A SOUNDING TAKEN 235 



it. The improvised sinker was well smeared with 

 blubber, and this time it sank so rapidly to the bottom 

 as to leave no doubt of the correctness of the sounding 

 — 130 fathoms again. By using extreme care we suc- 

 ceeded in getting the hammer up again in safety, but no 

 specimen of the bottom was clinging to it. 



On the way back to camp we dragged with us the 

 carcass of the young seal. It was past three when we 

 got into our sleeping-bags that night, and, in conse- 

 quence, we slept a good deal later than usual the next 

 morning. The forenoon was spent by Johansen and 

 Stubberud in hauling up another seal from the bay and 

 packing as much flesh on the sledges as possible. As 

 fresh meat is a commodity that takes up a great deal of 

 space in proportion to its weight, the quantity we were 

 able to take with us was not large. The chief advan- 

 tage we had gained was that a considerable supply 

 could be stored on the spot, and it might be useful 

 to fall back upon in case of delay or other mishaps. 



I took the observation for longitude and latitude, 

 found the height by hypsometer, and took some photo- 

 graphs. After laying down the depot and erecting 

 beacons, we broke camp at 3 p.m. South of the head of 

 the bay there were a number of elevations and pressure 

 masses, exactly like the formations to be found about 

 Framheim. To the east a prominent ridge appeared, 

 and with the glass it could be seen to extend inland in a 

 south-easterly direction. According to our observations 



