THE JOURNEY OVER THE PACK ICE 233 



and hunting for a smaller dog whom he in his turn can chase away. 

 Lat. 71 47' N., long. 150 01' W. (obs.). 



Tuesday, April 16. Left our camp at 6.20 A.M. and travelled 

 S.S.W. along the lane, which was not yet solid enough to bear 

 us. A very light westerly wind had closed the ice a little, and 

 we found a place where we could cross to the other side. The 

 young ice on either side of the lane had been pushed up, one 

 piece on the top of the other, and although it bent under us with 

 every step it did not break, and at last we stood on the other 

 side. The going was rather good, over comparatively thin floes 

 with pressure-ridges along the edge, which, however, offered 

 no serious obstacles and were easily crossed. Upon the whole, 

 we at last had one of our good days, at any rate as far as the 

 conditions of the ice were concerned. But the weather was 

 bad, hazy and thick, so that again we could not see where we were 

 going and whether we were climbing up a ridge or falling into 

 a hole. Ice uncovered by snow was a great help, as its blue 

 colour could be seen at some distance, so that we could usually 

 judge what the snow would be like and whether a drift was apt 

 to be there or not. We were heading for a dark spot in the 

 sky, over a water-lane, and camped when we reached it at 

 4.15 P.M. ; the water was open, and we were very tired. 



Storkersen's sledge is now giving trouble ; we found the 

 runners split for about four feet, one inch from the edge. We 

 should like to be able to leave it behind, but we are afraid that 

 one of the others may break down any minute, and if we leave 

 one of them here now we shall have no material for repairs. 



Made about fourteen miles. Lat. at noon 71 42' (obs.). 

 Camped on lat. 71 37' N., long. 149 43' W. (D.R.). 



Temperature this morning 10 C. Wind W.S.W., six to 

 eight miles an hour. 



Wednesday, April 17. We started to repair Storkersen's 

 sledge at 6.20, but it was so badly damaged that we could do 

 nothing with it, and the load was shifted to my sledge, while 

 I took the broken one with the lighter load. The lane was 

 frozen over, but not firmly, and we waited until 9 A.M., when 

 an overlapping of the thin ice made crossing possible. The ice 

 was so thin that I could drive the ice spear through it, and the 

 water spouted through the holes about 2 j to 3 inches high, being 

 driven up by the bending of the ice when the sledges went by. 



