CARRYING MEAT IN THE POLAR NIGHT. 281 



and this made them a rampart almost as high as the tent itself. 

 But all the same the storm raged against the tent so violently that 

 nearly all the guy-ropes were dragged off. Curiously enough the 

 canvas was not damaged, but they had plenty to do during the 

 night keeping it in place and bracing up the guy-ropes. Down 

 the fjord next day they had the wind behind them, and the 

 sledges flew before it. At ' Nuten ' the wind went down, and 

 after that the weather was fine. 



We continued westward and camped, about four o'clock, a good 

 way west of Lille Sandor (Little Sandbank), having driven our 

 thirty-five miles or so in the day. 



The following day we encamped on the point of land at the 

 outermost narrowing of Moskusfjord. The weather was beautiful, 

 with moonlight and stars, but it was bitterly cold, and a draught 

 of icy wind was blowing right down the fjord. 



We had only wolf-skin clothing with us on this trip, and conse- 

 quently were obliged to run by the side now and then to keep our- 

 selves warm ; but Fosheim had to reconcile himself to being cold, 

 for he was out of sorts and could not run. But for the matter of 

 that one may be dressed as one likes ; one will feel cold before 

 evening if one sits on the sledge all the time. 



We decided to leave all our paraphernalia behind at this spot, 

 and drive inwards early the next day with empty sledges. 



We had good weather up the fjord, and the dogs hauled 

 as if they were possessed they had not forgotten the slaughter- 

 ground and its attractions. Going at this pace over smooth 

 polished ice was unalloyed delight, but when at last we came 

 to the strip of drift-ice up the fjord we were made to feel that 

 existence has its dark side. The ice was now worse to get 

 through than it had ever been before, for the recent storms had 

 blown the snow into huge drifts, with gaping pitfalls in them 

 here and there. But the dogs cared nothing about what the 

 country was like ; on they went, at the same mad pace, and it 

 was as much as we could do to keep our seats on the sledges. 

 We arrived, at the meat-heap at last, feeling as if we had been 

 whipped all over. 



We began at once to stow the remaining meat on the three 



