320 NEW LAND. 



saw from there that the ice-foot continued as far north as the eye 

 could see ; in certain places it was very high, and from this we con- 

 cluded that it went close up to the cliffs. A keen east wind was 

 blowing, which swept along the side of the mountains, chasing the 

 greyish-black masses of fog before it through the narrow strait. 



Due west of us was one, or perhaps two islands it was im- 

 possible to say which, for certain, through the fog; we could 

 hardly see the land at all on the opposite side. Our chances of 

 advance in the future, it will be seen, were not very promising ; 

 but I did not think we had any choice in . the matter, and hoped 

 that when the time came we might, by making a strenuous 

 effort, be able to push on. The strait could not go on for ever, 

 and some time or other we must come to the end of it. 



I had now seen what I wanted, and decided to return home 

 the next day. "We climbed down again and set to work to feed 

 the dogs and pitch the tent. 



The result of the continuous jumping on and off the loads as we 

 drove along was that Fosheim had been unlucky enough to break 

 off the butt-end of his gun. We discovered this in the evening, 

 and accordingly took the gun with us into the tent to try to 

 mend it. We soon saw> however, that we had not the necessary 

 tools with us to make a satisfactory repair, and came to the 

 conclusion, at the same time, that, given the chance, it would be 

 possible to shoot a bear with a rifle in this condition. We had 

 only the one gun with us. 



We tried at this time one of the new, spinnaker, two-man, 

 tents made by Baumann. On first entering, certainly we did think 

 it rather small, but we soon came to the conclusion that it was 

 big enough, and indeed ought not to be bigger. After the ' Primus ' 

 was lighted it soon became warm. 



The two new sleeping-bags of polar-calf skin also did duty for 

 the first time on this trip. They were warm ; but I do not think 

 they would answer on long journeys, as they become considerably 

 heavier than good reindeer-skin bags ; nor am I prepared to say 

 that they are so very much warmer. 



About two o'clock the following day we were again at 

 Bjorneborg, where we found the Commandant in splendid spirits, 



