Voyage through the Kara Sea. 205 



wished to get into, and what I most feared was being 

 blocked by land. It seemed as if we might do much 

 worse than give ourselves up to the ice where we were, 

 especially as our excursion to the east had proved that 

 following the ice-edge in that direction would soon force 

 us south again. So in the meantime we made fast to a 

 great ice-block, and prepared to clean the boiler and shift 

 coals. "We are lying in open water, with only a few 

 large floes here and there ; but I have a presentiment 

 that this is our winter harbour. 



" Great bug war to-day. We play the big steam hose 

 on mattresses, sofa-cushions everything that we think 

 can possibly harbour the enemies. All clothes are put 

 into a barrel, which is hermetically closed, except where 

 the hose is introduced. Then full steam is set on. It 

 whizzes and whistles inside, and a little forces its way 

 through the joints, and we think that the animals must be 

 having a fine hot time of it. But suddenly the barrel 

 cracks, the steam rushes out, and the lid bursts off with 

 a violent explosion, and is flung far along the deck. 

 I still hope that there has been a great slaughter, for 

 these are horrible enemies. Juell tried the old experi- 

 ment of setting one on a piece of wood to see if it 

 would creep north. It would not move at all, so he took 

 a blubber hook and hit it to make it go ; but it would do 

 nothing but wriggle its head the harder he hit the 

 more it wriggled. ' Squash it, then,' said Bentzen. 

 And squashed it was. 



