12 FARTHES2' NORTH 



earnest. I have already mentioned that at the end of 

 the summer I had begun to make a kayak for a single 

 man, the frame of which was of bamboo carefully lashed to- 

 o-ether. It was rather slow work, and took several weeks, 

 but it turned out both light and strong. When com- 

 pleted the frame-work weighed i6 pounds. It was after- 

 wards covered with sail-cloth by Sverdrup and Blessing, 

 when the whole boat weighed 30 pounds. After finishing 

 this I had intrusted Mogstad with the task of building a 

 similar one. Johansen and I now set to work to make a 

 cover for it. These kayaks were 3.70 metres (12 feet) 

 long, about 0.7 metre (28 inches) wide in the middle, 

 and one was 30 centims. (12 inches) and the other 38 

 centims. (15 inches) deep. This is considerably shorter 

 and wider than an ordinary Eskimo kayak, and conse- 

 quently these boats were not so light to propel through 

 the water. But as they were chiefly intended for crossing 

 over channels and open spaces in the ice, and coasting 

 along possible land, speed was not of much importance. 

 The great thing was that the boats should be strong and 

 light, and should be able to carry, in addition to ourselves, 

 provisions and equipments for a considerable time. If 

 we had made them lonQ:er and narrower, besides beino; 

 heavier they would have been more exposed to injury in 

 the course of transport over the uneven ice. As they 

 were built they proved admirably adapted for our purpose. 

 When we loaded them with care we could stow aw^ay in 

 them provisions and equipment for three months at least 



