286 



NEW LAND. 



until we came to ' Yeslefjord,' or 'Little Fjord/ ten or eleven 

 miles north of Bay Fjord. Moreover, we now knew the way, and, 

 as a rule, had good snow for driving on, so that we made daily 

 marches of eighteen to twenty-three miles. "We saw a number 

 of polar oxen on our way up the fjord, and on the low country 

 north of Cape With counted as many as fifty head of game. As 

 we were going straight up wind the dogs were able to enjoy the 



SPRING LANDSCAPE. 



scent to the full, and ran mile after mile as if they were possessed. 



The night of May 19 we shot two old oxen which were by 

 themselves down by the shore, and took meat enough off them for 

 three days' dog-food : the way home was long, and it was therefore 

 best to save the patent food as much as possible. 



At Isfjeldodden we had a short visit from two wolves, which 

 both got away unhurt, but not so a third, which we met a couple 

 of days later, farther south in the sound. Just as we had stopped 

 to camp on the west shore, 'and the mate had gone off to find a 

 sheltered place for the tent, away by an iceberg, I suddenly caught 



