ii2 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



to cut as bone ; butter becomes like stone ; meat must be 

 split, and mercury may be fired as a bullet from a gun. 

 Snow of a temperature of 30° below zero feels in the mouth 

 like hot iron, and does not quench but increases thirst by 

 its inflammatory action on the mucous membrane. 



After descending from the Sonklar Glacier, they decided 

 to return to the ship, which was reached on the 15th 

 March. Two of the party had frost-bitten feet, one had 

 his face frost-bitten, and a fourth had both his hands 

 severely affected. Next day, Krisch, the engineer, died 

 from consumption. He was buried on Wilczek Island. 



The second sledge-journey began on the 26th March. 

 Payer again took six men and three dogs. The provisions 

 consisted of boiled beef, bread, pemmican, bacon, extract 

 of meat, condensed milk, coffee, chocolate, rice, grits, salt, 

 pepper, peas-sausage, and sugar. The total weight carried, 

 including two sledges, amounted to about 14 cwt. 



They had not gone more than 1000 yards from the 

 ship when driving snow compelled them to pass twenty-? 

 four hours in the tent. A start was again made on the 

 27th March, but when near Wilczek Island they had 

 to halt for an hour in order to rub the frost-bitten 

 hands of one of the men. On the 29th, Payer ascended 

 the rocky heights of Koldewey Island. On the shore of 

 this island the winter retreat of a family of bears was 

 discovered. It was a cavity hollowed out in a mass of 

 snow lying under a rocky wall. As they proceeded north 

 they went round Schonau Island, named after Payer's 

 birthplace. Here a depot of provisions was placed in a 

 cleft of the rocks and covered with 4 feet of snow. 



When nearing Cape Frankfurt, which is a promontory 

 of Hall Island, they could not make out whether the 

 opening between this and the Wullersdorf Mountains 

 would be the proper route to the north. In order to 

 settle this question, Payer and Haller left the sledge and 



