354 THE ^VOYAGE OF THE ' DISCOVERY ' [Sept. 



keeping of diaries and records is no joke in this cold weather. 

 Sewing is a still less pleasant job, and the garment must be 

 badly rent indeed before its owner undertakes its repair on a 

 spring journey. 



As these tasks are finished, one by one the inhabitants of 

 the sleeping-bag wriggle down into its horny depths. The 

 last to lower himself is the centre man, who has still some 

 duties to perform. When the others have reported themselves 

 fixed, he laboriously wrestles with the fastenings of the bag 

 over their heads ; these secured, he ' dowses the glim ' and 

 works himself down as best he can between his companions, 

 and finally seals the opening above his own head. Ere this 

 dreaded night commences, the leader has again consulted his 

 watch and found that between two and three hours have 

 elapsed since the party halted. 



The time consumed in all these simple operations of camp- 

 ing puzzled us greatly at first. There was no particular delay 

 anywhere ; from start to finish one was busy, and there was 

 every incentive to hurry, yet even with experience the interval 

 was very little shortened. The secret lies in the fact that the 

 simplest operation becomes complicated in intensely cold 

 weather. Even to change a pair of socks takes nearer five 

 minutes than one. The continuous thawing-out is the real 

 cause of delay, but the difficulty shows that the sledge-traveller 

 has much to occupy him in cold weather beyond dragging his 

 sledge over the snow. 



A night in such a sleeping-bag as we are picturing, with 

 the temperature below — 40 , cannot be said to be less than 

 horribly uncomfortable. We are rarely conscious of sleeping ; 

 certainly not oftener than one night in three can we realise that 

 several hours have passed in oblivion, and these seem only to 

 be bought at the price of extreme exhaustion. Ordinarily we 

 sleep in the fitful, broken, comfortless fashion of which the 

 mere recollection is a nightmare, and even this poor apology 

 for slumber does not come until we have lain broad awake and 

 shivering for an hour or two. 



With the temperature at — 48 we can make a shrewd guess 



