432 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, [Mar. 28, 



of life and vegetation. The higher range of mountains (always 

 perfectly inaccessible) in the interior of both the main islands is 

 apparently of granite — and, judging by the occasional pieces which 

 somehow or other find their way to the shore and islands, of red 

 granite. 



After killing or frightening all the bears and seals to be found in 

 Deeva Bay, we dropped down to the Thousand Islands, and on the 

 first one we approached we discovered and killed a Bear occupied in 

 gathering and swallowing the eggs of thousands of Eider-ducks and 

 other birds which had their nests on the land. On this island I first 

 observed the phenomenon called " red snow," of which a description 

 is familiar to all readers of Arctic voyages. I may remark that it 

 seemed to me that in this case it was attributable to nothing but the 

 droppings of the millions of Little Auks (Alca Alle), which feed 

 almost entirely on shrimps, and consequently void a reddish sub- 

 stance. 



These islands are most absurdly named " the Thousand," as there 

 are not in reality 100 of them : they are also put down in the charts 

 as if they were thickly and regularly clustered together ; whereas they 

 are often out of sight of one another, and twenty or thirty miles 

 apart. I nowhere observed more than five or six in a cluster, even 

 by including rocks or skerries of small size. Hope Island is also 

 most erroneously marked in all the charts as lying far to the south 

 of the Thousand Islands ; it is in reality about forty-five miles due 

 east from Black Point : this error is notorious to all the Norwegian 

 seal-hunters who frequent the coast, and I quite satisfied myself of 

 it by observation. 



The Thousand Islands are all composed of coarse-grained green- 

 stone, in some places assuming the form of indistinct hexagonal 

 columns. These columns appear very much shaken, as if ready to 

 fall to pieces. The top of the columns and all the corners are much 

 rounded and worn, as if they were half-formed into boulders already. 

 This I suppose is the case, as millions of boulders, very smooth and 

 rounded, and formed of the same rock, lie strewn on all the islands. 

 The average size of the boulders is a cubic foot or so, and I saw none 

 bigger than about 3 feet in diameter. They are curiously packed 

 in some places, as if laid level, for walking on, by the hand of man; 

 I presume this appearance has been caused by the pressure and 

 grinding of icebergs when the islands lay under the sea. I was a 

 little surprised to find on some of these islands, amongst the native 

 boulders, a few very round boulders of red granite*, from a cubic 

 foot downwards in size. I am certain there is no granite in situ 

 nearer than the tops of the Spitzbergen Mountains, distant from 

 forty to sixty miles and bearing W. to N.N.E. There are also 

 occasional small water- worn boulders of limestone f ,. and of a hard 

 reddish stone like porphyry %. 



There are great quantities of drift-wood (evidently Pine of some 

 sort) on all these islands, as well as on the south coasts of the Spitz- 



* Small specimens sent. (See Appendix, p. 436.) 



t Specimens. \ Specimens. (See Appendix, p. 436.) 



