ACROSS ELLESMERE LAND. 141 



It was blowing great guns the next morning when we continued 

 our way down the shining river-ice towards the fjord. The country 

 on each side of us was entirely free of snow, and consisted of 

 sand-plains and stony ground. The squalls were often so violent 

 that they swept both dogs and sledges for long distances along the 

 ice, and eventually, when they were stopped by a stone, overturned 

 the loads, so that it was hard work to make any progress. 

 After toiling for some hours we reached the lower part of the valley, 

 where the wind dropped, while down on the fjord itself we had 

 the most beautiful weather. About four miles down it and half- 

 way across, we pitched the tent for the night. 



The next morning, as we were about to start, a gale from the 

 west sprang up. This was a godsend to us, as our sledges were 

 piled high with dogs' -meat, which we had collected on the way 

 from our various caches. With the wind at our backs we were 

 able to get on a tremendous pace, and camped that evening in the 

 eastern part of Noresund. Here we were obliged to take to a fairly 

 narrow strip of ice along the southern shore, as on the north side 

 the ice was broken up, and the hummocks were being driven to 

 and fro by the tidal current which there is there. Here we met 

 the first gulls we had yet seen; they are certain harbingers of 

 spring here, in the north, for in winter they never fly across the ice. 



The next day we drove on eastwards, through Hayes Sound, in 

 the same stiff breeze as on the previous day. We had not used 

 snow-spectacles on this journey, as we had been so much on land, 

 and although the light certainly did affect us, we did not take to 

 them on the fjord as we ought to have done, as we knew it was not 

 far to the ship. But in the evening, in the tent, we began to regret 

 our negligence, for we both felt symptoms of snow-blindness. It 

 would be a delightful state of affairs if we were kept here, only 

 nine miles from the ship, for a couple of days perhaps ! 



During the night, however, we felt better, and started again 

 early in the morning so as to reach the ship in time for dinner. 

 When we got on board, we discovered that Bay had lost two of 

 our prime joints of beef. They had to be found, and he thought 

 they could not be so very far off, as he believed he had lost them 

 the same day. 



