TOWARDS THE NORTH! 405 



but it seemed to be considerably lower than where we now stood. 

 The northernmost point we saw, and which appeared to be about 

 fifteen miles off, looked like an island, but that it really was one 

 I am not prepared to say ; it may well have been connected with 

 the low-lying mainland. 



In other respects, also, the land northward seemed to change 

 its character. Apparently it was not so cut up by fjords, valleys, 

 and clefts as the country south of it ; and the mountains appeared 

 to be of a different shape, with natter tops and of altogether 

 different formation, reminding me very much of basalt mountaisn. 



About a mile from land a large pressure-ridge stretched north- 

 ward as far as we could see, parallel with the land. The ice inside 

 this ridge seemed to be broken up, and partially to have young 

 flat ice between the fragments, but, outside the ridge, the ice was 

 apparently oldish coarse ice, with old rounded-off pressure-ridges. 

 We received the impression that the whole mass of the ice had 

 receded from laud, and that the channel thus made had been 

 frozen over; that, later on, pressure had taken place, and that, 

 while this was going on, a large ridge had been forced up of young 

 and old ice alternately. 



We saw nothing approaching to palseocrystic ice the whole of 

 our journey. 



We then took some bearings, and turned our faces southwards. 



We had now attained our northernmost point on this sledge- 

 journey, and felt we must have a feast to commemorate it. We 

 skinned the hare; kept a leg for each of us; and divided the 

 rest between the twelve dogs; there were not many ounces for 

 each ! We were sorry that we had nothing more with which to 

 treat our enduring faithful companions ; they had worked so hard 

 on the journey that they had a right to a veritable feast, and we 

 felt almost ashamed of ourselves for keeping the two legs for our 

 own delectation. We did keep them, however, fried them, and 

 concocted some ' buttered eggs ' to eat with them. 



It was very pleasant inside the tent that evening, considering 

 all things, but our spirits were not first rate ; we thought we had 

 not reached quite as far as we might have expected. But when 

 we took into consideration the very unfavourable circumstances 



