CREVASSED SURFACE 235 



had a poor chance of that. After 81 S. the Barrier 

 began to take on a slightly different appearance: 

 instead of the absolutely flat surface, we saw on the 

 first day a good many small formations of the shape 

 of haycocks. At that time we did not pay much 

 attention to these apparently insignificant irregularities, 

 but later on we learned to keep our eyes open and our 

 feet active when passing in their vicinity. On this first 

 day southward from 81 S. we noticed nothing; the 

 going was excellent, the temperature not so bad as it had 

 been, - 27'4 F., and the distance covered very credit- 

 able. The next day we got our first idea of the mean- 

 ing of these little mounds, as the surface was cut up by 

 crevasse after crevasse. These fissures were not particu- 

 larly wide, but were bottomless, as far as we could see. 

 About noon Hanssen's three leading dogs, Helge, 

 Mylius, and Ring, fell into one of them, and remained 

 hanging by their harness; and it was lucky the traces 

 held, as the loss of these three would have been severely 

 felt. When the rest of the team saw these three dis- 

 appear, they stopped short. Fortunately, they had a 

 pronounced fear of these fissures, and always stopped 

 when anything happened. We understood now that 

 the haycock formations were the result of pressure, and 

 that crevasses were always found in their neighbourhood. 

 That day was for the most part thick and hazy, with 

 a northerly wind, and snow-showers from time to time. 

 Between the showers we caught sight of lofty very 



