122 EJNAR MIKKELSEN. 
though filled with a very large number of melting holes, lying close side 
by side. 
We met our first river-courses 3 miles south of Bagatellerne, and 
they caused us some trouble and delay, as we had to ford the rivers, 
which were often quite deep. The surface of the ice was very sharp, 
and holes were worn in one pair of new kamicks during the night’s 
work. 
We had also a great number of river-courses to cross on August 9th, 
and we had to be very careful not to be overthrown by the rushing 
water. Besides these river-courses we had so many large melting holes 
to pass, that we could do nothing but keep right on and cross them 
with our sledge, ifwe wanted to make any progress at all. 
This was however rather easily proformed, as we had brought a tar- 
paulin, by means of which we could alter the sledge into a raft. We 
nad been experimenting with this, and had by now succeeded in making 
a float, which satisfied us entirely and made it possible for us to sledge. 
When we broke camp, we bundled all our outfit into the tarpaulin, 
making a long, flat and very bulky bundle, which was lashed on to the 
sledge. Two skies were lashed underneath the bottom-boards of the 
sledge, and projected 1 meter behind the handlebars. 
When the sledge, fixed up like this, came to a pond or a river which 
we had to cross, we unharnessed the two dogs and tied them on top 
of the load. One man went over the pond with a line made fast to the 
sledge, and everything thus being ready the sledge was pushed into the 
water. The two skies, which stuck out astern, prevented the sledge 
from capsizing, as one runner would get clear of the sharp edge of the 
pond before the other, and thus they made the fall into the water 
much more gentle. When the sledge was in the water, we hauled it 
over with the line. If the pond was so broad that we could not reach 
the other side with our lines, we both stood on the sledge and pushed 
it along with a couple of poles. In this manner we could cross water 
with a depth of 60 à 70cm without getting particularly wet. It was, 
however, rather dangerous, И the water was deeper than this, as the 
bundle then would be so buoyant that the sledge would float. This 
it could do, but not very well when loaded with more than our two 
dogs and one man. On rare occasions we both ventured to mount the 
sledge, but it lacked buoyancy and stability, and it was thus rather 
dangerous. 
3 miles to the north of the small rocks on 79°22’ N. Lat. we came 
to the end of the floating Inlandice, and the sledging conditions at once 
became worse owing to the lack of decline in the ice, by which the water 
was drained off from the Inlandice. On the sea-ice we had to pass a 
very large number of broad and deep melting holes, which occupied 
more than half of the area traversed, and we did not reach the skerries 
till August 10th. 
