THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



975 



THE HUT IN THE EARLY WINTER 



The building was made in England and shipped in sections all ready to be put together when 

 the party landed. The hut was lit with acetylene gas 



Discovery expedition I decided to use fur 

 only for the feet and hands and for the 

 sleeping bags, relying for all other pur- 

 poses on woolen garments with an outer 

 covering of wind-proof materials. I 

 ordered three large sleeping bags, to 

 hold three men each, and twelve one- 

 man bags. Each bag had the reindeer 

 fur inside, and was lined with leather 

 and specially strongly sewn. 



The one-man bags weighed about ten 

 pounds when dry, but of course the 

 weight increased as they absorbed moist- 

 ure when in use. 



The foot-gear I ordered consisted of 

 eighty pairs of ordinary finnesko, or rein- 

 deer fur boots, twelve pairs of special 

 finnesko, and sixty pairs of ski boots of 

 various sizes. The ordinary finnesko is 

 made from the skin of the reindeer stag's 

 head, with the fur outside, and its shape 

 is roughly that of a very large boot with- 

 out any laces. It is large enough to hold 

 the foot, several pairs of socks, and a 



supply of sennegrass, and it is a wonder- 

 fully comfortable and warm form of 

 foot-gear. 



The special finnesko are made from 

 the skin of the reindeer stag's legs, but 

 they are not easily secured, for the reason 

 that the native tribes, not unreasonably, 

 desire to keep the best goods for them- 

 selves. I had a man sent to Lapland to 

 barter for finnesko of the best kind, but 

 he only succeeded in getting twelve pairs. 

 The ski boots are made of soft leather, 

 with the upper coming right round under 

 the sole, and a flat piece of leather sewn 

 on top of the upper. They are made spe- 

 cially for use with ski, and are very use- 

 ful for summer wear. They give the 

 foot plenty of play and do not admit 

 water. The heel is very low, so that the 

 foot can rest firmly on the ski. I bought 

 five prepared reindeer skins for repair- 

 ing and a supply of repairing gear, such 

 as sinew, needles, and waxed thread. 



