484 FARTHEST NORTH 



best possible material for lashings. This difficulty, too, 

 we overcame, and got our kayaks to lie steadily and well. 

 We of course laid the heaviest part of their cargo as much 

 as possible in the middle, so that the ends should not be 

 broken down by the weight. (3urown personal equipment 

 was quite as difficult to get in order. I have mentioned 

 that we made ourselves new clothes, and this took a long 

 time, with two such inexpert tailors; but practice made us 

 gradually more skilful, and I think we had good reason to 

 be proud of the results we finally achieved. When we at 

 last put them on, the clothes had quite an imposing appear- 

 ance — so we thought, at any rate. We saved them up, and 

 kept them hanging as long as possible, in order that they 

 might still be new when we started ; Johansen, I believe, 

 did not wear his new coat before we fell in with other 

 people. He declared he must keep it fresh till we arrived 

 in Norway ; he could not go about like a pirate when 

 he got among his countrymen again. The poor remains 

 of underclothes that we possessed had, of course, to be 

 thoroughly washed before we started, so that it should 

 be possible to move in them without their rasping too 

 many holes in our skin. The w'ashing we accomplished 

 as above described. Our foot-gear was in anything but a 

 satisfactory condition. Socks, indeed, we could make of 

 bearskin ; but the worst of it was that the soles of our 

 "komager" were almost w^orn out. We managed, how- 

 ever, to make soles of a sort out of walrus hide, by scrap- 

 ing about half its thickness away and then drying it over 



