70 FARTHEST NORTH 



the ship were Hned with tarred felt, then came a space 

 with cork padding, next a deal panelling, then a thick 

 layer of felt, next air-tight linoleum, and last of all an 

 inner panelling. The ceiling of the saloon and cabins 

 consisted of many different layers: air, felt, deal panelling, 

 reindeer-hair stuffing, deal panelling, linoleum, air and 

 deal panelling, which, with the 4-inch deck planks, gave 

 a total* thickness of about 15 inches. To form the floor 

 of the saloon, cork padding, 6 or 7 inches thick, was laid 

 on the deck planks, on this a thick wooden floor, and 

 above all linoleum. The skylight which was most 

 exposed to the cold was protected by three panes of 

 glass, one within the other, and in various other ways. 

 One of the greatest difficulties of life on board ship 

 which former Arctic expeditions had had to contend 

 with was that moisture collecting on the cold outside 

 walls either froze at once or ran down in streams into 

 the berths and on to the floor. Thus it was not unusual 

 to find the mattresses converted into more or less solid 

 masses of ice. We, however, by these arrangements, 

 entirely avoided such an unpleasant state of things, and 

 when the fire was lighted in the saloon there was not a 

 trace of moisture on the walls, even in the sleeping- 

 cabins. In front of the saloon lay the cooks galley, 

 on either side of which was a companion leading to the 

 deck. 



As a protection against the cold, each of these com- 

 panion-ways was fitted with four small solid doors con- 



