1881.] - Geography and Travels. 257 
—the largest from eighteen to twenty miles long, and the smallest 
from six to seven miles long. They are all covered with glaciers 
and snowfields, with bluff, black headlands on the southern ex- 
posures, whereon was vegetation. A large quantity of Arctic 
flowers and other specimens was collected and brought home. On 
one of the islands close to the harbor were hills 1200 feet above 
the level of the sea, but large tracts of flats were seen stretching 
from the foot of the hills. 
The final trip from Eira Harbor was made on August 24, and 
it was on that day that they reached the most northerly point yet 
attained in that direction—8o0° 20’ north latitude, and about 40° 
east longitude. From that point they could see land to the north- 
west, some 40 miles off, and it was supposed that this was but a 
continuance of the same coast line. This they intended to follow 
up, but they had again to give up the attempt in consequence of 
the ice driving along the shore and carrying the ship along with 
it. Mr. Leigh Smith’s opinion is that, whether this land extends 
in a continuous line north-west or forms the outline of separate 
abandoned vessel, but found nothing except a “can” on Wilczek 
Island. They found fast ice between Hall Island and Salm Island, 
and also between the latter island and Lamont Island, so that 
there was no means of getting out to the east or north-east, and 
as the ice was coming down they resolved to try to cut across by 
Spitzbergen to Wiches Land, or, as otherwise called, King Charles 
Land. In this endeavor their common enemy, the ice, confronted 
them and compelled them to alter their course. They sailed close 
to the edge of the ice as far as 7514° north and 4614° east before 
they could get west. They reached Hope Island on September 
10, and again endeavored to work northwards up the east coast of 
Spitzbergen, but on the 11th the weather became very rough, and 
for three days the ship was tossed about in strong gales. They 
encountered numerous small icebergs. Seeing that nothing could 
be done in this direction—a pack of ice being discernible in the 
distance—they took a westerly course until they sighted the 
