72 THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 



did not capsize on the big waves, and we who had no 

 sledges found great difficulty in keeping our feet, as we 

 had nothing to lean against. We went on like this, 

 slowly enough, but the main thing was that we made 

 progress. The ground at first gave one the impression 

 of rising, though not much. The going was extremely 

 heavy; it was like dragging oneself through sand. 

 Meanwhile the sastrugi grew smaller and smaller, and 

 finally they disappeared altogether, and the surface 

 became quite flat. The going also improved by degrees, 

 for what reason it is difficult to say, as the storm con- 

 tinued unabated, and the drift — now combined with 

 falling snow — was thicker than ever. It was all the 

 driver could do to see his own dogs. The surface, 

 which had become perfectly level, had the appearance 

 at times of sinking ; in any case, one would have thought 

 so from the pace of the sledges. Now and again the 

 dogs would set off suddenly at a gallop. The wind aft, 

 no doubt, helped the pace somewhat, but it alone could 

 not account for the change. 



I did not like this tendency of the ground to fall 

 away. In my opinion, we ought to have done with 

 anything of that sort after reaching the height at 

 which we were; a slight slope upward, possibly, but 

 down — no, that did not agree with my reckoning. So 

 far the incline had not been so great as to cause un- 

 easiness, but if it seriously began to go downhill, we 

 should have to stop and camp. To run down at full 



