110 XEW LAND. 



was not really a matter of great importance to us, and we had 

 material in abundance, I let each man take his choice in this 

 respect, and together with Schei later also with the mate's 

 assistance started to make a set of each kind. 



After the experience we had gained in this matter, I made 

 up my mind to try a different shape, so these new bags were 

 accordingly made a head shorter than the others had been, and 

 reached only to the shoulder. In the hood we made an aperture 

 large enough to put the head through, and this we edged with a 

 strip of reindeer-skin about four inches wide, which formed a 

 sort of collar. We could then, if we liked, pull our fur caps 

 down over our ears, or if it was unusually cold cover the face with 

 a bit of fur. It was clear that by this arrangement we should 

 avoid a great deal of the moisture we had found so troublesome. 



With regard to the rest of our work, our wolf-skin clothing 

 was put into thorough repair. Hassel and Stolz were told off to 

 prepare the dog-skins which were to be made into over-socks and 

 gloves, and they also stretched some seal-skin, which was destined 

 later to make soles for the 'finsko.' Finally, Baumann had an 

 order for a silk tent with its accompanying inner tent. 



A new camera was among the things we were obliged to have. 

 We had used up a great number of plates belonging to the usual 

 travelling apparatus, but still had a quantity of 12 X 16^ plates 

 left. The camera intended for their use was so enormously heavy 

 that it was an utter impossibility to drag it with us on long 

 sledge-journeys. Schei was, therefore, set the task of making a 

 new travelling camera, and he accomplished it well. 



When I furthermore mention that the tide-gauge was put 

 down as soon as the dogs had got their kennels ; that the 

 observations with it and the various other appliances went their 

 even way ; and that Baumann this winter, as one of the previous 

 ones, held a well-attended course in navigation, the reader will 

 have gained a general impression of our winter life on board 

 the ' Fram.' 



And yet it was nothing of all this which set its mark on the 

 first part of the winter. It was, as we shall soon hear, something 

 of a very different nature. 



