304 
LETTERS FROM HIGH LATITUDES. 
carrying in the gig with us the photographic apparatus, 
tents, guns, ammunition, and the goat. Poor old thing! 
she had suffered dreadfully from sea-sickness, and 
I thought a run ashore might do her good. On the 
left-hand side of the bay, between the foot of the 
mountain and the sea, there ran a low flat belt of black 
moss, about half a mile broad; and as this appeared 
the only point in the neighbourhood likely to offer any 
attraction to reindeer, it was on this side that I determined 
to land. My chief reason for having run into English 
Bay, rather than Magdalena Bay—was—because we 
had been told at Hammerfest that it was the more 
likely place of the two for deer; and as we were sadly 
in want of fresh meat, this advantage quite decided us 
in our choice. As soon, therefore, as we had superin¬ 
tended the erection of the tent, and set Wilson hard at 
work cleaning the glasses for the photographs, we slung 
our rifles on our backs, and set off in search of deer. 
But in vain did I peer through my telescope across 
the dingy flat in front; not a vestige of a horn was 
to be seen, although in several places we came upon 
impressions of their track. At last our confidence in 
the reports of their great plenty became considerably 
