254 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



During the night Olsen had no sleep, and next day the 

 storm was so violent that no move could be made. On 

 the following day the storm had abated, and Olsen was 

 taken back to the ship. As soon as Sverdrup arrived on 

 board, some of the doctor's books were searched to rind 

 out what was to be done with Olsen's shoulder. Sverdrup 

 did not dare to give chloroform, but as the arm was now 

 extremely painful he decided to make Olsen drunk with 

 brandy. After the patient had taken about half a bottle, 

 an attempt was made by Fosheim and Simmons to reduce 

 the dislocation, but they failed. Then Sverdrup and 

 Fosheim tried, and to their great relief the arm slipped 

 into its socket. Olsen stood the ordeal well. The pain 

 and excitement had kept him sober, but as soon as the 

 dislocation was put right he became dead drunk. Next 

 day he was quite himself again. 



Winter preparations, such as covering the skylights 

 and making kennels for the dogs, were now carried out, 

 and various kinds of work in preparation for spring were 

 started. New sledges, odometers, and sleeping-bags had 

 to be made ; and many articles required repairs. Schei 

 was set the task of making a new travelling»camera, and 

 did it successfully. 



Wolves made their appearance during the winter, and 

 two were caught in a trap, and ultimately grew quite 

 tame. 



On the 8th April 1901 the long spring journeys 

 started. Sverdrup and Schei were to investigate whether 

 the new land discovered during the previous year was 

 separate from Ellesmere Land. Isachsen and Hassel 

 were to explore the land in the west. The latter party 

 had formed a depot at Cape South- West earlier in the 

 spring, and Sverdrup had also formed a depot. Baumaun 

 and Stolz were to carry out a surveying expedition. 



Sverdrup first explored several of the fiords which run 



