UP TO THE STARTING-PLACE 375 



I tried to work up a little poetry- ' the ever-restless 

 spirit of man " ' the mysterious, awe-inspiring wilder- 

 ness of ice " but it was no good; I suppose it was too 

 early in the morning. I abandoned my efforts, after 

 coming to the conclusion that each sledge gave one 

 more the idea of a coffin than of anything else, all the 

 cases being painted black. 



It was as we had expected: the dogs were on the 

 verge of exploding. What a time we had getting them 

 all into the traces! They could not stand still an 

 instant; either it was a friend they wanted to wish 

 good-morning, or it was an enemy they were longing to 

 fly at. There was always something going on; when 

 they kicked out with their hind-legs, raising a cloud of 

 snow, or glared defiantly at each other, it often caused 

 their driver an anxious moment. If he had his eye on 

 them at this stage, he might, by intervening quickly and 

 firmly, prevent the impending battle ; but one cannot be 

 everywhere at once, and the result was a series of the 

 wildest fights. Strange beasts! They had been going 

 about the place comparatively peacefully the whole 

 winter, and now, as soon as they were in harness, they 

 must needs fight as if their lives depended on it. At 

 last we were all ready and away. It w r as the first time 



/ / 



we had driven with teams of twelve, so that we w r ere 

 anxious to see the result. 



It went better than we had expected; of course, not 

 like an express train, but we could not expect that the 



