84 NEW LAND. 



but stones and grit really good sledging country ! We literally 

 wore through the plates, and all the ' ski ' we had with us. Of the 

 oak over-runners which Fosheim had been at such trouble to 

 make, and which were fastened on over the German- silver plates, 

 only some splinters remained. 



This was too much. We accordingly left two loaded sledges up 

 on the neck of land ; the mate remained as watch ; and Fosheim 

 and I drove the ' water-sledge ' back to the ship. This sledge, as 

 I have mentioned before, was shod with steel. 



On the southern side of the watershed, by the lake in the upper 

 part of Gaasedaleu, we met Bay, shooting. From him we learned 

 that Schei, a couple of days previously, had seen five wolves up 

 the valley, but had not been able to get within range. He had 

 tried sending them a shot, but the distance was great, and he 

 missed. We too, before meeting with Bay, had seen wolf-tracks 

 leading north. 



After we arrived on board, on October 5, the first thin^ .to be 



' o 



done was to make new over-runners for the transport of the meat 

 from the north. This work took us several days. On October G 

 the sledges were fetched from the neck, and the mate returned on 

 board. 



On Tuesday, October 9, Baumann, the mate, Fosheim, Isachsen, 

 Stolz, and Hassel started north. They were equipped for a fort- 

 night, and took seven teams with them, one of them being a loose 

 team. Bay was to have gone too, but the day before they started 

 he had been seized with violent rheumatic pains in the back, and 

 had to take to his berth instead, where he remained for several 

 days. 



The purpose of this expedition was to drive all the meat south- 

 west to the mouth of a big river, which fell into the sea on the 

 north side of the neck. It was to be fetched from there later in 

 the year when there was more snow. Baumann and Eaanes asked 

 if they might remain to guard the depot, keep their teams, and try 

 their luck bear-shooting. They received permission. The canvas 

 tent which had been in use the previous year at Bjorneborg they 

 took with them as a guard-tent. 



A steady breeze from the north set in at this time ; the weather 



