NANSEN'S EXPEDITION (1896) 231 



New clothes had to be made out of blankets ; the wind- 

 clothes had to be patched ; the " komager " had to be 

 soled ; and socks and gloves had to be made out of bear- 

 skin. Then a light sleeping-bag of bear-skin had also to 

 be made. The hut was therefore suddenly transformed 

 into a tailor's and shoemaker's workroom. Thread was 

 obtained by unravelling the cotton canvas of some pro- 

 vision-bags. 



Nansen was as pleased as a child with a new dress when 

 on 12th May he was able to put on his blanket-trousers, 

 strengthened inside and out with pieces of an old pair of 

 drawers and of a shirt. 



The stores which had been buried at the beginning of 

 the winter were now dug up, and greatly to Nanseifs 

 disappointment it was found that several articles had been 

 spoiled by the damp of the previous autumn. The flour 

 had got mildewed ; the chocolate had been dissolved by 

 the damp ; the pemmican was uneatable. There remained 

 a limited quantity of fish-flour, some aleuronate flour, 

 and some half-moulded bread, which they carefully boiled 

 in train-oil, partly to dry it, and partly to render it more 

 nutritious by impregnating it with fat. They also cut up 

 as much raw bear's flesh and blubber as they could carry. 

 Train-oil took the place of petroleum as fuel. They still 

 had 100 rifle-cartridges and 110 smallshot-cartridges, 

 and their rifles were in good condition. 



The hut was left on 19th May, after a short record 

 of the journey had been deposited in a brass tube plugged 

 at each end and hung by a wire to the roof. During 

 the first few days they made short marches, until they 

 again became accustomed to the work. On 22nd May 

 they had to shelter from a snowstorm, and on the 2'3rd 

 the weather was still bad, and they only went a short 

 distance. On the 24th, Nansen narrowly escaped being 

 drowned. While Johansen was busy with his kayak, 



