708 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



rejoicing — not a whit less the seal meat which Bjaaland brought on 

 the same day. The dogs, too, enjoyed the arrival of spring. They 

 were ravenous for fresh seal meat. On September 29 another unrefut- 

 able sign of spring appeared in the arrival of a flock of Antarctic 

 petrels. They flew around our house inquisitively to the joy of all, 

 not only of ourselves, but also of the dogs. The latter were wild 

 with joy and excitement, and ran after the birds in hopes of getting 

 a delicate morsel. Foolish dogs! Their chase ended with a wild 

 fight among themselves. 



On October 20 the weather had at last become so stable that we 

 could start. We had, meanwhile, changed our original plan, which 

 was that we should all advance southward together. We realized that 

 we could travel with perfect safety in two groups and thus accom- 

 plish much more. We arranged that three men should go to the east 

 to explore King Edward VII Land; the remaining five men were to 

 carry out the main plan, the advance on the South Pole. 



October 20 was a beautiful day. Clear, mild weather prevailed. 

 Tlie temperature was 1° C. above zero. Our sleds were light, and we 

 could advance rapidly. We did not need to hurry our dogs for they 

 were eager enough themselves. We numbered 5 men and 52 dogs with 

 4 sleds. Together with the provisions wliich we had left in the three 

 depots at the eightieth, the eighty-first, and the eighty-second parallels, 

 we had sufhcient sustenance for 120 days. 



Two days after our departure we nearly met with a serious acci- 

 dent. Bjaaland's sled fell into one of the numerous crevasses. At 

 the critical moment we were fortunately able to come to Bjaaland's 

 aid; had we been a moment later the sled with its 13 dogs would have 

 disappeared in the seemingly bottomless pit. 



On the fourth day we reached our depot at 80° S. We remainetl 

 there two days and gave our dogs as much seal meat as they would 

 eat. 



Between the eightieth and the eighty-first parallel the Barrier ice 

 along our route was even, with the exception of a icw low undula- 

 tions; dangerous hidden places were not to be found. The region 

 between the eighty-first and the eighty-second parallel was of a 

 totally difterent character. During the first 19 miles we were in a 

 veritable labyrinth of crevasses, very dangerous to cross. At many 

 places yawning abysses were visible because large pieces of the surface 

 had broken ofl"; the surface therefore presented a very unsafe appear- 

 ance. We crossed this region four times in all. On the three first 

 times such a dense fog prevailed that we could only recognize objects 

 a few feet away. Only on the fourth occasion did we have clear 

 weather. Then we were able to see the great difficulties to which we 

 had been exposed. 



