136 EJNAR MIKKELSEN. 
We got through with the rest of our outfit and reached Cape Philip 
Broke with the first load on Nov. 11th. The ice in Freeden Bay could 
not have been very old, as its surface was very salty, and the open water 
almost touched land at the depot and extended so far towards the south 
and SE as we could see. The edge of the pack-ice was only visible in 
the ESE and from there all the way along the coast of Shannon 
Island. 
We made the house on Cape Philip Broke our basis, fetched up 
the remainder of our outfit and had everything in safety by November 
18th. On November 17th we passed to our great surprise six quite 
fresh traces of musk-ox, almost in the middle of Freeden Bay. The 
animals had headed SW, toward Pendulum Island. We concluded that 
the thick layer of ice on land had made it impossible for the animals 
to exist on Shannon Island, and that they. were now migrating. 
We left Cape Philip Broke on November 20th and went out over 
Freeden Bay with two sledges, of which the one was under sail and 
dragged the other. We made good progress with the fresh NEwind 
and nearly reached Bass Rock, before calm, rough ice, deep snow and 
darkness compelled us to camp, very close to the open water. We reached 
the American depots on Bass Rock November 21st and found them in 
rather good order. 
A vessel, the з/у “Laura” chartered by an Austrian, Mr. Козтев- 
LITZ, had visited Bass Rock on July 24th and had left a message to 
the effect that they would try to reach Shannon Island and look for us. 
This had, however, been impossible, and I have later learned that the 
s/y “Laura” became beset in the ice and drifted with it to the south 
of Scoresby Sound. It was very unfortunate that we had left no mes- 
sage here, but for the reasons already explained we did not think it 
worth the trouble to cross Freeden Bay with the sledge. The final 
result would, however, in any case have been the same, because it was 
impossible for a ship to reach Cape Philip Broke, even if the men had 
known that we were there and in distress. 
We had now entered upon our third winter under rather favourable 
conditions, as we found ample provisions and coal in the two houses 
on Bass Rock. We had also carried meat with us from the place where 
we shot the musk-oxen in Frozen Bay and had enough for more than 
one month, so that we were in little danger of scurvy. 
The conditions of the weather during the winter 1911—1912 formed 
a remarkable contrast to those of the two preceding winters. Then 
calm, clear weather was the rare exception, and gales or fresh winds 
the rule. But this winter the state of affairs was entirely reversed, and 
we had hardly any gales during the months of December, January and 
February. This winter the temperature was also very much lower than 
during the two preceding winters, and the quicksilver was frozen the 
whole of the first week of February. 
