A RACE WITH DEATH 



very low. He seemed on the point of losing courage alto- 

 gether. The sudden change from the rest on the skins — with 

 prospects of reindeer meat and tallow — to a fresh fight for life 

 had affected him strongly mentally. We had left the depot in 

 bright sunshine ; now the cold of night approached and the 

 fog again lay over the land. The ground across which we 

 walked was very rugged and the depressing fog, in combination 

 with the constant scrambling up and down the clefts, preyed 

 on Wulff "s mind so much that I began to fear he was on the 

 point of losing the will to live. 



" About midnight we made camp. Inukitsoq had then got 

 another two young hares, which we cooked immediately. 

 Despite all appeals, Wulff merely ate half his ration, giving 

 the other half to Bosun. ' If I eat another mouthful I shall 

 bring it all up,' he declared. But the soup he drank with 

 great relish. Inukitsoq then went out hunting again, and after 

 an absence of two hours he returned at midnight with yet 

 another hare. More cooking ; but Wulff saved all his meat for 

 the following day, when he gave half of it away. 



' The day had been good for us beyond expectation ; we 

 had merely walked for a few kilometres, had had a young hare 

 each, and plenty of sleep ; nevertheless Wulff complained con- 

 tinually. I now began to believe that his expression ' dying ' 

 had not been exaggerated at all. But how could we succeed 

 in rousing his wish to live when he could not eat? Only a 

 reindeer could now save him ; but how could we get him so far 

 ahead when he himself had lost courage? 



" The next day, the 27th of August, we continued after a 

 rest which, for Wulff and me, had lasted thirteen hours. We 

 had all slept well, even Wulff, but despite this and to our 

 anxiety, he seemed to be weaker than on the previous day. 

 Although we walked very slowly we had to wait for him con- 

 tinually all through the day. He complained constantly about 

 his heart and increasing anaemia. Time after time he enquired 

 about health resorts in Denmark, spoke about oatmeal gruel, 

 eggs, malt extract, and other fattening dishes. 



" It had taken us three hours to walk 4 kilometres, and 



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