112 EJNAR MIKKELSEN. 
dog-feed for 3 teams for 2 days, as well as some meat now rotten, which 
was carefully hidden away underneath some stones (by Косн) and 
was surprisingly well preserved. 
The depot contained all it was said to contain except about 10 kg 
grease, which Koch had also left there and mentioned in a letter to 
MYLIUS-ERICHSEN, which letter we found in a small tin. The missing 
box may have been dragged away from the depot by a prowling bear, 
which could smell the contents. 
Judging by the fact that the provisions were intact save this tin, 
and that the letters from Koch and ТнозтвоРр to My ius-ERIcHSEN 
were untouched it may be presumed, almost with a certainty, that 
MYLIUS-ERICHSEN and his men had not reached so far, but had taken 
to the Inlandice somewhere to the north, probably at the bottom of 
Antarctic Bay (as pointed out by Amprup, vol. XLI, pag. 218) and 
with such ample provisions that they did not deem it worth while to 
fetch the few kilo of men-provisions, which they themselves had deposited 
there on the northward journey. 
We had hoped to be able to give our dogs a good feed, when we 
saw this large amount of dog-pemmican, but in spite of their being very 
hungry our dogs would not eat it and infinitely preferred the rotten 
meat deposited by Косн. ; 
By this time I was so sick of scurvy that I could not leave the tent, 
and IVERSEN went out alone, hunting on the low, flat foreland. He 
shot one goose and did not see anything else. His impression is that 
the land is extremely barren. 
When we once more began to sledge on June 17th 2a.m. we were 
very much surprised to see the thermometer register + 2° C and to no- 
tice 5 cm of melting water on the surface of the ice. It was an astonish- 
ing amount of water, which had thus been produced in the course 
of one day, and it was probably only possible because of the high tem- 
perature of the last few days, which had slowly warmed up the ice al- 
most to the melting point so that a rather thick layer of surface-ice | 
became transformed to water by the first temperature above zero. The 
water was, however, drained away before ба. m. 
Open water-lanes were now seen in all directions, and a few of those 
were almost 1 meter broad (Fig. 61). А surprising amount of seals were 
lying on the ice, but IVERSEN had not sufficient practise or patience 
to approach within shooting range, before the seal took to the water. 
Ivory gulls were seen as usual, whenever we had open water. 
When we camped at 8 a.m. (June 17th) — about 3 miles east of 
Cape Jungersen — we were once more on ice covered with snow, so 
windblown and hard that it reminded us of the trying granular snow 
on the Inlandice. The snow was so hard that we could not drive our 
iron spade into it, but had to use the axe to make snowblocks for fastening 
the tent. The snow was cut up in large sastrugi, but it became smoother 
