CHAPTER XXX. 



TO SMORGRAUTBERGET. 



ON Friday, May 9, 1902, we started home ; there was a southerly 

 breeze and thick weather. Almost before we knew what we were 

 doing we ran down into deep ditches or stuck fast in great drifts. 

 We laid the course east of ' Bergholmen,' straight across ' Fridtjof 

 Nansens Sund ' to the northern extremity of Heiberg Land. The 

 ice was very much broken, and was covered with high pressure- 

 ridges. But our progress was not so bad all the same, for, firstly, 

 the old ice was rounded off by melting ; and secondly, farther away 

 from land we came across an extensive belt of even ice from the 

 previous winter, which showed that there had been a lane straight 

 across the sound down towards Heiberg Land. In certain places 

 this lane had been pressed together, but it did not present any 

 difficulties. 



After spending the night half-way out on the sound under the 

 lee of some exceedingly high pressure-ridges, and after taking 

 some azimuth observations, we started on our way next morning, 

 with our course on a high steep cliff, which we reached latish in the 

 afternoon. It proved that this mountain consisted chiefly of flint 

 and lava. Schei was very much taken up with this interesting 

 discovery, explored the mountain well, and took a good many 

 samples of it. On the other hand, he found hardly any trace of 

 vegetation. 



We pitched our tent up on the crack, between some mounds 

 of grit, where at first I thought to have found the ruins of former 

 habitation. But we discovered later that water and ice had been 

 the builders, and had piled up the stones. 



Although the snow was loose and sluggish, and the dogs in bad 



