NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS 



mosquito tent which has already been described 

 (see p. 63 and head piece of chapter XIV) , and also 

 a light quilted sleeping bag of kapok. We 

 carried a food supply sufficient for about ten days, 

 consisting mainly of pemmican, erbswurst, pilot 

 bread and tea. For cooking utensils we had 

 merely a small pail for boiling our erbswurst and 

 a folding fry pan, and each member of the party 

 had his own cup and spoon. To Marius I loaned 

 my Winchester repeating rifle, and Potter carried 

 a Mauser belonging to Bangsted. For our survey- 

 ing work we carried aneroid, compass, a 14 inch 

 plane table and a ruler alidade. 



Shortly after noon on the 8th of August Potter 

 and I with the supplies were taken down the fjord 

 in the Mullins motor-boat towing the canoe be- 

 hind. Belknap was handling the motor and bring- 

 ing Stewart with him. Marius had already gone 

 on ahead in his kayak. The surface of the fjord 

 was rough, but Belknap steered near the shores 

 wherever possible, with an eye to getting on 

 shore if we should be swamped. The gusty winds 

 on the Greenland fjords often come without warn- 

 ing and for small boats these waters are very 

 treacherous, as we had learned during the first 

 season when Gould and Belknap so nearly lost 

 their lives by drowning. 



244 



