THE FIRST ACCOUNT xvii 



had shown a surprising agreement. We reckoned that 

 we should be at the Pole on December 14. On the 

 afternoon of that day we had brilliant weather a light 

 wind from the south-east with a temperature of - 10 F. 

 The sledges were going very well. The day passed 

 without any occurrence worth mentioning, and at three 

 o'clock in the afternoon we halted, as according to our 

 reckoning we had reached our goal. 



We all assembled about the Norwegian flag a 

 handsome silken flag which we took and planted all 

 together, and gave the immense plateau on which 

 the Pole is situated the name of " King Haakon VII.'s 

 Plateau." 



It was a vast plain of the same character in every 

 direction, mile after mile. During the afternoon we 

 traversed the neighbourhood of the camp, and on the 

 following day, as the weather was fine, we were occu- 

 pied from six in the morning till seven in the evening 

 in taking observations, which gave us 89 55' as the 

 result. In order to take observations as near the Pole 

 as possible, we went on, as near true south as we could, 

 for the remaining 9 kilometres. On December 16 we 

 pitched our camp in brilliant sunshine, with the best 

 conditions for taking observations. Four of us took 

 observations every hour of the day twenty-four in all. 

 The results of these will be submitted to the examination 

 of experts. 



We have thus taken observations as near to the Pole 



b 



