lo6 FARTHEST NORTH 



dogs and put up the tent. They were fed once in every 

 24 hours, at night, wlien the day's march was done. 



" I had not gone far when I came upon excellent 

 spacious plains; good progress could be made, and so far 

 everything was all right ; but the load had to be diminished 

 and the number of sledges reduced. Undoubtedly, there- 

 fore, it would be best to return to the Frani to make the 

 necessary alterations on board, and get the sledges we 

 were to take with us further strengthened, so as to have 

 perfect confidence in their durability. 



"We might, of course, have dragged along somehow 

 towards the north for a while, and the load would gradu- 

 ally have decreased ; but it would have been slow work, 

 and before the load would be sufficiently lightened the 

 dogs would perhaps be worn out. It was cold for them 

 at niiiht ; we heard manv of them howlim^ most of the 

 night. If, however, we diminished the load, and conse- 

 quently allowed a shorter time for the journey, it would 

 be preferable to wait, and not start till a little later in the 

 month, when we could make more out of the time, as the 

 days would be lighter and not so cold and the snow- 

 surface better. Having spent another night in the tent 

 — into which it was a hard job to get, dressed in a fur 

 that was stiff with frost, and then into a bag that was 

 also hard frozen — I decided next morning (Sunday, 

 March 3d) to return to the Fram. I harnessed a 

 double team of dogs to one of the sledges, and off they 

 went over pressure - ridges and all other obstacles so 



