210 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



us and the dogs a much-needed rest. The outlook seemed 

 good ; we could see long stretches of young ice ahead, and we 

 made for them. The beautiful weather, perfectly clear and, for 

 a change, calm, tempted us to try a new experiment, that is, 

 cooking a hot midday meal. All former explorers have con- 

 sidered such a meal essential, but we found that its advantages 

 could not make up for the discomfort of waiting for it. It is 

 no fun to sit still for about an hour, even when warm after a 

 hard day's work, looking at the Primus and wishing for the pot 

 to boil. On the first sign of steam coming out of the pot we 

 became very much interested, and it acted as a quick-working 

 life restorer, but we were so very cold that not even the hot 

 meal could counterbalance the discomfort. We unanimously 

 agreed that one experiment was enough. The young ice gave 

 us fair going, but it did not stretch nearly as far as we had 

 expected, and before long we were again on old ice, working 

 our way northward, twisting round between the ice pieces, 

 hewing down pressure-ridges, and stopping now and again to 

 have a look at the road ahead from the top of a high pile of 

 ice. This is a very disheartening way of travelling ; to-day we 

 have only made about three miles northing in a ten hours day. 



Poor " Uxra " is gone. He got weaker and weaker and at 

 last failed to keep up with the sledges, although our speed was 

 far from great. Once he fell, and Mr. Leffingwell bent down 

 to lift him on to his sledge, but the dog snapped at him, and as 

 we did not like to get bitten so far from land we left him to his 

 fate. When we last saw him he was lying in convulsions, 

 probably his last. If we get too many accidents of this kind 

 things will go hard with us. 



Temperatue 22 C. ; clear and calm. 



Tuesday, April 2. We saw old ice for the first time to-day, and 

 we soon hope to be on it and to get some better travelling, for 

 the conditions we are working under at present are becoming 

 intolerable. We work and work, drag the sledges through soft, 

 deep snow, cutting down ridges and sharp pieces of ice with 

 every step, and we have practically made a road with pick and 

 shovel from the land to this point. If we can go five minutes 

 without having to stop and chop down ice we immediately 

 begin to think that the going is fine. We came to an old square 

 floe with large hummocks, one in each corner, and all of them 



