92 
A VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. 
coast lies directly in the ship’s course, and as we near 
their home the whole air is alive with white-winged 
armies, and the high cliffs are tenanted with another 
host at rest. It is a place of marvels ;—as if to mock 
the wondering crew, two rocks stand out from the 
land so exactly resembling swift-sailing ships, that 
even a reference to the chart, where the fact is duly 
recorded, hardly convinces us of their unreality. On 
they seem to come with all sail set, and heeling over 
to the favouring gale. But they are rocks and not 
ships, after all. 
The best known feature of the island of Jan Mayen 
is the magnificent Peak of Beerenberg. This mountain 
rises in icy splendour to a height of some six thousand 
eight hundred and seventy feet above the sea-level. 
The coast presents a rocky aspect; in some parts 
the bold cliffs rise out of the waves, and at such places 
are altogether inaccessible on the western side. There 
are, however, several indentations, and amongst these 
there are many that deserve the name of bays, and in 
these bays there are many spots where good anchorage 
can be found. It was here the Dutch formerly made 
little settlements or fishing stations, at a time when 
the “ right whale ” was found at certain seasons along 
the rocky coast, and at these stations they “ tried ” 
down the oil by suitable boiling apparatus erected near 
