2o 4 SPITSBERGEN chap, xiv 



" Carl was asleep, and the ponies had strayed out of sight, 

 being as usual, when left with that master mind, insecurely 

 tethered. Indeed, having long since used up both pairs of 

 reins and all our light Alpine rope for this purpose, he 

 had probably nothing left with which to fasten them up." 



Next afternoon they set forth down Advent Vale, going 

 together as far as Ooze Camp, where Garwood bore to the 

 left round the mounded hill so prominently seen from Cairn 

 Camp. He passed over a low col, and went down an easy 

 open valley on the other side to the site of Cairn Camp. 

 He waited an hour for Carl, but saw no sign of him, so, to 

 quote from his journal : — 



" I started up the valley to meet him, and found him in 

 difficulties with Bergen, who was tired, and had rubbed his 

 shoulder. We struggled along to a dry patch below Cairn 

 Camp and pitched the tent. I then discovered that my ice- 

 axe and hammer had been dropped off one sledge, so we 

 had to pitch the tent with my camera legs ; also I had 

 dropped my knife by the way whilst digging up plants, so 

 it was indeed a day of misfortunes. Turned in about four 

 A.M. (23rd) — raining. 



"Started at two p.m. The travelling was bad from the 

 start. We both fell into a hole in crossing Fox Valley River 

 and were soused. There were alternately areas of large 

 stones and swamps. Only on the terraces after passing 

 Bolter Valley could we get firm ground for more than a 

 few yards. In fact, in some respects, things were in a 

 worse condition than when we came up, especially for the 

 sledges, which were bumped to pieces over the boulder- 

 strewn patches. Our worst difficulty, however, was the 

 second gully, which, instead of being choked with snow, 

 was now a deep trench with almost perpendicular walls, 

 difficult for a man, but impossible for ponies. We had, 

 therefore, to keep up the gully over fiendish piles of rock- 



