July 5 th 
July 7th 
July 8 th 
Franz Josef Fjord, and reached land north of Shannon 
Island. 
The 5th was selected as date of departure; but, the solid 
ice-pack to the north making sailing inadvisable, Learmonth 
and I went for seal in Smeerenburg Bay. We failed, how¬ 
ever, to get close enough for a shot. 
We took tea this night at Camp Wellman, the party oc¬ 
cupying a house erected by Arnold Pike in 1890. Pike was 
an Englishman, who owned a boat and wintered one year 
at Dane’s Island. Often, in the summer, he came to Spitz- 
bergen to hunt. 
The Wellman party returned 
our visit aboard the Laura this 
evening. 
Leaving Virgo Harbor July 
7th, the route was fixed through 
Dane’s Gate, round Amsterdam 
Island, past the entrance to 
Smeerenburg Sound, and then 
among the Fuglo Sang (Bird¬ 
song) Islands. Early morning 
brought us within six hundred 
miles of the pole. 
Continuing through Fuglo 
Sound, toward which several 
glaciers flow, Cloven Cliff and 
the Norway Islands lay on 
ahead. The Polar Sea to port 
was filled with ice, and on this, 
off shore, several seal appeared, 
just out of range, while eider duck were numerous. Once a 
bear was sighted. Flocks of auk and teist were seen, and 
“sea-horses” were numerous. 
Meanwhile our progress grew ever slower. It was evi¬ 
dent that, thanks to the solid ice remaining till late, we 
could get no further north. 
With the 8th the real seal region was reached; cries of 
“Kobbe! Kobbe!” (seal) sounding again and again from the 
crew. 
By eleven we had half a dozen seal aboard, two of them 
[ 50 ] 
KOBBE, KOBBE! 
