264 THE EASTERN SLEDGE JOURNEY 



trip, following the great fissure, or "bay," as we generally- 

 called it, right up to its head, twenty-three geographical 

 miles to the east of our winter-quarters. 



Although we came across no bare rock, and in that 

 respect the journey was a disappointment, it was never- 

 theless very interesting to observe the effects of the 

 mighty forces that had here been at work, the disrup- 

 tion of the solid ice-sheath by the still more solid rock. 



The day before Christmas Eve we were back at 

 Framheim. Lindstrom had made good use of his time 

 in our absence. The ice had disappeared from the loft, 

 and therewith the rain from the ceiling. New linoleum 

 had been laid down over half the floor, and marks of the 

 paint-brush were visible on the ceiling. These efforts 

 had possibly been made with an eye to the approaching 

 festival, but in other respects we abstained from any 

 attempt at keeping Christmas. It did not agree with 

 the time of year; constant blazing sunshine all through 

 the twenty-four hours could not be reconciled with a 

 northerner's idea of Christmas. And for that reason 

 we had kept the festival six months before. Christmas 

 Eve fell on a Sunday, and it passed just like any ordinary 

 Sunday. Perhaps the only difference was that we used 

 a razor that day instead of the usual beard-clipper. On 

 Christmas Day we took a holiday, and Lindstrom pre- 

 pared a banquet of skua gulls. Despise this dish as 

 one may, it tasted undeniably of — bird. 



The numerous snow-houses were now in a sad way. 



