96 CAPE CHELYUSKIN 



81 46'. In the main the drift was north-westerly, but 

 three times it had boxed the compass in irregular loops, 

 the only constant thing about it being that, in no 

 matter what direction she was taken, the bow of the 

 Pram always pointed south. Of grips she had many, 

 some of the pressures were enormous, once they were 

 severe enough to suggest measures for her abandon- 

 ment, but she survived them all unscathed. Early in 

 the drift it became apparent that the ice was packing 

 twice and slacking twice in every twenty-four hours, 

 and in this sea, as afterwards in the Atlantic area, the 

 influence of the tides, particularly the spring tides, was 

 unmistakable as it was expected it would be though 

 in the deep Polar basin the wind had more effect ; and, 

 in truth, the wind was a factor throughout in the packing 

 of the ice and in the drift's direction. One thing was 

 clear, that the current was not taking the Fram across 

 the North Pole, but about half-way between it and 

 Spitsbergen ; and if the Pole was to be reached some 

 of the expedition must attempt to get there over the 

 ice. This meant leaving the ship, going north, and 

 returning to the nearest known land, for, owing to the 

 irregularity of the drift, it was hopeless to think of 

 again reaching the Fram. During the second winter 

 the route of the ship trended more to the north, and, 

 after a loop all round in January, she reached 84 4' on 

 the 14th of March in the longitude of Cape Chelyuskin. 

 Here Nansen and Lieutenant F. H. Johansen, who 

 rather than not join the Fram had shipped in her as 

 stoker, left the ship with three sledges, two kayaks, and 

 twenty-eight dogs to go as far northward as they could, 

 their expectation being that they would reach the Pole 



