VOYAGE THROUGH THE KARA SEA 235 



track some days old. We again try to get soundings, 

 but still find no bottom ; it is remarkable that there 

 should be such depth here." 



Ugh ! one can hardly imagine a dirtier, nastier job 

 than a spell of coal-shifting on board. It is a pity that 

 such a useful thing as coal should be so black ! What 

 we are doing now is only hoisting it from the hold and 

 filling the bunkers with it ; but every man on board 

 must help, and everything is in a mess. So many men 

 must stand on the coal-heap in the hold and fill the 

 buckets, and so many hoist them. Jacobsen is spe- 

 cially good at this last job ; his strong arms pull up 

 bucket after bucket as if they were as many boxes of 

 matches. The rest of us go backward and forward 

 with the buckets between the main-hatch and the half- 

 deck, pouring the coal into the bunkers ; and down be- 

 low stands Amundsen packing it, as black as he can 

 be. Of course coal-dust is flying over the whole deck; 

 the dogs creep into corners, black and toussled ; and 

 we ourselves — well, we don't wear our best clothes on 

 such days. We got some amusement out of the re- 

 markable appearance of our faces, with their dark com- 

 plexions, black streaks at the most unlikely places, and 

 eyes and white teeth shining through the dirt. Any 

 one happening to touch the white wall below with his 

 hand leaves a black five - fingered blot ; and the doors 

 have a wealth of such mementos. The seats of the 

 sofas must have their wrong sides turned up, else they 



