Spitzbergen

a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean, north of Norway, in latitude 76 deg. 80' N. The islands were discovered by Dutch sailors in 1596. The name is derived from a number of sharp-pointed mountains. The total area of the group is about 27,000 square miles. The coasts resemble those of Norway, being deeply cut by fiords. The interior is occupied by glaciers. Tourist steamers call regularly during the summer season. The midnight sun hangs even higher here than in northern Norway. It remains above the horizon for a period of over four months. The islands are frequented by walrus and whale hunters, but are not permanently inhabited. The climate is tempered by the Gulf Stream. There are about 100 flowering plants. Foxes, polar bears, and reindeers are found. Walruses and seals inhabit the coast. The rocky cliffs are occupied by myriads of sea fowl. Spitzbergen forms the basis from which Nordenskjold and other Arctic explorers have set out. The islands are said to contain valuable deposits of coal and of marble. Counsul-General Henry Bordewich, writing from Christiania, Norway (1908), says:

Game, such as reindeer, polar bears, ptarmigan, geese, ducks, and other birds are still fairly plentiful in the islands, but, as no one is in control, the animals are being wantonly exterminated, being killed at all seasons of the year. One of the visitors up there last summer reports that a party of tourists killed upwards of 100 reindeer, leaving the carcasses where they fell, only bringing away with them a few of the finest heads and antlers for mounting. The eider duck is so tame while hatching that it often may be lifted by hand while the nest is robbed of down and eggs.

It is stated that the walrus, white whale, seal, polar bear, reindeer, and birds are being hunted at all seasons and soon will become extinct.