458 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



rubbly going. There was no difference of opinion that the 

 sledge with the tapered runners pulled easier, and later we 

 used these sledges on the Barrier with great success. 



If some instrument could be devised to test sledges in 

 this way it would be of very great service. No team of men 

 can make an exact estimate of the run of their own sledge, 

 let alone the sledge which your pony or your dogs are pull- 

 ing. Yet sledge's vary enormously, and it would be an ex- 

 cellent thing for a leader to be able to test his sledges be- 

 fore buying them, and also to be able to pick out the best 

 for his more important sledge journeys. I believe it can be 

 done by attaching some kind of balance between the sledge 

 and the men pulling it. 



Other points mentioned by Nansen are as follows : 

 Tarred ski are good : the snow does not stick so much. 

 [This probably refers to the Norwegian compound known 

 as Fahrt.] But he does not recommend tarred runners for 

 sledges. Having had experience of a tent of Chinese silk 

 which would go into his pocket but was very cold, he re- 

 commends a double tent, the inner lining being detached 

 so that ice could be shaken from both coverings. He sug- 

 gests the possibility of a woollen lining being warmer than 

 cotton or silk or linen. I am, however, of opinion that wool 

 would collect more moisture from the cooker, and it cer- 

 tainly would be far more difficult to shake off" the ice. For 

 four men he would have two two-men sleeping-bags and a 

 central pole coming down between them, and the floor- 

 cloth made in one piece with the tent. For three men a 

 three-man sleeping-bag : e.g. for such a journey as our 

 Winter Journey. He would not brush rime, formed upon 

 the tent by the steam from the cooker and breath, from the 

 inside of tent before striking camp. The more of it the 

 warmer. He considers that two- or three-men sleeping- 

 bags are infinitely warmer than single bags : objections of 

 discomfort are overcome, for you are so tired you go to 

 sleep anyway. I would, however, recommend the explorer 

 to read Scott's remarks upon the same subject before mak- 

 ing up his mind. 1 



1 Scott, Voyage of the Discovery, vol. i. pp. 480-487. 



