158 NEW LAND. 



cainp. He and the mate between them kept the whole affair 

 dark. Had I known anything of it I should never have con- 

 sented to his going off alone at night without a gun, in a country 

 where there were bears about. 



The tent being in need of repairs, we did not start till about 

 half-past nine the following morning. Later in the forenoon we 

 passed a herd of polar cattle, which stood and gazed at us from 

 a point of land. As far as I could see the herd consisted of 

 twenty-three animals, and it was probably one of those we had 

 done battle with the previous day. The dogs also saw them, 

 and were determined to pay them a visit, but we had no time 

 for that, as we had to try and make a reasonably good day's 

 march again to-day. 



As we travelled inwards the fjord became narrower and 

 narrower, and the mountains higher and higher. This was 

 serious ; and our hopes that the fjord and the lake we had seen 

 farther north were connected, sank lower the farther we 

 went. 



We took observations for meridian and longitude, and accord- 

 ing to them our position that evening was lat. 77 46' N., 

 long. 83 15' W. 



Next morning Baumann and Peder handed over our provisions 

 and turned southwards, whilst we continued up the fjord. The 

 weather was still cold, but clear and calm ; notwithstanding this 

 the snow became looser and looser, and by noonday was so dis- 

 tressingly loose and slow that the dogs floundered about in it 

 up to their flanks, and were scarcely able to move the sledges. 

 This was sad work ! Moreover, it was no use wearing out the 

 dogs when we did not know whether in the end we should be 

 able to go farther, so we turned off towards a big valley with a 

 river in it, camped outside it, and decided to reconnoitre. 



I determined to send Fosheim across the fjord to a hill which 

 promised a good view of the fjord and its prolongation, while I 

 myself climbed a hill north of the valley, from which I thought 

 I might also get a good view of the country. 



Whilst we were camping we saw a polar herd which were 

 grazing some way up the slopes, on the north side, about in the 



