ree hundred years ago, when
the north part of Novaya Zemlya was for the first time visited by
man, reindeer do not appear to have been more numerous there than
now. In the narrative of Barents' third voyage (De Veer, _Diarium
Nauticum_, 21st June, 1506) it is expressly stated: "Here it may be
remarked that; although the land, which we consider as Groenland
(the present Spitzbergen), lies under and over the 80th degree of
latitude, there grow there abundant leaves and grass, and there are
found there such animals as eat grass, as _reindeer_, while on the
other hand, on Novaya Zemlya, under the 76th degree of latitude,
there are neither leaves nor grass nor any grass-eating animal."
After this, however, traces of reins were found even at the winter
station; a bear, for instance, was killed that had devoured a
reindeer.

On Spitzbergen the reindeer have been considerably diminished in numbers
by the hunting, first of the Dutch and English, and afterwards of the
Russians and Norwegians. In the northwestern part of the island, where
the Dutch had their train-boiling establishments, the animal has been
completely extirpated.[67] It still, however, occurs on Ice Fjord in
very great numbers, which, were the animal protected, would speedily
increase.

That so devastating a pursuit as that which goes on year after year
on Spitzbergen can be carried on without the animal being
extirpated, has even given rise to the hypothesis of an immigration
from Novaya Zemlya. But since I have become better acquainted with
the occurrence of the reindeer in the latter place, this mode of
explanation does not appear to me to be correct. If, therefore, as
several circumstances in fact indicate, an immigration of reindeer
to Spitzbergen does take place, it must be from some still unknown
Polar land situated to the north-north-east. In the opinion of some
of the walrus-hunters there are indications that this unknown land
is inhabited, for it has repeatedly been stated that _marked_
reindeer have been taken on Spitzbergen. The first statement on this
point is to be found in Witsen (_Noort ooster gedeelte van Asia en
Europa_, 1705, ii. page 904), where the reins are said to have been
marked on the horns and the ears; and I have myself heard hunters,
who in Norway were well acquainted with the care of reindeer, state
positively that the ears of some of the Spitzbergen reindeer they
shot were clipped--probably, however, the whole has originated from