LAND AT LAST 391 



was worse, however, with regard to the height. There 

 was room to lie down, but to sit up decently straight was 

 an impossibility for me. The roof was made of our thin 

 and fragile silk tent, spread over snow-shoes and bamboo 

 rods. We closed the doorway with our coats, and the 

 walls were so loosely put together that we could see day- 

 light between the stones on all sides. We afterwards 

 called it the den, and a dreadful den it was, too ; but we 

 were none the less proud of our handiwork. It would 

 not blow down, at any rate, even though the wind did 

 blow right through it. When we had got our bearskin 

 in as a couch and lay warm and comfortable in our bag, 

 while a good potful of meat bubbled over the train-oil 

 lamp, we thought existence a pleasure ; and the fact of 

 there being so much smoke that our eyes became red and 

 the tears streamed down our cheeks could not destroy our 

 feeling of content. 



As progress southward was blocked also on the fol- 

 lowing day (August 2Sth), and as autumn was now draw- 

 ing on, I at last resolved on remaining here for the 

 winter. I thought that we still had more than 138 miles 

 to travel in order to reach Eira Harbor or Leigh Smith's 

 wintering-place.* It might take us a long time to get 

 there, and then we were not sure of finding any hut ; and 



* I now thought I could safely conclude that we were on the west coast 

 of Franz Josef Land, and were at this moment a little north of Leigh 

 Smith's most northwesterly point. Cape Lofley, which should lie a little 

 south of 81° north latitude, while our observation that day made us about 

 81° 19' north latitude. 



