BANGSTED'S EXPEDITION TO THE ICE-CAP 



try, which at this time of the year was overrun by 

 ptarmigan and Arctic hares, the latter fat and 

 juicy and especially palatable. 



In traveling over the country one encounters 

 much glacial clay which makes a dry and very 

 loose soil. During a severe storm this soil is car- 

 ried in the air and driven with great force into 

 one's face. We experienced on these hunting 

 and depot-laying trips some of the worst land 

 storms I had become acquainted with in ten years 

 of almost continuous travel in the Arctic. 



By the beginning of the month of November I 

 had so far finished my work of preparation that, 

 accompanied by Marius, I was able to undertake 

 the first regular sled-trip of the winter. Though 

 the sleds were very lightly loaded, this turned out 

 to be a very laborious trip. We took with us a 

 two-man tent, a primus lamp with its kerosene 

 fuel, two shot-guns, and twenty cartridges, also 

 coffee and sugar. Our sleeping bags had been left 

 behind, and for provisions we depended entirely 

 upon game. 



The temperatures encountered were very mod- 

 erate, ranging between twenty and minus eight de- 

 grees Fahrenheit. Little snow was on the ground, 

 and though the lakes and rivers were frozen, the 

 ice on the fjord was still too thin to bear us. Be- 



189 



