SUMMER JOURNEYS AND FERTILITY. 13 



up to the watershed, was broad and flat, with so little rise in the 

 ground that for the first five miles it was hardly appreciable. 

 Farther up the gradient was slightly steeper, but not much. 

 Large continuous expanses of grass provided in places abundant 

 pasturage for big game, and, as a matter of fact, they had already 

 seen a few reindeer on the north side of the neck of land. 



The day after their return from Land's End, June 15, camp 

 was struck, and about five in the morning all three drove out of 

 the fjord. The snow had almost entirely melted on the ice outside 

 Middagskollen, and the water not yet having had time to cut a 

 way through it, was standing fairly deep on the ice, with the 

 result that they drove all the time through sludge and slush. 

 Later in the day they had rain and sleet again in superabundance, 

 and when they camped in the outer part of the fjord were all 

 thoroughly wet through; but this did not matter so much now 

 that they had a tent. The two skins which they had brought with 

 them were pressed into service, the tent soon became warm and 

 comfortable, and it was not long before they forgot the rain and 

 the pools on the ice outside. 



Next morning they awoke to find a snowstorm from the south- 

 west shaking and rattling at the tent. As there was nothing 

 which made it necessary for them to hurry on in such weather 

 they lay-to for a day, and did not start back to Bjorneborg till 

 June 17, by which time matters had improved. 



At Bjorneborg they found a letter from Isachsen and Hassel, 

 saying that they had been there and had gone on to the ' Fram,' 

 taking with them part of the depot. Baumann and Fosheim had 

 nothing more to do there at that time, and so the following day 

 they continued homewards with the last remains of the depot, 

 arriving on board, on June 20, with their dogs somewhat footsore. 



The same day that the Bjorneborg folk arrived, Simmons, 

 Bay, and I went a trip down the fjord to Stordalen ; Simmons to 

 collect plants, Bay to pursue insects. The bag was poor, all we 

 found being some sandpiper's eggs. On the way back we met 

 first Schei, whose dogs, in spite of being footsore, were the most 

 willing to work, and a little way behind him the others. They 

 had seen a couple of channels, about a yard wide, out by the rocks. 



