ARDUOUS JOURNEYS. 243 



Every few yards we came to a standstill, and when at last, about 

 six o'clock, we reached the house, the dogs were completely done 

 up, and their drivers as well. The fact was we were out of training. 

 We perspired copiously, and were so thirsty that our tongues 

 seemed to cleave to the roof of our mouths. 



How good it would have been when we got there to throw 

 ourselves into a chair and call if we could have called 

 ' Waiter, a bottle of beer all round ! ' But such luxuries were 

 not for us, and the first thing we did when we got into the tent, 

 after tying up the dogs, was to make some sweet-soup. We 

 consumed such quantities of the steaming fluid that we had no 

 room left for solid food, but we managed to get through two or 

 three cups of coffee each afterwards. This was the result of a 

 Turkish bath in twenty-two degrees below zero ! 



The following day we 'papered' our boat-house ready for 

 occupation. This we did because the warm air inside, acting on 

 the wall of sand, would naturally thaw the frozen particles and 

 bring the whole thing down on us. We therefore nailed sailcloth 

 to the gunwales, thus covering the walls, and well packed the 

 intervening space with moss, which we found by a tarn a little 

 way above the camp. We then shovelled away the snow from 

 the big canvas tent, and got it in readiness for striking. On the* 

 hillside we rigged up the mast of the boat, with the proper stays 

 and shrouds, and hoisted all the small game to the top of it, to be 

 out of the way of foxes and dogs. It had a truly remarkable 

 appearance, but was very effectual. 



We then moved in : no furniture vans were required here, for 

 we counted no drawing room mirrors or grand pianos among our 

 effects, but, on the other hand, the kitchen department was unusually 

 well represented. 



Later in the evening, after various culinary operations had 

 taken place, the heat became absolutely tropical, and we lay 

 outside the sleeping-bags all night. 



The following day Baumann and Stolz went off on their errand 

 to South Cape, whereas the rest of us, as I mentioned before, were 

 to go west with the tent and depot. The former had to be struck 

 before we could start, but it was so covered with ice that before 



