282 NEW LAND. 



the roots, as much as an inch in diameter. There would be no 

 difficulty about firewood here, to all appearance. There were tracks 

 and traces of polar oxen in all directions, but the weather was too 

 bad for any living animals to be seen. Once there was a rift in the 

 sea of fog, and I then thought I saw a valley running west, which 

 gave promise of advance in that direction. But there was neither 

 time, nor was it weather that evening to make further investigation 

 of this important question, and I therefore went back to the tent. 

 The wind had now increased to a whole gale, and when I had come 

 so far that I could see a glimpse of the camping-ground through 

 the scud and drift, I perceived, to my surprise, a figure running 

 to and fro about it. This was my thoughtful and resolute travel- 

 ling-companion, who was occupied making a solid wall of ice and 

 snow round the tent, as a protection against the violent gusts of 

 wind which came rushing round the corner of the iceberg, noisily 

 seizing hold of the flap of the roof, so that it gave short snapping 

 reports like gun-shots. 



Next morning we both went off on a fresh reconnaissance. On 

 reaching the top of a hill, the mate called also, by the Captain, 

 ' Falcon-eye ' saw two polar oxen on a plain on the other side of 

 the valley. The dogs would be the better for a good feed again 

 now, so we determined to shoot one of them. After making a 

 long round, so as to get up wind, I approached them under cover 

 of some sand-hills. The last three or four hundred yards, how- 

 ever, the. ground was so flat that I had sometimes to crawl on all 

 fours, sometimes to writhe along like a snake. When the oxen 

 lifted their heads, I lay as still as a mouse ; when they began to 

 graze again, I crawled forward as stealthily as a cat, and at last 

 came within pretty fair range. The first animal shot, the other 

 would not go off with a good grace, so I had to let it share the fate 

 of its fallen companion. As luck would have it, I had only a 

 few cartridges with me, in the magazine of my gun, and these 

 came to an end before the animal was quite dead. It lay down, 

 got up again when we approached, went a few steps, and then 

 fell again. The mate, who would hardly ever shoot, had left his 

 gun at the tent. However, I thought the- animal would soon die. 

 But when we came up again next day the ox was nowhere to 



