346 FAR THE S2' NORTH 



cubs. It looks as if they had had a general rendezvous, 

 or as if a flock of them had roamed backward and for- 

 ward. I have never seen so many bear-tracks in one 

 place in my life. 



"We have certainly done 14 or 25 miles to-day; but 

 still I think our progress is too slow if we are to reach 

 Spitzbergen this year, and I am always wondering if we 

 ought not to cut the ends off our sledges, so that each 

 can paddle his own kayak. This young ice, however, 

 which o-rows steadilv worse, and the eleven deu;rees below^ 

 freezing we now have, make me hold my hand. Perhaps 

 winter is upon us, and then the sledges may be very 

 necessary. 



"It is a curious sensation to paddle in the mist, as we 

 are doing, without being able to see a mile in front of us. 

 The land we found we have left behind us. We are 

 always in hopes of clear weather, in order to see where 

 the land lies in front of us — for land there must be. 

 This flat, unbroken ice must be attached to land of some 

 kind ; but clear weather we are not to have, it appears. 

 Mist without ceasing; we must push on as it is." 



After having hauled some distance farther over the ice 

 we came to open water again the following day (August 

 iith) and paddled for four or fi\'e hours. While I was 

 on a hummock inspecting the waters ahead, a huge 

 monster of a walrus came up quite near us. It lay 

 pufflng and glaring at us on the surface of the water, but 

 we took no notice of it, got into our kayaks, and went 



