THE SPRING AND SUMMER OE i8g4 449 



wind had broken up the ice a good deal, and now there 

 were lanes in all directions, which proved a great obstacle 

 when I went out driving with the dogs. The tempera- 

 ture, however, was still so low that the channels were 

 cjuickly frozen over again and became passable ; but later 

 on in the month the temperature rose, so that ice was no 

 longer so readily formed on the water, and the channels 

 became ever more and more numerous. 



On May 20th I write : " Went out on snow-shoes in 

 the forenoon. The ice has been very much broken up 

 in various directions, owing to the continual winds dur- 

 insf the last week. The lanes are difiicult to cross over, 

 as they are full of small pieces of ice, that lie dispersed 

 about, and are partly covered with drift-snow. This is 

 very deceptive, for one may seem to have firm ice under 

 one at places where, on sticking one's staff in, it goes 

 right down without any sign of ice." On many occasions 

 I nearly got into trouble in crossing over snow like this 

 on snow-shoes. I would suddenly find that the snow was 

 giving way under me, and would manage with no little 

 difficulty to get safely back on to the firm ice. 



On June 5th the ice and the snow surface were 

 about as before. I write: "Have Just been out on a 

 snow-shoe excursion with Sverdrup in a southerly 

 direction, the first for a long while. The condition 

 of the ice has altered, but not for the better; the sur- 

 face, indeed, is hard and good, but the pressure - ridges 

 are very awkward, and there are crevasses and hummocks 



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