SHERARD OSBORNE FJORD 



Point had in every way disappointed our hopes ; but in spite 

 of the not very generous store of provisions we could not hut 

 feel elated, for the sun shone above us and dried our clothes 

 whilst we slept. 



Waving our hands to our comrades, and with encouraging 

 shouts to the dogs, we drove out in the middle of the fjord, 

 where going seemed to be better. But we soon found that 

 conditions were more changeable than ever. The ice consisted 

 of old Sikussaq, and an unusually bad one at that. The melted 

 holes were up to 3 metres deep, and in some places they were 

 so close to each other that the small hills of ice which separated 

 them were so narrow and sharp that it was almost impossible 

 to run the sledges across without toppling them over. Occa- 

 sionally we met lanes right through the ice, and these proved 

 a great obstacle to us because the dogs flatly refused to swim 

 out into them. With all our strength we had to keep the 

 sledges upright, so that they should not fall down in the seas ; 

 and gradually we got very tired of holding them, for they in- 

 creased in weight as the load became waterlogged. Although 

 we helped each other across all difficult passages, the sledges 

 often got the upper hand on the slippery ice, where we slithered 

 about in our water-filled, soggy boots, and when they did over- 

 turn there was nothing to do but jump out into the water as 

 quickly as possible. 



Everything was soaked, even our holiest of holies — the 

 photographic films, taken on the whole of our journey, Wulff's 

 collection of plants, the oats, the cameras with their valuable 

 films, and everything else bore the marks of that damned drive. 



After twelve hours' bathing we stopped at nine o'clock in 

 the morning, hoarse with shouting at each other and the dogs. 

 Our slight advance was 20 kilometres into St. George Fjord. 



By five o'clock in the afternoon the baggage was once more 

 so fairly dry that we could continue. The state of our own 

 clothes was of less consequence, for we would be driving into 

 the water again in any case. 



Just as we were ready to start, a seal popped up in the lane 

 right under our noses, and at the same instant it got a bullet 



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