BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 259 



ally, and then they are almost immovable. It is heavy 

 for the dogs, and would be so even if they were not so 

 wretchedly worn out as they are ; they stop at the slight- 

 est thing, and have to be helped or driven forward with 

 the whip. Poor animals, they have a bad time of it ! 

 ' Liller^ven,' the last of my original team, will soon be 

 unable to go farther — and such a good animal to haul ! 

 We have 5 dogs left (' Lillera^ven,' ' Storr^ven,' and 

 'Kaifas' to my sledge, 'Suggen' and ' Haren ' to Johan- 

 sen's). We still have enough food for them for three 

 days, from ' Isbjon,' who was killed yesterday morning; 

 and before that time Johansen thinks the riddle will be 

 solved. Vain hope, I am afraid, although the water-sky 

 in the southeast or south-southeast (magnetic) seems al- 

 ways to keep in the same position and has risen much 

 higher. 



"We began our march at half-past six yesterday 

 afternoon, and stopped before a lane at a quarter-past 

 three this morning. I saw fresh-water pools on the 

 ice under some hummocks yesterday for the first time. 

 Where we stopped, however, there were none to be 

 found, so we had to melt water as^ain this mornino:; but 

 it will not often be necessary hereafter, I hope, and we 

 can save our oil, which, by -the -way, is becoming alarm- 

 ingly reduced. Outside, the weather and snow are the 

 same ; no pleasure in turning out to the toils of the day. 

 I lie here thinking of our June at home — how the sun is 

 shining over forest and fjord and wooded hills, and there 



