254 THE EASTERN SLEDGE JOURNEY 



as, to judge from all appearance, there was a poor pros- 

 pect of our finding anything of interest within a reason- 

 able time. 



Tuesday, December 5. — It looks as if our patience 

 is to be given a really hard trial this time. Outside the 

 same state of things continues, and the barometer is 

 going down. A mass of snow has fallen in the last 

 twenty-four hours. The drift on the windward side of the 

 tent is constantly growing ; if it keeps on a little longer 

 it will be as high as the top of the tent. The sledges are 

 completely snowed under, and so are the dogs; we had 

 to haul them out one by one in the middle of the day. 

 Most of them are now loose, as there is nothing exposed 

 to the attacks of their teeth. It is now blowing a regular 

 gale; the direction of the wind is about true east. 

 Occasionally squalls of hurricane-like violence occur. 

 Fortunately the big snow-drift keeps us comfortable, 

 and we are under the lee of a hill, otherwise it would 

 look badly for our tent. Hitherto it has held well, but it 

 is beginning to be rather damp inside. The tempera- 

 ture remains very high (+ 27'2° F. at noon to-day) , and 

 the mass of snow pressing against the tent causes the 

 formation of rime. 



In order to while away the time to some extent under 

 depressing circumstances like these, I put into my diary 

 on leaving Framheim a few loose leaves of a Russian 

 grammar; Johansen solaced himself with a serial cut out 

 of the Aftenpost; as far as I remember, the title of it 



