IV£ MAKE A S2ART 119 



men is not a little lighter than two single bags. An 

 objection has been raised to joint bags on the score that 

 one's night's rest is apt to be disturbed, but this I have 

 not found to be the case. 



Something which, in my opinion, ought not to be 

 omitted from a sledge journey is a tent. Even if thin 

 and frail, it affords the members of an expedition so 

 much protection and comfort that the inconsiderable 

 increase in weight to the equipment is more than 

 compensated for. The tents that I had had made for 

 the expedition were of strong undressed silk and very 

 light. They were square at the base and pointed at 

 the top, and were pitched by means only of a tent-pole 

 in the middle, on the same principle as the four-man 

 tents used in our army. Most of them had canvas 

 floors attached. On our first start we took with us 

 a tent of this kind, intended to hold four men and 

 weighing a little over 7 pounds. The floor is a certain 

 advantage, as it makes the whole tent compact and is 

 quick to put up, besides being more impervious to wind. 

 The whole tent is sewed in one piece, walls and floor 

 together, and the only opening a little split through 

 which to crawl. One drawback, however, to it is, that 

 it is almost impossible not to carry in with one a certain 

 amount of snow on the feet. This melts during the 

 night from the heat of one's body lying on it, and the 

 floor absorbs the moisture, thereby causing the tent to be 

 always a good deal heavier than the figures given here. 



