400 Chapter VII. 



and then there would be little doubt as to our fate. 

 ^}\. Jeannette people fared badly enough, but their ship 

 went down in 77 N. lat., while the nearest land to us is 

 many times more than double the distance it was in their 

 case, to say nothing of .the nearest inhabited land. We 

 are now more than - miles from Cape Chelyuskin, 



while from there to any inhabited region we are a long 

 way farther. But the Fram- will not be crushed, and 

 nobody believes in the possibility of such an event. 

 We are like the kayak-rower, who knows well enough 

 that one faulty stroke of his paddle is enough to capsize 

 him and send him into eternity ; but none the less he 

 goes on his way serenely, for he knows that he will 

 not make a faulty stroke. This is absolutely the 

 most comfortable way of undertaking a polar expedition ; 

 what possible journey, indeed, could be more comfort- 

 able ? Not even a railway journey, for then you have 

 the bother of changing carriages. Still a change now 

 and then would be no bad thing." 



Later on in July the surface was even worse. The 

 floes were everywhere covered with slush, with water 

 underneath, and on the pressure-ridges and between 

 the hummocks where the snow-drifts were deep one 

 would often sink in up to the middle, not even the 

 snow-shoes bearing one up in this soft snow. Later on 

 in July matters improved, the snow having gradually 

 melted away, so that there was a firmer surface of ice 



to go on. 



