IV£ SAV GOOD-BYE TO THE '' FRAM'' 145 



third day it would be pea, bean, or lentil soup, with bread 



and pemmican. Johansen preferred the " lobscouse," 



while I had a weakness for the " fiskegratin." As time 



went by, however, he came over to my way of thinkino-, 



and the "fiskegratin" took precedence of everything 



else. 



As soon as Johansen had finished with the dogs, and 



the different receptacles containing the ingredients and 



eatables for breakfast and supper had been brought in, as 



well as our bags with private necessities, the sleeping-bags 



were spread out, the tent door carefully shut, and we 



crept into the bag to thaw our clothes. This was not 



very agreeable work. During the course of the day the 



damp exhalations of the body had little by little become 



condensed in our outer garments, which were now a mass 



of ice and transformed into complete suits of ice-armor. 



They were so hard and stiff that if we had only been 



able to get them off they could have stood by themselves, 



and they crackled audibly every time we moved. These 



clothes were so stiff that the arm of my coat actually 



rubbed deep sores in my wrists during our marches ; one 



of these sores — the one on the rio^ht hand — o:ot frost- 



bitten, the wound grew deeper and deeper, and nearly 



reached the bone. I tried to protect it with bandages, 



but not until late in the summer did it heal, and I shall 



probably have the scar for life. When we got into our 



sleeping-bags in the evening our clothes began to thaw 



slowly, and on this process a considerable amount of 

 II.— 10 



