CARRYING MEAT IN THE POLAR NIGHT. 287 



814 Ibs., not bad weights for six dogs to draw ! It was under 

 nine miles to the ship when we had found it necessary to lighten 

 our loads, while the entire distance in to our last slaughter-ground 

 in Moskusfjord was a good eighty miles ; that is to say, there and 

 back, rather more than one hundred and sixty miles. We had 

 taken a week on the work, and one day covered no more than two 

 or three miles, being detained by stress of weather. This averages 

 twenty-three miles a day. It must also be remembered that the 

 journey took place at the dark period of the year, and during 

 cloudy and gloomy weather. The time that one can drive during 

 the day is therefore not very long as a rule, from eight in the 

 morning to four in the afternoon and out of this we spent a long 

 time every morning and evening trying to find our way on account 

 of the darkness ; nor had we any track to follow, which, of course, 

 would have greatly accelerated our pace. 



Of the last twenty animals we had shot, five were calves from 

 the previous year. Most of the cattle were young, and were from 

 one and a half to two and a half years old. There were two large 

 cows and three which had had their first calf. Of full-grown oxen 

 there were only two. The collective weight of the meat, without 

 heads or hoofs, was fully 2640 Ibs. ; the skins and heads weighed 

 1100 Ibs. The first animals we shot averaged heavier than the 

 others, so that we had altogether about 3740 Ibs., or considerably 

 over a ton and a half of beef on board. 



Besides all this beef, we had more than fifty brace of hares and 

 a good many birds of different kinds; ptarmigan, eider-duck, 

 gulls, and black guillemots almost a disconcerting supply of fresh 

 food, and quite enough for the whole winter. With such abund- 

 ance we should hardly want bear- and seal-flesh for human food. 

 All the beef was hung up inside the winter awning, and the bear- 

 meat out on deck, where we had a score or so of carcases dangling. 



We then turned our attention to the walrus-meat. As we 

 thought the dogs would most likely get at it if we left it w r here it 

 was, we brought it all on board and piled it up to above a man's 

 height on both sides of the ship, from forward on the forecastle 

 down to amidships, so that only a small gangway was left along 

 the deck to the meteorological screen. 



