LAND AT LAST 341 



in front of us, and over us flew continually ivory-gulls 

 and fulmars and kittiwakes. Little auks we also saw, 

 and some Ross's gulls, and a couple of terns. There 

 was no want of animal life here, nor of food when we 

 should require it. 



" We found open water, broader and broader, as we 

 paddled on our way beside the wall of ice ; but it would 

 not clear so that we could see something of our surround- 

 ings. The mist still hung obstinately over it. 



"Our course at first lay west to north (magnetic); but 

 the land always trended more and more to the west and 

 southwest ; the expanse of water grew greater, and soon 

 it widened out to a large sea, stretching in a south- 

 westerly direction. A breeze sprang up from the north- 

 northeast, and there was considerable motion, which was 

 not pleasant, as in our double craft the seas continually 

 washed up between the two and wetted us. We put in 

 towards evening and pitched the tent on the shore-ice, 

 and just as we did so it began to rain, so that it was high 

 time to be under a roof. 



" Friday, August 9th. Yesterday morning we had 

 again to drag the sledges with the kayaks over some ice 

 which had drifted in front of our camping-ground, and 

 during this operation I managed to fall into the water and 

 get wet. It was with difficulty we finally got through and 

 out into open water. After a while we again found our 

 way closed, and were obliged to take to hauling over some 

 floes, but after this we had good open water the whole day. 



