364 NEW LAND. 



We now decided to remain where we were until the going 

 improved or the bear-meat gave out, as this sort of thing was 

 simply wearing out the dogs for nothing. The bear had come, 

 and if only a storm would come too, the going would soon 

 be all right, and if things went as they usually did up here, we 

 should not have to wait long for it. The misty weather shut out 

 almost all view, so that we could not form much idea of where we 

 were going ; but, as I have said before, it was our belief that we were 

 advancing towards a new land. 



The next day we remained where we were, in the same cold 

 and foggy weather, and continued our work of cramming the 

 dogs. We also put the tents in order, first taking out the inner 

 tents and brushing them free from rime, and then we turned our 

 attention to the bags. These had become very damp down in 

 Hell Gate, and once they begin to collect moisture, they grow 

 worse with every day that passes. After great trouble we managed 

 in the end to turn them inside out, and gave them a good sweep- 

 ing. We repeated these household duties every morning as long 

 as we were lying to, emptying the tent, sweeping out all the 

 rime, and turning and brushing the bags ; it was astonishing how 

 this care prevented the damp from collecting. After the sweeping 

 performance we walked about for three or four hours outside the 

 tents. We also mended the odometer rods, and examined our 

 instruments to see if they had come to any harm in the sound. 

 It proved that my theodolite had suffered a good deal, though 

 not injuries of a worse nature but that I could mend it sufficiently 

 for use. We compared our chronometers, and took a number 

 of observations with both instruments, also for the sake of 

 comparison. 



But the weather continued stubbornly the same, while our 

 store of bear-meat grew no larger our four-and-twenty gluttons 

 took good care of that and on April 7 we saw the last remains 

 of the extra food disappear down their bottomless gullets. Next 

 day we should have to take to driving again there was no longer 

 any respite to be expected. 



On starting the following morning, we took a somewhat 

 westerly course, towards a large sandbank, which extended for a 



