386 ANTARCTIC VOYAGE OF THE BELGICA. 



On May 1 7 we saw the sun for the last time. In the antarctic regions, 

 thanks doubtless to the detestable climate, the disastrous effects of the 

 polar night are far more marked than in the north. There is a gen- 

 eral lowering of the sj^stem, and the heart acts feebly. Several of us 

 developed serious symptoms, and without daily care on the part of the 

 doctor others would not have survived the period of darkness, though 

 it was relatively short. One part of Cook's treatment was very effect- 

 ive and ingenious. Those who were most affected by deficient circu- 

 lation were made to stand in a half-naked condition close to the red-hot 

 stove for several hours daily. In this way the action of the solar 

 radiation was in part replaced by rays of artificial heat — in a manner 

 admittedly primitive — but none the less beneficial. 



The sun reappeared on July 23. With its return our torpor disap- 

 peared and gave place to general activity. Lecointe, Cook, and 

 Amundsen even risked a long expedition, taking with them provisions 

 for fifteen days, a fur sleeping bag for three, and a tent. They stayed 

 out for a week, but did not make much progress, for after a strong 

 breeze several channels formed in the ice field, and they had the great- 

 est difficulty in regaining the ship in safety. We had no kayaks, and 

 the practical result of this little expedition was to show that without 

 them all attempts to traverse long distances on the pack must be futile. 



It was also made evident that it is impossible to go far from the ffoe 

 on which an expedition is encamped without running grave risks of 

 being unable to find a way back. For this reason 1 do not appreciate 

 the opinion of a German critic, who has expressed surprise that we 

 did not try to attain a high latitude on the pack by following a direct 

 route to the pole. The great problem is to find the position of the 

 ship when it is time to return to it. If we had left the Belgica on 

 August 10, in latitude 70 50' south, longitude SQ 30' west, we should 

 have had to find her again one month later, on September 10, in lati- 

 tude til) 50' south, longitude 82^ 40' west, and I greatly doubt if my 

 German critis, even with the most favorable hypotheses, could have 

 accomplished this tour de force. 



The characteristic feature of the southern pack is the thick layer of 

 snow which lies on it all the year round. Except for the } r oung ice, 

 which forms in the open channels, is broken up by every movement 

 caused by the wind, and often presents a bare, glassy surface, the noes 

 resemble an immense plain covered by a thick mantle of snow. The 

 weight of this snow is so great that the ice is often depressed below 

 the water level, and the base of the snow is transformed into blue, 

 granular, compact ice, very different in its physical properties (com- 

 position, structure, etc.) from the ordinary ice produced by the freez- 

 ing of sea water. The fallen snow is changed into neve under the 

 influence of solar radiation and frequent changes of air temperature. 

 In normal circumstances the field ice may be taken as about 2 meters 



