260 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



than we had expected. Building a bridge was out of the 

 question, as the lane was too wide, and after walking up and 

 down for some time, looking in vain for a suitable crossing, we 

 started to rig up the raft. It took us only one hour and five 

 minutes from the time we started till we were ready to march 

 again on the other side, and our whole outfit was taken across 

 in four trips. Upon the whole we are very well satisfied with our 

 raft and the way it works. After we had passed the lane we 

 met more young ice, and although it was badly crushed 

 and the sledges went heavily over it, we thought that travelling 

 without sinking in at every step came as near real happiness as 

 anything could come. But the salty young and level ice did 

 not last for more than a mile, and again we met heavy rubble 

 with deep snow, and now and then, as if by way of direction, we 

 came across lanes partly frozen over. These lanes we crossed 

 by means of small floes which we used as floats, jumping from 

 one to another, and trusting to luck that they would be able to 

 carry us. When, about 4 P.M., we came to a newly-frozen lane, 

 only about one hundred yards wide, but not strong enough to 

 carry the outfit, and with impossible going along the edge of it, 

 we took it as an excuse for stopping, dead tired, wet, and hungry. 

 That we had only at the best made three and a half miles did 

 not tend to cheer us either, and once in the tent, we had not 

 much to say to each other. We passed several fresh bear tracks 

 to-day, but did not see the animals themselves. 



We took a latitude at noon, 71 04', but the sun was invisible 

 in the afternoon, and we have no idea whether we have drifted 

 or not. 



Temperature at 6 A.M. 7 C., at noon 3 C. Cloudy and a 

 light easterly wind. Depth at camp 45 fathoms, and no drift. 



Wednesday, May I. We were off early, about 6 A.M., and 

 found the crack covered with ice so thick that we could cross 

 it if we were careful to keep on the rubble which was frozen 

 together. From the minute we had passed the lane until 10.30 

 A.M. our road lay across rubble ice with deep snow, and not a 

 single piece of floe ice was on our line of march to give us a 

 little easy going. But for an hour, from 10.30 to 11.30, we had 

 fine going on a newly-frozen lane until it was split into a mass 

 of lanes, which we crossed by dint of much work and by using 

 every little piece of ice as a support. Our poor dogs are having 



