SVERDRUP'S EXPEDITION (1899) 247 



Island. It was afterwards named "Fram Fiord." On 

 the night of 28th August this fiord was left, and the 

 Fram proceeded west as for as Havnetiord, where a winter 

 harbour was secured. 



After various short trips, Sverdrup with three men set 

 out on 8th September to put down depots of dog-food as 

 far west as possible, so as to be prepared for long journeys. 

 The water was still open, and the party went by boat. 

 On the 10th they reached a fiord, afterwards named 

 " Baadsfiord," and they formed a depot on its eastern side. 

 They now decided to return to the ship, but found it 

 impossible to row the boat through a thick layer of snow 

 and slush which had formed on the surface of the water. 



When they saw that there was little chance of being 

 able to take the boat back to the ship, and that they 

 must wait until ice formed strong enough to allow them 

 to walk back, they set to work to make a house, with the 

 boat for a roof. A hole was dug in a mound, and the 

 boat put on the top with shingle along the sides, and over 

 the whole was put a layer of snow 2 feet deep. 



On 6th October the ice was strong enough to bear, 

 and a start was made for the Fram. On the way they 

 met a relief party from the ship, and learned that 

 Braskerud was dead. He had caught a bad cold in Jones 

 Sound, and had been ill two weeks with a cough and great 

 difficulty in breathing. It is probable that both he and 

 the doctor had suffered from pneumonia. 



The time for the autumn sledge-journeys had now 

 arrived, and it was Sverdrup's intention to make a depot 

 at as great a distance to the west as possible. Various 

 preparations had to be made, but these were completed 

 in time to let Sverdrup with five men set out on 13th 

 October. During this trip a double tent was made use 

 of for the first time, and proved very successful. The 

 inner tent was made of thin cotton lining material, 



