72 PLAN AND PREPARATIONS 



Lieutenant Gjertsen, who had a pronounced aptitude 

 both for drawing teeth and amputating legs, went 

 through a " lightning course " at the hospital and the 

 dental hospital. He clearly showed that much may be 

 learnt in a short time by giving one's mind to it. With 

 surprising rapidity and apparent confidence Lieutenant 

 Gjertsen disposed of the most complicated cases 

 whether invariably to the patient's advantage is another 

 question, which I shall leave undecided. He drew teeth 

 with a dexterity that strongly reminded one of the 

 conjurer's art; one moment he showed an empty pair 

 of forceps, the next there was a big molar in their grip. 

 The yells one heard while the operation was in progress 

 seemed to indicate that it was not entirely painless. 



A match factory gave us all the safety matches we 

 wanted. They were packed so securely that we could 

 quite well have towed the cases after us in the sea all 

 the way, and found the matches perfectly dry on arrival. 

 We had a quantity of ammunition and explosives. As 

 the whole of the lower hold was full of petroleum, the 

 Fram had a rather dangerous cargo on board. We 

 therefore took all possible precautions against fire; 

 extinguishing apparatus was fitted in every cabin and 

 wherever practicable, and pumps with hose were always 

 in readiness on deck. 



The necessary ice-tools, such as saws from 2 to 

 6 metres long, ice-drills, etc., were not forgotten. 



We had a number of scientific instruments with us. 



