THE GREAT EXPEDITION. 335 



single broad smile of content at his 'still-life' out there. But 

 even on his bright sky was a dark speck, for he had not yet had 

 a visit from a bear still, there was time enough for one yet. 

 The snow-wall round the house was finished, and he declared that 

 the tent was very warm. A couple of the wayfarers were invited 

 to be his guests during their stay at Bjorneborg. 



The sportsmen came back in the evening with a ptarmigan 

 apiece, which was all the game they had seen. 



The next morning, after we had taken a hearty farewell of the 

 thriving autocrat of Bjorneborg, we drove off, about half-past seven, 

 in the same brilliant weather as the previous day. 



At first we followed the ice-foot, which formed here a single 

 unbroken smooth surface. The dogs were wild with delight at 

 getting off, and gave us a great deal of trouble at first, for each 

 team wanted to lead. We raced along till the snow flew like 

 smoke behind us, and often, when the sledges became locked from 

 the teams trying to pass one another, we were swept along in 

 clusters. 



Unfortunately this glorious state of affairs did not last very- 

 long, for when we reached some rocky crags, where the ice-foot had 

 been carried away, we were forced down on to the sea-ice, where 

 things were very different. To add to our misfortunes, it was low 

 tide, so that from the ice-foot to the sea-ice there was a quite 

 respectable coasting-hill, ending in a wall of ice. 



It was our intention to take a diagonal course down, this hill 

 in order not to end up by rushing into the wall, and with the 

 two first sledges all went well ; but the following dogs found it 

 unnecessary to pay the slightest heed to the sledges, and set off 

 down the hill at a mad pace. They are fleet-footed animals, these 

 Eskimo dogs ; but, all the same, the loads went faster than they, and 

 ran into the midst of the team. Several of the dogs were run 

 over, and howled mercilessly as they lay sprawling under the 

 runners, but no sooner were they free again . than they set off at 

 the same pace as before. The sledges suffered most, for a dog will 

 always hold ; I have never seen otherwise. They seem as if they 

 have no bones at all, or, at any rate, unbreakable ones, such knocks 

 as they many a time take without apparently feeling them. 



