THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



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 the seams were covered with leather, strongly sewn. 

 The flaps overlapped about eight inches, and the head 

 of the bag was sewn up to the top of the fly. There 

 were three toggles for fastening the bag up when the 

 man was inside. The toggles were about eight inches 

 apart, The one-man bags weighed about ten pounds 

 when dry, but of course the weight increased as they 

 absorbed moisture when in use. 



The foot-gear I ordered consisted of eighty pairs of 

 ordinary finnesko, or reindeer 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 out- 

 side, and its shape is roughly that of a very large boot 

 without any laces. It is large enough to hold the foot, 

 several pairs of socks, and a supply of sennegrass, and 

 it is a wonderfully 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 specially for use with ski, and are very 

 useful 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 repairing, and a supply 



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