WASHINGTON LAND TO HALL LAND 



During the night we continued northward under the same 

 difficult travelling conditions, being swept along the shiny ice- 

 by the wind. Not until we were about six miles from Hall's 

 Thank God Harbour did we reach a quiet zone with sufficient 

 snow ; then the dogs, joyous in the sensation that they could 

 once more stand firmly, set off at a sharp run so that early in 

 the morning we were by Hall's Grave, where we camped. 



On this last part of our journey we saw several breathing- 

 holes of seals, but although we might have hunted near these 

 holes with some success, we were, thanks to the many tins of 

 savoury mutton which Nares' Expedition so kindly had left 

 us at Cape Lucie Marie, more interested in our progress than 

 in the procuring of fresh meat. 



The sea-ice between Offley Island and Hall's Grave was 

 young autumn ice, a broad belt stretching from the coast and 

 outward. It would seem that everywhere here, probably dur- 

 ing the month of August, the sea opens up along the land. But 

 one need not go far out into the basin before one finds floes of 

 several years' old Polar-ice, which is just as uninviting for 

 sledges as it is for ships. I do not think it would be a mistake 

 to lay down the rule that the ice right from the northern part 

 of Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin, 

 and Robeson Channel works loose during the short period of 

 transition in August and September, when sudden autumn 

 storms fight with the short Arctic summer. This is proved 

 not merely by the ice we had an opportunity to observe every- 

 where, but also by the experiences of all previous expeditions. 

 But a real open Polar Sea is quite out of the question, for even 

 that part of the Polar Sea which under the name of Lincoln 

 Sea washes round Grant Land and the north coast of Green- 

 land, has almost the same appearance summer and winter. In 

 certain places basins of open water are found, but they are 

 never very extensive and always owe their existence to some 

 local cause or other. In the same way broad or narrow fissures 

 in the Polar pack-ice are formed, but these also are quite local 

 and temporary. 



It happens every summer that the pack-ice which is forced 



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