CARRYING MEAT IN THE POLAR NIGHT. 283 



before us, though it did not seem inclined to corne. The loads 

 capsized again and again, and we had a terrible work to get them 

 on an even keel once more ; the dogs too grew tired of it all, and 

 when we had toiled half-way across Sydkapfjord we determined 

 to leave half of the meat behind. We accordingly piled it up in a 

 pyramid and placed two or three skins round it, lashing them so 

 far firm that they would keep in place if a breeze should spring up 

 while we were away ; and thus, with half loads, we managed to get 

 on board that evening. 



When we reached the ship we heard that Bay had been 

 unwell since his return, and had even kept his berth for a 

 couple of days. He had suffered a good many hardships on the 

 trip had walked on newly frozen ice with a layer of brine on 

 it, had been wet from morning to night, and had suffered much 

 from cold feet, so it was not to be wondered at that he felt some 

 abdominal pain and oppression of the chest. 



Baumann and Olsen had started trapping white foxes. There 

 were more than enough of them about the place, and it made a 

 change from the somewhat monotonous sport to be had late in the 

 autumn ; the more so as they are not easy to catch, although they 

 cannot compare with their cousin, the red fox, for slyness. They" 

 had tried snares of wire ; but this method, which answers well in 

 the case of hares, was no use as far as the foxes were concerned, 

 for they twisted the wire until it broke, and so got away. Then 

 they made and tried wooden traps, and into these the foxes went 

 without the smallest hesitation. 



By degrees, as the different parties came back on board, they 

 took up their share in the preparations for the winter. We kept 

 at it steadily, and the light of the full moon made us feel inclined 

 for work almost the whole of the twenty-four hours. 



Our first and most important occupation was building building 

 in snow, ice, wood, and sailcloth. We put sailcloth covers over 

 the skylights, and entirely covered them with a thick layer of 

 snow. The largest of our undertakings was the building of a 

 forge and dog-kennels. For our smithy this year we used the 

 provision shed which had been made for the journey to North 

 Greenland, and which we had intended as a sort of lean-to to the 



