328 THE VOYAGE OF THE " FRAM 



a 



fish; it'll be grand to get fresh fish for dinner !" At 

 last the fish appeared over the rail; but, alas! it was 

 seen to have no head. It was an ordinary stockfish, 

 about three-quarters of a yard long, that some joker 

 had hung on the line during the night. That we all 

 had a hearty laugh goes without saying, the fishermen 

 included, as they took it all in good part. 



As a fishing-boat the Fram is on the whole not very 

 successful. The only fish we caught, besides the above- 

 mentioned stockfish, was a real live fish; but, unfortu- 

 nately, it fell off the hook as it was being hauled in. 

 According to the account of eye-witnesses, this fish was 

 ... six feet long and one broad. 



Now we don't fish any more. 



On August 19 the hydrographic observations were 

 brought to an end, and a course was laid for Buenos 

 Aires, where we anchored in the roads at midnight on 

 September 1. 



V. 



At Buenos Aires. 



To arrive at Buenos Aires in the early part of 1911 

 was not an unmixed pleasure, especially when one had 

 no money. The Fram Expedition was apparently not 

 very popular at that time, and our cash balance amounted 

 to about forty pesos (about £3 10s.), but that would 

 not go very far; our supply of provisions had shrunk to 



