208 THE EASTERN SLEDGE JOURNEY 



followed October 20 there were only three or four days 

 that offered any chance of working with the theodolite 

 and plane-table. We managed to get a base-line 

 measured, 1,000 metres long, and to lay out the greater 

 part of the east side of the bay, as well as the most 

 prominent points round the camp ; but one had positively 

 to snatch one's opportunities by stealth, and every excur- 

 sion ended regularly in bringing the instrimients home 

 well covered with snow. 



If the bad weather thus put hindrances in the way of 

 the work we were anxious to do, it made up for it 

 by providing us with a lot of extra work which we could 

 very well have done without. There was incessant 

 shovelling of snow to keep any sort of passage open 

 to the four dog-tents that were left standing, as well as 

 to our own underground dwelling, over which the snow 

 covering had been growing constantly higher. The 

 fairly high wall that we had originally built on the east 

 side of the entrance door was now entirely buried in the 

 snow-drift. It had given us good protection; now the 

 drift had unimpeded access, and the opening, like the 

 descent into a cellar, that led down to the door, was 

 filled up in the course of a few hours when the wind was 

 in the right quarter. Lindstrom shook his head when 

 we sometimes asked him how he would get on bv 

 himself if the weather continued in this way. " So long 

 as there's nothing but snow in the way, I'll manage to 

 get out," said he. One day he came and told us that he 



