GREENLAND BY THE POLAR SEA 



We are excitedly speculating as to how long we may keep 

 this good -going. 



The first dog fell to-day in the middle of our day's march, and 

 we drove it to the camp, where immediately it was distributed 

 as food for the other dogs. We do not attempt to hide the fact 

 that the very difficult conditions of the ground and of the trans- 

 port on Daniel Bruun Glacier, the Devil's Cleft, and the Mid- 

 gard Snake, have taken it out of us ; our faces show that we 

 have become very thin. But our spirits and our will to endure 

 are unshaken. 



It is a great boon that we have plenty of paraffin, but of real 

 provisions we possess merely enough for six days. It is there- 

 fore desirable that the weather should favour us ; it will be awk- 

 ward if we have to help the remaining dogs to any considerable 

 extent to eat those that fall out. We are forced to exploit as 

 largely as possible the advantage of the feed which the dogs had 

 yesterday, and for that reason we must be content with a short 

 sleep, and we break up after only five hours' rest. Before we 

 start, we put ice under the sledge-runners, as the temperature 

 is now sufficiently low for this purpose. The thermometer 

 registers minus 6'5° (Cent.). 



During the march yesterday we were quite suddenly sur- 

 prised by the visit of a young gull which had strayed in to us. 

 For a long distance it fluttered feebly to and fro in front of 

 the dogs until the wind seized it and carried it further in towards 

 the waste and death. A storm blew it in here, and it was unable 

 to find its way back to the sea again. 



CAMP 8 



(1,100 metres above sea-level. Distance, 34 kilometres). 



August 12th-13th. — To-day we again put ice under the 

 sledge-runners, after first having put skis beneath them. The 

 barometer is falling ; in the clouds there is a strong drift from 

 the south-west, and we have a temperature through the day of 

 between 0° and 2 1° (Cent.). 

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