JF£ MAKE A START 115 



first trip, and wore them too, to a certain extent; but we 

 soon discovered that they were always too warm, and 

 caused undue perspiration. By absorbing all the moist- 

 ure of the body they became so heavy that they made an 

 appreciable difference in the weight of our loads, and on 

 our return from our three days' absence from the vessel 

 were so wet that they had to be hung for a long time 

 over the saloon stove to dry. To this was added the 

 experience that when we took them off in the cold, after 

 having worn them for a time, they froze so stiff that it 

 was difficult to get them on again. The result of all 

 this was that I was not very favorably disposed towards 

 them, and eventually made up my mind to keep to my 

 woollen clothes, which I thought would give free outlet 

 to the perspiration. Johansen followed my example. 

 Our clothes then came to consist of about the following: 

 On the upper part of the body two woollen shirts 

 (Jaeger's); outside these I had a camel's-hair coat, and 

 last of all a thick, rough jersey. Instead of the jersey, 

 Johansen wore what is called on board ship an "anorak," 

 of thick homespun, provided with a hood, \\'hich he 

 could pull forward in front of his face, and made after an 

 Eskimo pattern. On our legs we had, next our skin, 

 woollen drawers, and over these knickerbockers and 

 loose gaiters of close Norwegian homespun. To protect 

 us from wind and fine-driven snow, which, being of the 

 nature of dust, forces itself into every pore of a woollen 

 fabric, we wore a suit which has been mentioned before. 



