EXPEDITION TO SOUTH POLE AMUNDSEN". 707 



importance. Ca])t. Johansen attended to this work during the win- 

 ter. Each of the 42,000 loaves of hard bread had to be handled 

 separately before it could be assigned to its proper place. In this way 

 the winter passed quickl}^ and agreeably. All of us were occupied 

 all the time. Our house was warm, dry, light, and airy, and we all 

 enjoyed the best of health. We had no jihysician and needed none. 

 Meteorological observations w-ere taken continuously. The results 

 were surprising. We had thought that we should have disagreeable, 

 stormy weather, but this was not the case. During the w^hole year 

 of our sojourn at the station we experienced only two moderate 

 storms. The rest of the time hght breezes prevailed, mainly from an 

 easterly direction. Atmospheric pressure was as a rule very low, but 

 remained constant. Tlie temperature sank considerably, and I deem 

 it probable that the mean annual temperature which "we recorded^ 



— 26° C, is the lowest mean temperature which has ever been 

 observed. During five months of the year w^e recorded temperatures 

 below — 50° C. On August 23 the lowest temperature was recorded, 



— 59°. The aurora australis, corresj)ondiug to the northern lights of 

 the Arctic, was observed frequently and in all du'ections and forms. 

 This phenomenon changed very rapidly, but, except in certain cases, 

 was not very intensive. 



On August 24 the sun reappeared. The wanter had ended. Sev- 

 eral days earlier we had put everything in the best of order, and w4ien 

 the sun rose over the Barrier we were read}'' to start. The dogs 

 w^ere in fine condition. 



From now on we observed the temperature daily with great inter- 

 est, for as ,long as the mercury remained below — 50° a start was 

 not to bo thought of. In the first days of September all signs indi- 

 cated that the mercury would rise. Wo therefore resolved to start 

 its soon as ])ossiblc. On September S the temperature was — 30°. 

 We started immediately, but this march -vvas to be short. On the 

 next day the temperature began to sink rapidly, and several days later 

 the thermometer registered — 55° C. We human beings could 

 jirobably have kept on the inarch for some time under such a tcm- 

 j)erature, for wo wtto protected against the cold by our clothing; 

 ])ut the dogs could not have long withstood this degree of cold. We 

 were therefore glad w^hen w^e reached the eightieth j)araUel. We 

 deposited there our provisions and equipment in the dej^ot wliich we 

 had previously erected and returned to "Framheim." 



The weather now became very changeable for a time — the transi- 

 tional period from wnntcr to summer; w^o never knew" what weather 

 the next day would bring. Frostbites from our last march forced us 

 to wait until we definitely knew that spring had really come. On 

 September 24 we saw at last ])ositive evidence that spring had arrived ; 

 the seals began to clamber up on the ice. This sign was hailed w^ith 



