294 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
so forth. There were always one or two odd jobs which 
wanted doing as well: but you may be sure they came in 
as soon as possible when they heard the primus hissing, 
and saw the glow of light inside. Birdie made a bottom 
for the cooker out of an empty biscuit tin to take the place 
of the part which was blown away. On the whole this was 
a success, but we had to hold it steady—on Bill’s sleeping- 
bag, for the flat frozen bags spread all over the floor space. 
Cooking was a longer business now. Some one whacked 
out the biscuit, and the cook put the ration of pemmican 
into the inner cooker which was by now half full of 
water. As opportunity offered we got out of our day, and 
into our night foot-gear—fleecy camel-hair stockings and 
fur boots. In the dim light we examined our feet for frost-_ 
bite. 
I do not think it took us less than an eis to get a hot 
meal to our lips: pemmican followed by hot water in 
which we soaked our biscuits. For lunch we had tea and 
biscuits: for breakfast, pemmican, biscuits and tea. We 
could not have managed more food bags—three were 
bad enough, and the lashings of everything were like 
wire. The lashing of the tent door, however, was the 
worst, and it had to be tied tightly, especially if it was 
blowing. In the early days we took great pains to brush 
rime from the tent before packing it up, but we were long 
past that now. 
The hoosh got down into our feet: we nursed back 
frost-bites : and we were all the warmer for having got our 
dry foot-gear on before supper. Then we started to get into 
our bags. 
Birdie’s bag fitted him beautifully, though perhaps it 
would have been a little small with an eider-down inside. 
He must have had a greater heat supply than other men ; 
for he never had serious trouble with his feet, while ours - 
were constantly frost-bitten: he slept, I should be afraid 
to say how much, longer than we did, even in these last 
days: it was a pleasure, lying awake practically all night, 
to hear his snores. He turned his bag inside out from fur 
to skin, and skin to fur, many times during the journey, 
