SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. 451 



some, too, is the reflected sunlight on the snow-fields on 

 this journey : the temperature rose in the tent during 

 the day, on the 9th May, 53° Fahr. ; on the 10th, 65° Fahr. ; 

 and on the 26th, to IT Fahr., we were in a steam re- 

 sembling a pot on the fire. The stony snow-fields change 

 into pools of water at the end of May and the beginning 

 of June, making the crossing, at all times troublesome, 

 still more difficult by the overflowing tide. In the first 

 days of May the cold decreased; the temperature rose 

 from 50° to 68° Fahr. ; the sun did not set ; and the storms 

 had suddenly ceased. 



So far we could not wish for more favourable conditions 

 for travelling, as we started five strong, on the 8th May 

 (Tramnitz, Herzberg, Wagner, Mieders, and Payer), the 

 others accompanying us as far as the next cape. 



Snow had fallen some days before ; but, besides this, 

 the quantity of baggage (14 cwt.) delayed our progress, 

 so that we were four hours reaching the south-west point 

 of Sabine Island, A small isthmus covered with snow, 

 which we had to cross here in order to avoid a wide 

 circuit, showed us the great difl^culty of dragging the 

 sledge over even a small bit of la.nd. Places quite free 

 from snow would prevent it entirely. It must, therefore, 

 be understood that journeys of this kind can only take 

 place on an ice-covered sea. 



We now travelled independent of daylight, as the sun 

 never sets, so that on the morning of the 9th of May 

 (2° Fahr.), after reaching the west coast of Sabine Island, 

 separated from the mainland by Clavering Straits, we 

 pitched our tents opposite the Kronenberg. 



Signs of bad weather increased from the north ; grey 

 and vapourish lay the heavens above us. We slept during 



