ig8 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



increased again towards night, and that, as well as the falling 

 barometer, does not promise well for to-morrow. 



Monday, March 18. The weather was very thick and snowing, 

 but it was almost calm, and at 7.30 A.M. we were on our \*ay 

 towards Cross Island. At 12.40 the wind came up from S.W., 

 and within half an hour it was evident that there was going 

 to be a bad storm. We could not make any progress against 

 the weather arid camped at i P.M. with only five and a half 

 miles gained. Temperature 14 C. 



Tuesday, March 19. When we awoke in the morning we 

 could hear that the wind was still raging over the snow deserts. 

 In our tent things were snug, but the wind struck it every now 

 and then so hard that we were almost afraid it would carry 

 away. A few moments spent outside the tent were enough to 

 convince us that the best we could do was to lie low, as the 

 velocity of the wind was at times about forty miles per hour. 

 It was a dreary day we spent in our tent, but it passed, and the 

 last we heard was the noise of the wind, the beating of the 

 snow, and the muffled growl of one of our poor dogs, who 

 tried to find a place somewhere out of the reach of the drifting 

 snow. Temperature 25 C. 



Wednesday, March 20. The wind still too strong for travel- 

 ling. This certainly is bad, as it will end by delaying our 

 departure so much that we shall hardly be able to get back to 

 land again if we stay out on the ice for the full time which our 

 provisions allow. The sun is getting high, and will soon make 

 the snow soft and the days so warm that young ice cannot 

 be formed in the newly opened lanes. Well, we must hope for 

 the best, but I have seen a more cheerful company than ours 

 at the present moment. It is not very cheerful either to lie 

 in a sleeping bag for a couple of days, the snow underneath us 

 melting and the water making the bag wet and uncomfortable. 

 The position is also somewhat cramped, as all the floor space 

 we have is 6 feet by 6J feet. Two of us lie one way and the 

 man in the middle the other, so as to take up as little room as 

 possible. We cannot sit up very well, as we have no support 

 for our backs, and, besides, if we sit up our heads come into 

 contact with the sides of the tent, which usually sends a 

 shower of fine ice particles down our backs. Some of the time 

 we talk, making plans for new trips or trying to find some 



