NEW LAND 



CHAPTER I. 



ISAGHSEN KELATES. 



ON June 19 Isachsen and Hassel returned on board, and the 

 following is a brief account of their journey written by the 

 former : 



'On the morning of Easter Monday, April 16, just as we were 

 about to start, a glimpse of land was discovered in the west ; and 

 after a short consultation it was decided that Hassel and I should 

 cross over to this " new land," return thence to Cape Levvel, and 

 then try to gain some knowledge of the land south and west. 



'After a short "good-bye, and a prosperous journey," the 

 Captain and Fosheim drove off northward. They disappeared at 

 once from sight in the hummocky ice, and we then set to work to 

 redistribute the loads on our sledges, taking with us provisions 

 for a fortnight. The rest we cached in a snow-drift, and put up a 

 mark. We did not think we were risking very much by doing 

 this, as we had never seen any bear-tracks north of Cape South- 

 West. 



' The faint glimpse of land in the west which we had seen in 

 the morning at once disappeared from sight in the misty atmo- 

 sphere, and shortly afterwards " Cape Levvel " behind us. For 

 our guidance, therefore, we had only the chronometer, and the 

 sun which shone on us every now and then. The shape of the 

 drifts, which are conditioned by the prevailing direction of 

 the winds, are also of some help, but the compass alone cannot be 

 depended on in these regions. Early in the day we again managed 

 to break the hand of the odometer in the rugged ice, but after 

 that we got out on to largish old floes with high drifts. 

 VOL. II. B 



