ch. xxxviii] Nansen and the (< Fram " 
343 
of 86° 28' N., had to turn south and make for the land. 
It was very hard work, the dogs were much reduced 
both in numbers and in strength, and in May the 
travellers came to soft snow up to the knees. In June 
there was water on the floes, the lanes were opening, 
and the five surviving dogs were nearly starving. On 
the 5th June they halted for the very necessary business 
of repairing the kayaks. The open water stopped all 
progress with sledges and they were now obliged to 
launch the kayaks with the sledges on them. Two 
dogs only were left. 
Land was at length sighted on the 24th July, the 
Hoidtenland group, as Nansen named it, consisting of 
Eva, Liv, and Adelaide Isles, all covered with glaciers. 
These little islets are specially interesting, because 
Ross's roseate gull (Rhodostethia rosea) was here found 
to be numerous, and the group appeared to be their 
breeding place. 
Proceeding on their perilous voyage, Nansen and 
Johansen found that they could make safer and quicker 
progress by securing the kayaks together. On August 28th 
they reached an island in the Franz Josef group, where 
they resolved to winter. They built a hut, and having 
managed to shoot some walrus, they made lamps in which 
to burn the oil. But they were in a very precarious posi- 
tion, and suffered great hardships, remaining in these 
wretched winter quarters from August 1895 to May 1896. 
On May 17th, 1896, the voyage was continued with 
kayaks lashed and a sail set. They were stopped twice 
by gales of wind. Then there was very nearly a fatal 
disaster. The two men were busy on shore, when Johansen 
suddenly cried out that the kayaks were adrift. It was 
too true, and their loss would be certain death. They 
were lashed together and drifting along. Nansen plunged 
into the ice-cold water with his clothes on. He swam 
to them but was nearly exhausted before he could get 
a hold. At last he tumbled on to them, stiff and half- 
frozen, and in paddling them back to the shore he coolly 
took his gun and shot two little auks. He was, however, 
more dead than alive and it was long before Johansen, 
using all possible means, could recover him. In the 
end of June they again patched the kayaks, and were 
