," the 

 small path leading upwards to the camp was lined with 

 bluejackets, and buckets, full and empty, were passing up 

 and down respectively. The scene was an interesting 

 one to watch, and, after two hours' work, a geologist 

 might have found a genuine raised beach. 



Bad weather, howe\er, now set in, so w-ork was restricted 

 for the next two days mostly inside the huts. The in- 

 tegrating spectroscope was put together, photographic 

 dark slides were blackleaded to run more easily in the 

 grooves of the cameras, and two more tents were put up 

 to protect the g-inch prismatic camera and integrator 

 from the weather. The latter was composed of ship's 



