344 THE VOYAGE OF THE " FRAM " 



A few seals were shot in the ice, so that we had fresh 

 meat enough, and could save the sheep and pigs until 

 the shore party came on board. I was sure they would 

 appreciate fresh roast pork. 



The chart of Ross Sea has been drawn chiefly as 

 a guide to future expeditions. It may be taken as 

 certain that the best place to go through the ice is 

 between long. 176° E. and 180°, and that the best 

 time is about the beginning of February. 



Take, for instance, our southward route in 1911-1912: 

 as has been said, the ice was -met with as early as 

 in 65° S., and we were not clear of it till about 73° S.; 

 between 68° S. and G9° S. the line is interrupted, and it 

 was there that I ought to have steered to the south. 



Now follow the course from the Bay of Whales 

 in 1912. Only in about 75° S. was ice seen (almost 

 as in 1911), and we followed it. After that time we 

 saw absolutely no more ice, as the chart shows; there- 

 fore in the course of about a month and a half all the ice 

 that we met when going south had drifted out. 



The stippled line shows how I assume the ice to have 

 lain; the heavy broken line shows what our course 

 ought to have been. 



The midnight sun was not seen till the night of 

 January 7, 1912, to the south of lat. 77° S.; it was 

 already 9*5° above the horizon. 



On the night of January 8 we arrived off the 

 Barrier in extremely bitter weather. South-westerly 



