224 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



was hard, as we could not see it five yards ahead of the sledges ; 

 so before long we lost it and had to feel our way along, stumbling 

 over drifts or into holes, and trying with all our might not to 

 give vent to our rather bitter feelings. This kind of travelling 

 is, to say the least of it, very tiresome and disagreeable. The 

 wide lane from yesterday had opened considerably and we 

 could not cross it, but followed it eastward in the hope of finding 

 a jammed floe which we could use as a bridge. The edge of 

 the break showed that the ice consisted of several layers, one 

 on the top of the other, and about six inches thick. The 

 different strata were very plain and followed the undulations 

 of the surface of the floe. The upper layer had hardly any 

 snow on it at all and tasted perfectly fresh. We passed several 

 floes of old ice, and the trail was good over them, but we had 

 horrible going in between, and at one time it took us about an 

 hour to make 200 yards. This is very hard work, and I am 

 afraid that the sledges will break down some day before the 

 end of the journey. 



We were all exceedingly tired of plunging through the soft 

 snow, which we have had all the afternoon, and were glad when 

 we found a decent camping-place at 4.40 P.M. We cut the 

 carcase of " Unimack " into pieces and gave half of it to the 

 dogs. They all ate it with apparent relish, and were sorry 

 when we hung up the remaining half of their old comrade's 

 body on a couple of sticks, so high that they could not 

 reach it. 



Made about seven miles. Temperature 22 C. Calm, but 

 very hazy. Lat. 71 56' N. Long. 149 54' (by observation). 



Friday, April 12. We did not get off before 8 A.M., as the 

 weather was so thick that we could not see our way through a 

 heavy belt of ice ahead of us, and we were afraid to launch 

 into it, for fear of our sledges. They are now a permanent 

 cause of worry, the more so as it would be a very serious state 

 of affairs if they broke down beyond repair so far from any- 

 where. However, the pressure-ridge was not so bad as we 

 thought, and we made fairly good progress over old ice in 

 rather large floes, but separated from each other by a very 

 difficult belt. But we made good time until 2 P.M., when we 

 came to a wide lane right across our course, and, after we had 

 spent an hour in trying to find a crossing, we gave it up and 



