CHAPTER V

VOYAGE THROUGH THE KARA SEA

It was well into the night, after Christofersen and Trontheim had left

us, before we could get away. The channel was too dangerous for us to

risk it in the thick fog. But it cleared a little, and the petroleum

launch was got ready; I had determined to go on ahead with it and

take soundings. We started about midnight. Hansen stood in the bow

with the lead-line. First we bore over towards the point of Vaigats

to the northwest, as Palander directs, then on through the strait,

keeping to the Vaigats side. The fog was often so thick that it was

with difficulty we could catch a glimpse of the Fram, which followed

close behind us, and on board the Fram they could not see our boat. But

so long as we had enough water, and so long as we saw that they were

keeping to the right course behind us, we went ahead. Soon the fog

cleared again a little. But the depth was not quite satisfactory; we

had been having steadily 4 1/2 to 5 fathoms; then it dropped to 4,

and then to 3 1/2. This was too little. We turned and signalled to

the Fram to stop. Then we held farther out from land and got into

deeper water, so that the Fram could come on again at full speed.

From time to time our petroleum engine took to its old tricks and

stopped. I had to pour in more oil to set it going again, and as I was

standing doing this the boat gave a lurch, so that a little oil was

spilt and took fire. The burning oil ran over the bottom of the boat,

where a good deal had been spilt already. In an instant the whole

stern was in a blaze, and my clothes, which were sprinkled with oil,

caught fire. I had to rush to the bow, and for a moment the situation

was a critical one, especially as a big pail that was standing full

of oil also took fire. As soon as I had stopped the burning of my

clothes I rushed aft again, seized the pail, and poured the flaming

oil into the sea, burning my fingers badly. At once the whole surface

of the water round was in flames. Then I got hold of the baler, and

baled water into the boat as hard as I could, and soon the worst was

over. Things had looked anything but well from the Fram, however,

and they were standing by with ropes and buoys to throw to us.

Soon we were out of Yugor Strait. There was now so little fog that

the low land round us was visible, and we could also see a little

way out to sea, and, in the distance, all drift-ice. At 4 o'clock

in the morning (August 4th) we glided past Sokolii, or Hawk Island,

out into the dreaded Kara Sea.

Now our fate was to be decided. I had always said that if we could get

safely across the Kara Sea and past Cape Cheliuskin, the worst would

be over. Our prospects were not bad--an open passage to the east,

along the land, as far as we could see from the masthead.

An hour and a half later we were at the edge of the ice. It was so

close that there was no use in attempting to go on through it. To the

northwest it seemed much looser, and there was a good deal of blue in

the atmosphere at the horizon there. [28] We kept southeast along the

land through broken ice, but in the course of the day went further

out to sea, the blueness of the atmosphere to the east and northeast

promising more open water in that direction. However, about 3 P.M. the

ice became so close that I thought it best to get back into the open

channel along the land. It was certainly possible that we might have

forced our way through the ice in the sea here, but also possible

that we might have stuck fast, and it was too early to run this risk.

Next morning (August 5th), being then off the coast near to the

mouth of the River Kara, we steered across towards Yalmal. We soon

had that low land in sight, but in the afternoon we got into fog and

close ice. Next day it was no better, and we made fast to a great

ice-block which was lying stranded off the Yalmal coast.

In the evening some of us went on shore. The water was so shallow

that our boat stuck fast a good way from the beach, and we had to

wade. It was a perfectly flat, smooth sand-beach, covered by the

sea at full tide, and beyond that a steep sand-bank, 30 to 40 feet,

in some places probably 60 feet, high.

We wandered about a little. Flat, bare country on every hand. Any

driftwood we saw was buried in the sand and soaking wet. Not a bird

to be seen except one or two snipe. We came to a lake, and out of

the fog in front of me I heard the cry of a loon, but saw no living

creature. Our view was blocked by a wall of fog whichever way we

turned. There were plenty of reindeer tracks, but of course they were

only those of the Samoyedes' tame reindeer. This is the land of the

Samoyedes--and oh but it is desolate and mournful! The only one of

us that bagged anything was the botanist. Beautiful flowers smiled

to us here and there among the sand-mounds--the one message from a

brighter world in this land of fogs. We went far in over the flats,

but came only to sheets of water, with low spits running out into them,

and ridges between. We often heard the cry of loons on the water,

but could never catch sight of one. All these lakelets were of a

remarkable, exactly circular conformation, with steep banks all round,

just as if each had dug out a hole for itself in the sandy plain.

With the oars of our boat and a large tarpaulin we had made a sort

of tent. We were lucky enough to find a little dry wood, and soon the

tent was filled with the fragrant odor of hot coffee. When we had eaten

and drunk and our pipes were lit, Johansen, in spite of fatigue and

a full meal, surprised us by turning one somersault after another on

the heavy, damp sand in front of the tent in his long military cloak

and sea-boots half full of water.

By 6.30 next morning we were on board again. The fog had cleared,

but the ice, which lay drifting backward and forward according to the

set of the tide, looked as close as ever towards the north. During

the morning we had a visit from a boat with two stalwart Samoyedes,

who were well received and treated to food and tobacco. They gave us

to understand that they were living in a tent some distance inland

and farther north. Presently they went off again, enriched with

gifts. These were the last human beings we met.

Next day the ice was still close, and, as there was nothing else to

be done, some of us went ashore again in the afternoon, partly to see

more of this little-known coast, and partly, if possible, to find the

Samoyedes' camp, and get hold of some skins and reindeer flesh. It

is a strange, flat country. Nothing but sand, sand everywhere. Still

flatter, still more desolate than the country about Yugor Strait,

with a still wider horizon. Over the plain lay a green carpet of grass

and moss, here and there spoiled by the wind having torn it up and

swept sand over it. But trudge as we might, and search as we might,

we found no Samoyede camp. We saw three men in the far distance, but

they went off as fast as they could the moment they caught sight of

us. There was little game--just a few ptarmigan, golden plovers, and

long-tailed ducks. Our chief gain was another collection of plants,

and a few geological and geographical notes. Our observations showed

that the land at this place was charted not less than half a degree

or 36 to 38 minutes too far west.

It was not till next forenoon (August 9th) that we went on board

again. The ice to the north now seemed to be rather looser, and at

8 P.M. we at last began once more to make our way north. We found

ice that was easy to get through, and held on our course until,

three days later, we got into open water. On Sunday, August 18th,

we stood out into the open Kara Sea, past the north point of Yalmal

and Bieloi-Ostrov (White Island). There was no ice to be seen in

any direction. During the days that followed we had constant strong

east winds, often increasing to half a gale. We kept on tacking to

make our way eastward, but the broad and keelless Fram can hardly be

called a good "beater"; we made too much leeway, and our progress was

correspondingly slow. In the journal there is a constantly recurring

entry of "Head-wind," "Head-wind." The monotony was extreme; but as

they may be of interest as relating to the navigation of this sea,

I shall give the most important items of the journal, especially

those regarding the state of the ice.

On Monday, August 14th, we beat with only sail against a strong

wind. Single pieces of ice were seen during the middle watch, but

after that there was none within sight.

Tuesday, August 15th. The wind slackened in the middle watch; we

took in sail and got up steam. At 5 in the morning we steamed away

east over a sea perfectly clear of ice; but after mid-day the wind

began to freshen again from E.N.E., and we had to beat with steam

and sail. Single floes of ice were seen during the evening and night.

Wednesday, August 16th. As the Kara Sea seemed so extraordinarily

free from ice, and as a heavy sea was running from the northeast,

we decided to hold north as far as we could, even if it should be

to the Einsamkeit (Lonely) Island. But about half-past three in

the afternoon we had a strip of close ice ahead, so that we had to

turn. Stiff breeze and sea. Kept on beating east along the edge of

the ice. Almost lost the petroleum launch in the evening. The waves

were constantly breaking into it and filling it, the gunwale was burst

in at two places, and the heavy davits it hung on were twisted as if

they had been copper wires. Only just in the nick of time, with the

waves washing over us, some of us managed to get it lashed to the

side of the ship. There seemed to be some fatality about this boat.

Thursday, August 17th. Still beating eastward under sail and steam

through scattered ice, and along a margin of fixed ice. Still blowing

hard, with a heavy sea as soon as we headed a little out from the ice.

Friday, August 18th. Continued storm. Stood southeast. At 4.30 A.M.,

Sverdrup, who had gone up into the crow's-nest to look out for bears

and walrus on the ice-floes, saw land to the south of us. At 10 A.M. I

went up to look at it--we were then probably not more than 10 miles

away from it. It was low land, seemingly of the same formation as

Yalmal, with steep sand-banks, and grass-grown above. The sea grew

shallower as we neared it. Not far from us, small icebergs lay

aground. The lead showed steadily less and less water; by 11.30

A.M. there were only some 8 fathoms; then, to our surprise, the

bottom suddenly fell to 20 fathoms, and after that we found steadily

increasing depth. Between the land and the blocks of stranded ice on

our lee there appeared to be a channel with rather deeper water and

not so much ice aground in it. It seemed difficult to conceive that

there should be undiscovered land here, where both Nordenskiöld and

Edward Johansen, and possibly several Russians, had passed without

seeing anything. Our observations, however, were incontestable, and

we immediately named the land Sverdrup's Island, after its discoverer.

As there was still a great deal of ice to windward, we continued our

southwesterly course, keeping as close to the wind as possible. The

weather was clear, and at 8 o'clock we sighted the mainland, with

Dickson's Island ahead. It had been our intention to run in and anchor

here, in order to put letters for home under a cairn, Captain Wiggins

having promised to pick them up on his way to the Yenisei. But in the

meantime the wind had fallen: it was a favorable chance, and time was

precious. So we gave up sending our post, and continued our course

along the coast.

The country here was quite different from Yalmal. Though not very

high, it was a hilly country, with patches and even large drifts of

snow here and there, some of them lying close down by the shore. Next

morning I sighted the southernmost of the Kamenni Islands. We took

a tack in under it to see if there were animals of any kind, but

could catch sight of none. The island rose evenly from the sea at

all points, with steep shores. They consisted for the most part of

rock, which was partly solid, partly broken up by the action of the

weather into heaps of stones. It appeared to be a stratified rock,

with strongly marked oblique strata. The island was also covered with

quantities of gravel, sometimes mixed with larger stones; the whole

of the northern point seemed to be a sand heap, with steep sand-banks

towards the shore. The most noticeable feature of the island was its

marked shore-lines. Near the top there was a specially pronounced

one, which was like a sharp ledge on the west and north sides, and

stretched across the island like a dark band. Nearer the beach were

several other distinct ones. In form they all resembled the upper

one with its steep ledges, and had evidently been formed in the same

way--by the action of the sea, and more especially of the ice. Like

the upper one, they also were most marked on the west and north sides

of the island, which are those facing most to the open sea.

To the student of the history of the earth these marks of the former

level of the sea are of great interest, showing as they do that the

land has risen or the sea sunk since the time they were formed. Like

Scandinavia, the whole of the north coast of Siberia has undergone

these changes of level since the Great Ice Age.

It was strange that we saw none of the islands which, according to

Nordenskiöld's map, stretch in a line to the northeast from Kamenni

Islands. On the other hand, I took the bearings of one or two other

islands lying almost due east, and next morning we passed a small

island farther north.

We saw few birds in this neighborhood--only a few flocks of geese,

some Arctic gulls (Lestris parasitica and L. buffonii), and a few

sea-gulls and tern.

On Sunday, August 20th, we had, for us, uncommonly fine weather--blue

sea, brilliant sunshine, and light wind, still from the northeast. In

the afternoon we ran in to the Kjellman Islands. These we could

recognize from their position on Nordenskiöld's map, but south of

them we found many unknown ones. They all had smoothly rounded forms,

these Kjellman Islands, like rocks that have been ground smooth by

the glaciers of the Ice Age. The Fram anchored on the north side

of the largest of them, and while the boiler was being refitted,

some of us went ashore in the evening for some shooting. We had not

left the ship when the mate, from the crow's-nest, caught sight of

reindeer. At once we were all agog; every one wanted to go ashore,

and the mate was quite beside himself with the hunter's fever, his

eyes as big as saucers, and his hands trembling as though he were

drunk. Not until we were in the boat had we time to look seriously

for the mate's reindeer. We looked in vain--not a living thing was

to be seen in any direction. Yes--when we were close inshore we

at last descried a large flock of geese waddling upward from the

beach. We were base enough to let a conjecture escape us that these

were the mate's reindeer--a suspicion which he at first rejected with

contempt. Gradually, however, his confidence oozed away. But it is

possible to do an injustice even to a mate. The first thing I saw

when I sprang ashore was old reindeer tracks. The mate had now the

laugh on his side, ran from track to track, and swore that it was

reindeer he had seen.

When we got up on to the first height we saw several reindeer on

flat ground to the south of us; but, the wind being from the north,

we had to go back and make our way south along the shore till we got

to leeward of them. The only one who did not approve of this plan

was the mate, who was in a state of feverish eagerness to rush

straight at some reindeer he thought he had seen to the east, which,

of course, was an absolutely certain way to clear the field of every

one of them. He asked and received permission to remain behind with

Hansen, who was to take a magnetic observation; but had to promise

not to move till he got the order.

On the way along the shore we passed one great flock of geese after

another; they stretched their necks and waddled aside a little until

we were quite near, and only then took flight; but we had no time to

waste on such small game. A little farther on we caught sight of one or

two reindeer we had not noticed before. We could easily have stalked

them, but were afraid of getting to windward of the others, which

were farther south. At last we got to leeward of these latter also,

but they were grazing on flat ground, and it was anything but easy to

stalk them--not a hillock, not a stone to hide behind. The only thing

was to form a long line, advance as best we could, and, if possible,

outflank them. In the meantime we had caught sight of another herd of

reindeer farther to the north, but suddenly, to our astonishment, saw

them tear off across the plain eastward, in all probability startled

by the mate, who had not been able to keep quiet any longer.

A little to the north of the reindeer nearest us there was a hollow,

opening from the shore, from which it seemed that it might be possible

to get a shot at them. I went back to try this, while the others kept

their places in the line. As I went down again towards the shore I

had the sea before me, quiet and beautiful. The sun had gone down

behind it not long before, and the sky was glowing in the clear,

light night. I had to stand still for a minute. In the midst of all

this beauty, man was doing the work of a beast of prey! At this moment

I saw to the north a dark speck move down the height where the mate

and Hansen ought to be. It divided into two, and the one moved east,

just to the windward of the animals I was to stalk. They would get

the scent immediately and be off. There was nothing for it but to

hurry on, while I rained anything but good wishes on these fellows'

heads. The gully was not so deep as I had expected. Its sides were just

high enough to hide me when I crept on all fours. In the middle were

large stones and clayey gravel, with a little runnel soaking through

them. The reindeer were still grazing quietly, only now and then

raising their heads to look round. My "cover" got lower and lower,

and to the north I heard the mate. He would presently succeed in

setting off my game. It was imperative to get on quickly, but there

was no longer cover enough for me to advance on hands and knees. My

only chance was to wriggle forward like a snake on my stomach. But in

this soft clay--in the bed of the stream? Yes--meat is too precious on

board, and the beast of prey is too strong in a man. My clothes must be

sacrificed; on I crept on my stomach through the mud. But soon there

was hardly cover enough even for this. I squeezed myself flat among

the stones and ploughed forward like a drain-cutting machine. And I

did make way, if not quickly and comfortably, still surely.

All this time the sky was turning darker and darker red behind me, and

it was getting more and more difficult to use the sights of my gun, not

to mention the trouble I had in keeping the clay from them and from the

muzzle. The reindeer still grazed quietly on. When they raised their

heads to look round I had to lie as quiet as a mouse, feeling the water

trickling gently under my stomach; when they began to nibble the moss

again, off I went through the mud. Presently I made the disagreeable

discovery that they were moving away from me about as fast as I could

move forward, and I had to redouble my exertions. But the darkness

was getting worse and worse, and I had the mate to the north of me,

and presently he would start them off. The outlook was anything but

bright either morally or physically. The hollow was getting shallower

and shallower, so that I was hardly covered at all. I squeezed myself

still deeper into the mud. A turn in the ground helped me forward

to the next little height; and now they were right in front of me,

within what I should have called easy range if it had been daylight. I

tried to take aim, but could not see the bead on my gun.

Man's fate is sometimes hard to bear. My clothes were dripping with

wet clay, and after what seemed to me most meritorious exertions,

here I was at the goal, unable to take advantage of my position. But

now the reindeer moved down into a small depression. I crept forward

a little way farther as quickly as I could. I was in a splendid

position, so far as I could tell in the dark, but I could not see

the bead any better than before. It was impossible to get nearer,

for there was only a smooth slope between us. There was no sense

in thinking of waiting for light to shoot by. It was now midnight,

and I had that terrible mate to the north of me; besides, the wind

was not to be trusted. I held the rifle up against the sky to see the

bead clearly, and then lowered it on the reindeer. I did this once,

twice, thrice. The bead was still far from clear; but, all the same,

I thought I might hit, and pulled the trigger. The two deer gave a

sudden start, looked round in astonishment, and bolted off a little way

south. There they stood still again, and at this moment were joined

by a third deer, which had been standing rather farther north. I

fired off all the cartridges in the magazine, and all to the same

good purpose. The creatures started and moved off a little at each

shot, and then trotted farther south. Presently they made another

halt, to take a long careful look at me; and I dashed off westward,

as hard as I could run, to turn them. Now they were off straight in

the direction where some of my comrades ought to be. I expected every

moment to hear shots and see one or two of the animals fall; but away

they ambled southward, quite unchecked. At last, far to the south,

crack went a rifle. I could see by the smoke that it was at too long

a range; so in high dudgeon I shouldered my rifle and lounged in the

direction of the shot. It was pleasant to see such a good result for

all one's trouble.

No one was to be seen anywhere. At length I met Sverdrup; it was he

who had fired. Soon Blessing joined us, but all the others had long

since left their posts. While Blessing went back to the boat and his

botanizing box, Sverdrup and I went on to try our luck once more. A

little farther south we came to a valley stretching right across the

island. On the farther side of it we saw a man standing on a hillock,

and not far from him a herd of five or six reindeer. As it never

occurred to us to doubt that the man was in the act of stalking these,

we avoided going in that direction, and soon he and his reindeer

disappeared to the west. I heard afterwards that he had never seen

the deer. As it was evident that when the reindeer to the south of us

were startled they would have to come back across this valley, and as

the island at this part was so narrow that we commanded the whole of

it, we determined to take up our posts here and wait. We accordingly

got in the lee of some great boulders, out of the wind. In front of

Sverdrup was a large flock of geese, near the mouth of the stream,

close down by the shore. They kept up an incessant gabble, and the

temptation to have a shot at them was very great; but, considering

the reindeer, we thought it best to leave them in peace. They gabbled

and waddled away down through the mud and soon took wing.

The time seemed long. At first we listened with all our ears--the

reindeer must come very soon--and our eyes wandered incessantly

backward and forward along the slope on the other side of the

valley. But no reindeer came, and soon we were having a struggle to

keep our eyes open and our heads up--we had not had much sleep the

last few days. They must be coming! We shook ourselves awake, and

gave another look along the bank, till again the eyes softly closed

and the heads began to nod, while the chill wind blew through our

wet clothes, and I shivered with cold. This sort of thing went on for

an hour or two, until the sport began to pall on me, and I scrambled

from my shelter along towards Sverdrup, who was enjoying it about as

much as I was. We climbed the slope on the other side of the valley,

and were hardly at the top before we saw the horns of six splendid

reindeer on a height in front of us. They were restless, scenting

westward, trotting round in a circle, and then sniffing again. They

could not have noticed us as yet, as the wind was blowing at right

angles to the line between them and us. We stood a long time watching

their manoeuvres, and waiting their choice of a direction, but they

had apparently great difficulty in making it. At last off they swung

south and east, and off we went southeast as hard as we could go,

to get across their course before they got scent of us. Sverdrup had

got well ahead, and I saw him rushing across a flat piece of ground:

presently he would be at the right place to meet them. I stopped, to

be in readiness to cut them off on the other side if they should face

about and make off northward again. There were six splendid animals,

a big buck in front. They were heading straight for Sverdrup, who was

now crouching down on the slope. I expected every moment to see the

foremost fall. A shot rang out! Round wheeled the whole flock like

lightning, and back they came at a gallop. It was my turn now to run

with all my might, and off I went over the stones, down towards the

valley we had come from. I only stopped once or twice to take breath,

and to make sure that the animals were coming in the direction I had

reckoned on--then off again. We were getting near each other now;

they were coming on just where I had calculated; the thing now was

to be in time for them. I made my long legs go their fastest over the

boulders, and took leaps from stone to stone that would have surprised

myself at a more sober moment. More than once my foot slipped, and

I went down head first among the boulders, gun and all. But the wild

beast in me had the upper hand now. The passion of the chase vibrated

through every fibre of my body.

We reached the slant of the valley almost at the same time--a leap or

two to get up on some big boulders, and the moment had come--I must

shoot, though the shot was a long one. When the smoke cleared away I

saw the big buck trailing a broken hind-leg. When their leader stopped,

the whole flock turned and ran in a ring round the poor animal. They

could not understand what was happening, and strayed about wildly with

the balls whistling round them. Then off they went down the side of

the valley again, leaving another of their number behind with a broken

leg. I tore after them, across the valley and up the other side, in

the hope of getting another shot, but gave that up and turned back to

make sure of the two wounded ones. At the bottom of the valley stood

one of the victims awaiting its fate. It looked imploringly at me, and

then, just as I was going forward to shoot it, made off much quicker

than I could have thought it possible for an animal on three legs

to go. Sure of my shot, of course I missed; and now began a chase,

which ended in the poor beast, blocked in every other direction,

rushing down towards the sea and wading into a small lagoon on the

shore, whence I feared it might get right out into the sea. At last

it got its quietus there in the water. The other one was not far off,

and a ball soon put an end to its sufferings also. As I was proceeding

to rip it up, Henriksen and Johansen appeared; they had just shot a

bear a little farther south.

After disembowelling the reindeer, we went towards the boat again,

meeting Sverdrup on the way. It was now well on in the morning, and

as I considered that we had already spent too much time here, I was

impatient to push northward. While Sverdrup and some of the others

went on board to get ready for the start, the rest of us rowed south to

fetch our two reindeer and our bear. A strong breeze had begun to blow

from the northeast, and as it would be hard work for us to row back

against it, I had asked Sverdrup to come and meet us with the Fram,

if the soundings permitted of his doing so. We saw quantities of seal

and white fish along the shore, but we had not time to go after them;

all we wanted now was to get south, and in the first place to pick up

the bear. When we came near the place where we expected to find it,

we did see a large white heap resembling a bear lying on the ground,

and I was sure it must be the dead one, but Henriksen maintained that

it was not. We went ashore and approached it, as it lay motionless on

a grassy bank. I still felt a strong suspicion that it had already

had all the shot it wanted. We drew nearer and nearer, but it gave

no sign of life. I looked into Henriksen's honest face, to make sure

that they were not playing a trick on me; but he was staring fixedly

at the bear. As I looked, two shots went off, and to my astonishment

the great creature bounded into the air, still dazed with sleep. Poor

beast! it was a harsh awakening. Another shot, and it fell lifeless.

We first tried to drag the bears down to the boat, but they were

too heavy for us; and we now had a hard piece of work skinning and

cutting them up, and carrying down all we wanted. But, bad as it was,

trudging through the soft clay with heavy quarters of bear on our

backs, there was worse awaiting us on the beach. The tide had risen,

and at the same time the waves had got larger and swamped the boat,

and were now breaking over it. Guns and ammunition were soaking in

the water; bits of bread, our only provision, floated round, and the

butter-dish lay at the bottom, with no butter in it. It required

no small exertion to get the boat drawn up out of this heavy surf

and emptied of water. Luckily, it had received no injury, as the

beach was of a soft sand; but the sand had penetrated with the water

everywhere, even into the most delicate parts of the locks of our

rifles. But worst of all was the loss of our provisions, for now we

were ravenously hungry. We had to make the best of a bad business,

and eat pieces of bread soaked in sea-water and flavored with several

varieties of dirt. On this occasion, too, I lost my sketch-book,

with some sketches that were of value to me.

It was no easy task to get our heavy game into the boat with these

big waves breaking on the flat beach. We had to keep the boat outside

the surf, and haul both skins and flesh on board with a line; a good

deal of water came with them, but there was no help for it. And then

we had to row north along the shore against the wind and sea as

hard as we could. It was very tough work. The wind had increased,

and it was all we could do to make headway against it. Seals were

diving round us, white whales coming and going, but we had no eyes

for them now. Suddenly Henriksen called out that there was a bear

on the point in front. I turned round, and there stood a beautiful

white fellow rummaging among the flotsam on the beach. As we had

no time to shoot it, we rowed on, and it went slowly in front of us

northward along the shore. At last, with great exertions, we reached

the bay where we were to put in for the reindeer. The bear was there

before us. It had not seen the boat hitherto; but now it got scent

of us, and came nearer. It was a tempting shot. I had my finger on

the trigger several times, but did not draw it. After all, we had no

use for the animal; it was quite as much as we could do to stow away

what we had already. It made a beautiful target of itself by getting

up on a stone to have a better scent, and looked about, and, after

a careful survey, it turned round and set off inland at an easy trot.

The surf was by this time still heavier. It was a flat, shallow shore,

and the waves broke a good way out from land. We rowed in till the

boat touched ground and the breakers began to wash over us. The

only way of getting ashore was to jump into the sea and wade. But

getting the reindeer on board was another matter. There was no

better landing-place farther north, and hard as it was to give up

the excellent meat after all our trouble, it seemed to me there was

nothing else for it, and we rowed off towards our ship.

It was the hardest row I ever had a hand in. It went pretty well to

begin with; we had the current with us, and got quickly out from land;

but presently the wind rose, the current slackened, and wave after wave

broke over us. After incredible toil we had at last only a short way

to go. I cheered up the good fellows as best I could, reminding them

of the smoking hot tea that awaited them after a few more tough pulls,

and picturing all the good things in store for them. We really were

all pretty well done up now, but we still took a good grip of the

oars, soaking wet as we were from the sea constantly breaking over

us, for of course none of us had thought of such things as oilskins

in yesterday's beautiful weather. But we soon saw that with all our

pulling and toiling the boat was making no headway whatever. Apart from

the wind and the sea we had the current dead against us here; all our

exertions were of no avail. We pulled till our finger-tips felt as if

they were bursting; but the most we could manage was to keep the boat

where it was; if we slackened an instant it drifted back. I tried to

encourage my comrades: "Now we made a little way! It was just strength

that was needed!" But all to no purpose. The wind whistled round our

ears, and the spray dashed over us. It was maddening to be so near

the ship that it seemed as if we could almost reach out to her, and

yet feel that it was impossible to get on any farther. We had to go in

under the land again, where we had the current with us, and here we did

succeed in making a little progress. We rowed hard till we were about

abreast of the ship; then we once more tried to sheer across to her,

but no sooner did we get into the current again than it mercilessly

drove us back. Beaten again! And again we tried the same manoeuvre with

the same result. Now we saw them lowering a buoy from the ship--if we

could only reach it we were saved; but we did not reach it. They were

not exactly blessings that we poured on those on board. Why the deuce

could they not bear down to us when they saw the straits we were in;

or why, at any rate, could they not ease up the anchor, and let the

ship drift a little in our direction? They saw how little was needed

to enable us to reach them. Perhaps they had their reasons.

We would make our last desperate attempt. We went at it with a

will. Every muscle was strained to the utmost--it was only the buoy

we had to reach this time. But to our rage we now saw the buoy being

hauled up. We rowed a little way on, to the windward of the Fram,

and then tried again to sheer over. This time we got nearer her than

we had ever been before; but we were disappointed in still seeing no

buoy, and none was thrown over; there was not even a man to be seen

on deck. We roared like madmen for a buoy--we had no strength left for

another attempt. It was not a pleasing prospect to have to drift back,

and go ashore again in our wet clothes--we would get on board! Once

more we yelled like wild Indians, and now they came rushing aft and

threw out the buoy in our direction. One more cry to my mates that we

must put our last strength into the work. There were only a few boat

lengths to cover; we bent to our oars with a will. Now there were three

boat lengths. Another desperate spurt. Now there were two and a half

boat lengths--presently two--then only one! A few more frantic pulls,

and there was a little less. "Now, boys, one or two more hard pulls

and it's over! Hard! hard!! Keep to it! Now another! Don't give up! One

more! There, we have it!!!" And one joyful sigh of relief passed round

the boat. "Keep the oars going or the rope will break. Row, boys!" And

row we did, and soon they had hauled us alongside of the Fram. Not

till we were lying there getting our bearskins and flesh hauled on

board did we really know what we had had to fight against. The current

was running along the side of the ship like a rapid river. At last

we were actually on board. It was evening by this time, and it was

splendid to get some good hot food and then stretch one's limbs in a

comfortable dry berth. There is a satisfaction in feeling that one

has exerted one's self to some purpose. Here was the net result of

four-and-twenty hours' hard toil: we had shot two reindeer which we

did not get, got two bears that we had no use for, and had totally

ruined one suit of clothes. Two washings had not the smallest effect

upon them, and they hung on deck to air for the rest of this trip.

I slept badly that night, for this is what I find in my diary: "Got on

board after what I think was the hardest row I ever had. Slept well

for a little, but am now lying tossing about in my berth, unable to

sleep. Is it the coffee I drank after supper? or the cold tea I drank

when I awoke with a burning thirst? I shut my eyes and try again time

after time, but to no purpose. And now memory's airy visions steal

softly over my soul. Gleam after gleam breaks through the mist. I

see before me sunlit landscapes--smiling fields and meadows, green,

leafy trees and woods, and blue mountain ridges. The singing of the

steam in the boiler-pipe turns to bell-ringing--church bells--ringing

in Sabbath peace over Vestre-Aker on this beautiful summer morning. I

am walking with father along the avenue of small birch-trees that

mother planted, up towards the church, which lies on the height before

us, pointing up into the blue sky and sending its call far over the

country-side. From up there you can see a long way. Næsodden looks

quite close in the clear air, especially on an autumn morning. And

we give a quiet Sunday greeting to the people that drive past us, all

going our way. What a look of Sunday happiness dwells on their faces!

"I did not think it all so delightful then, and would much rather

have run off to the woods with my bow and arrow after squirrels--but

now--how fair, how wonderfully beautiful that sunlit picture seems

to me! The feeling of peace and happiness that even then no doubt

made its impression, though only a passing one, comes back now with

redoubled strength, and all nature seems one mighty, thrilling song

of praise! Is it because of the contrast with this poor, barren,

sunless land of mists--without a tree, without a bush--nothing

but stones and clay? No peace in it either--nothing but an endless

struggle to get north, always north, without a moment's delay. Oh,

how one yearns for a little careless happiness!"

Next day we were again ready to sail, and I tried to force the Fram

on under steam against wind and current. But the current ran strong

as a river, and we had to be specially careful with the helm; if we

gave her the least thing too much she would take a sheer, and we

knew there were shallows and rocks on all sides. We kept the lead

going constantly. For a time all went well, and we made way slowly,

but suddenly she took a sheer and refused to obey her helm. She went

off to starboard. The lead indicated shallow water. The same moment

came the order, "Let go the anchor!" And to the bottom it went with

a rush and a clank. There we lay with 4 fathoms of water under the

stern and 9 fathoms in front at the anchor. We were not a moment too

soon. We got the Fram's head straight to the wind, and tried again,

time after time, but always with the same result. The attempt had to

be given up. There was still the possibility of making our way out of

the sound to leeward of the land, but the water got quickly shallow

there, and we might come on rocks at any moment. We could have gone

on in front with the boat and sounded, but I had already had more

than enough of rowing in that current. For the present we must stay

where we were and anoint ourselves with the ointment called Patience,

a medicament of which every polar expedition ought to lay in a large

supply. We hoped on for a change, but the current remained as it was,

and the wind certainly did not decrease. I was in despair at having to

lie here for nothing but this cursed current, with open sea outside,

perhaps as far as Cape Chelyuskin, that eternal cape, whose name had

been sounding in my ears for the last three weeks.

When I came on deck next morning (August 23d) winter had come. There

was white snow on the deck, and on every little projection of the

rigging where it had found shelter from the wind; white snow on

the land, and white snow floating through the air. Oh, how the snow

refreshes one's soul, and drives away all the gloom and sadness from

this sullen land of fogs! Look at it scattered so delicately, as if by

a loving hand, over the stones and the grass-flats on shore! But wind

and current are much as they were, and during the day the wind blows

up to a regular storm, howling and rattling in the Fram's rigging.

The following day (August 24th) I had quite made up my mind that we

must get out some way or other. When I came on deck in the morning the

wind had gone down considerably, and the current was not so strong. A

boat would almost be able to row against it; anyhow one could be

eased away by a line from the stern, and keep on taking soundings

there, while we "kedged" the Fram with her anchor just clear of the

bottom. But before having recourse to this last expedient I would make

another attempt to go against the wind and the current. The engineers

were ordered to put on as much pressure of steam as they dared, and the

Fram was urged on at her top speed. Our surprise was not small when

we saw that we were making way, and even at a tolerable rate. Soon

we were out of the sound or "Knipa" (nipper) as we christened it,

and could beat out to sea with steam and sail. Of course, we had, as

usual, contrary wind and thick weather. There is ample space between

every little bit of sunshine in these quarters.

Next day we kept on beating northward between the edge of the ice

and the land. The open channel was broad to begin with, but farther

north it became so narrow that we could often see the coast when we

put about at the edge of the ice. At this time we passed many unknown

islands and groups of islands. There was evidently plenty of occupation

here, for any one who could spare the time, in making a chart of the

coast. Our voyage had another aim, and all that we could do was to

make a few occasional measurements of the same nature as Nordenskiöld

had made before us.

On August 25th I noted in my diary that in the afternoon we had seven

islands in sight. They were higher than those we had seen before,

and consisted of precipitous hills. There were also small glaciers

or snow-fields, and the rock formation showed clear traces of erosion

by ice or snow, this being especially the case on the largest island,

where there were even small valleys, partially filled with snow.

This is the record of August 26th: "Many new islands in various

directions. There are here," the diary continues, "any number of

unknown islands, so many that one's head gets confused in trying to

keep account of them all. In the morning we passed a very rocky one,

and beyond it I saw two others. After them land or islands farther

to the north and still more to the northeast. We had to go out of our

course in the afternoon, because we dared not pass between two large

islands on account of possible shoals. The islands were round in form,

like those we had seen farther back, but were of a good height. Now

we held east again, with four biggish islands and two islets in the

offing. On our other side we presently had a line of flat islands

with steep shores. The channel was far from safe here. In the evening

we suddenly noticed large stones standing up above the water among

some ice-floes close on our port bow, and on our starboard beam was a

shoal with stranded ice-floes. We sounded, but found over 21 fathoms

of water."

I think this will suffice to give an idea of the nature of this

coast. Its belt of skerries, though it certainly cannot be classed

with the Norwegian one, is yet of the kind that it would be difficult

to find except off glacier-formed coasts. This tends to strengthen

the opinion I had formed of there having been a glacial period in the

earlier history of this part of the world also. Of the coast itself,

we unfortunately saw too little at any distance from which we could

get an accurate idea of its formation and nature. We could not keep

near land, partly because of the thick weather, and partly because

of the number of islands. The little I did see was enough to give

me the conviction that the actual coast line differs essentially

from the one we know from maps; it is much more winding and indented

than it is shown to be. I even several times thought that I saw the

openings into deep fjords, and more than once the suspicion occurred

to me that this was a typical fjord country we were sailing past,

in spite of the hills being comparatively low and rounded. In this

supposition I was to be confirmed by our experiences farther north.

Our record of August 27th reads as follows: "Steamed among a variety

of small islands and islets. Thick fog in the morning. At 12 noon

we saw a small island right ahead, and therefore changed our course

and went north. We were soon close to the ice, and after 3 in the

afternoon held northeast along its edge. Sighted land when the fog

cleared a little, and were about a mile off it at 7 P.M."

It was the same striated, rounded land, covered with clay and large

and small stones strewn over moss and grass flats. Before us we saw

points and headlands, with islands outside, and sounds and fjords

between; but it was all locked up in ice, and we could not see far

for the fog. There was that strange Arctic hush and misty light over

everything--that grayish-white light caused by the reflection from the

ice being cast high into the air against masses of vapor, the dark land

offering a wonderful contrast. We were not sure whether this was the

land near Taimur Sound or that by Cape Palander, but were agreed that

in any case it would be best to hold a northerly course, so as to keep

clear of Almquist's Islands, which Nordenskiöld marks on his map as

lying off Taimur Island. If we shaped our course for one watch north,

or north to west, we should be safe after that, and be able again to

hold farther east. But we miscalculated, after all. At midnight we

turned northeastward, and at 4 A.M. (August 28th) land appeared out of

the fog about half a mile off. It seemed to Sverdrup, who was on deck,

the highest that we had seen since we left Norway. He consequently

took it to be the mainland, and wished to keep well outside of it,

but was obliged to turn from this course because of ice. We held to

the W.S.W., and it was not till 9 A.M. that we rounded the western

point of a large island and could steer north again. East of us were

many islands or points with solid ice between them, and we followed

the edge of the ice. All the morning we went north along the land

against a strong current. There seemed to be no end to this land. Its

discrepancy with every known map grew more and more remarkable, and

I was in no slight dilemma. We had for long been far to the north of

the most northern island indicated by Nordenskiöld. [29] My diary

this day tells of great uncertainty. "This land (or these islands,

or whatever it is) goes confoundedly far north. If it is a group of

islands they are tolerably large ones. It has often the appearance of

connected land, with fjords and points; but the weather is too thick

for us to get a proper view. ... Can this that we are now coasting

along be the Taimur's Island of the Russian maps (or more precisely,

Lapteff's map), and is it separated from the mainland by the broad

strait indicated by him, while Nordenskiöld's Taimur Island is what

Lapteff has mapped as a projecting tongue of land? This supposition

would explain everything, and our observations would also fit in with

it. Is it possible that Nordenskiöld found this strait, and took it

for Taimur Strait, while in reality it was a new one; and that he saw

Almquist's Islands, but had no suspicion that Taimur Island lay to

the outside of them? The difficulty about this explanation is that the

Russian maps mark no islands round Taimur Island. It is inconceivable

that any one should have travelled all about here in sledges without

seeing all these small islands that lie scattered around. [30]

"In the afternoon the water-gauge of the boiler got choked up; we had

to stop to have it repaired, and therefore made fast to the edge of the

ice. We spent the time in taking in drinking-water. We found a pool on

the ice, so small that we thought it would only do to begin with; but

it evidently had a "subterranean" communication with other fresh-water

ponds on the floe. To our astonishment it proved inexhaustible, however

much we scooped. In the evening we stood in to the head of an ice bay,

which opened out opposite the most northern island we then had in

sight. There was no passage beyond. The broken drift-ice lay packed

so close in on the unbroken land-ice that it was impossible to tell

where the one ended and the other began. We could see islands still

farther to the northeast. From the atmosphere it seemed as if there

might also be open water in that direction. To the north it all looked

very close, but to the west there was an open waterway as far as one

could see from the masthead. I was in some doubt as to what should

be done. There was an open channel for a short way up past the north

point of the nearest island, but farther to the east the ice seemed

to be close. It might be possible to force our way through there,

but it was just as likely that we should be frozen in; so I thought

it most judicious to go back and make another attempt between these

islands and that mainland which I had some difficulty in believing

that Sverdrup had seen in the morning.

"Thursday, August 20th. Still foggy weather. New islands were observed

on the way back. Sverdrup's high land did not come to much. It turned

out to be an island, and that a low one. It is wonderful the way

things loom up in the fog. This reminded me of the story of the pilot

at home in the Dröbak Channel. He suddenly saw land right in front,

and gave the order, 'Full speed astern!' Then they approached carefully

and found that it was half a baling-can floating in the water."

After passing a great number of new islands we got into open water

off Taimur Island, and steamed in still weather through the sound to

the northeast. At 5 in the afternoon I saw from the crow's-nest thick

ice ahead, which blocked farther progress. It stretched from Taimur

Island right across to the islands south of it. On the ice bearded

seals (Phoca barbata) were to be seen in all directions, and we saw

one walrus. We approached the ice to make fast to it, but the Fram had

got into dead-water, and made hardly any way, in spite of the engine

going full pressure. It was such slow work that I thought I would row

ahead to shoot seal. In the meantime the Fram advanced slowly to the

edge of the ice with her machinery still going at full speed.

For the moment we had simply to give up all thoughts of getting

on. It was most likely, indeed, that only a few miles of solid ice

lay between us and the probably open Taimur Sea; but to break through

this ice was an impossibility. It was too thick, and there were no

openings in it. Nordenskiöld had steamed through here earlier in

the year (August 18, 1878) without the slightest hinderance, [31]

and here, perhaps, our hopes, for this year at any rate, were to be

wrecked. It was not possible that the ice should melt before winter

set in in earnest. The only thing to save us would be a proper storm

from the southwest. Our other slight hope lay in the possibility that

Nordenskiöld's Taimur Sound farther south might be open, and that we

might manage to get the Fram through there, in spite of Nordenskiöld

having said distinctly "that it is too shallow to allow of the passage

of vessels of any size."

After having been out in the kayak and boat and shot some seals,

we went on to anchor in a bay that lay rather farther south,

where it seemed as if there would be a little shelter in case of a

storm. We wanted now to have a thorough cleaning out of the boiler,

a very necessary operation. It took us more than one watch to steam

a distance we could have rowed in half an hour or less. We could

hardly get on at all for the dead-water, and we swept the whole sea

along with us. It is a peculiar phenomenon, this dead-water. We had

at present a better opportunity of studying it than we desired. It

occurs where a surface layer of fresh water rests upon the salt water

of the sea, and this fresh water is carried along with the ship,

gliding on the heavier sea beneath as if on a fixed foundation. The

difference between the two strata was in this case so great that,

while we had drinking-water on the surface, the water we got from

the bottom cock of the engine-room was far too salt to be used for

the boiler. Dead-water manifests itself in the form of larger or

smaller ripples or waves stretching across the wake, the one behind

the other, arising sometimes as far forward as almost amidships. We

made loops in our course, turned sometimes right round, tried all

sorts of antics to get clear of it, but to very little purpose. The

moment the engine stopped it seemed as if the ship were sucked back. In

spite of the Fram's weight and the momentum she usually has, we could

in the present instance go at full speed till within a fathom or two

of the edge of the ice, and hardly feel a shock when she touched.

Just as we were approaching we saw a fox jumping backward and forward

on the ice, taking the most wonderful leaps and enjoying life. Sverdrup

sent a ball from the forecastle which put an end to it on the spot.

About midday two bears were seen on land, but they disappeared before

we got in to shoot them.

The number of seals to be seen in every direction was something

extraordinary, and it seemed to me that this would be an uncommonly

good hunting-ground. The flocks I saw this first day on the ice

reminded me of the crested-seal hunting-grounds on the west coast

of Greenland.

This experience of ours may appear to contrast strangely with that

of the Vega expedition. Nordenskiöld writes of this sea, comparing it

with the sea to the north and east of Spitzbergen: "Another striking

difference is the scarcity of warm-blooded animals in this region as

yet unvisited by the hunter. We had not seen a single bird in the

whole course of the day, a thing that had never before happened to

me on a summer voyage in the Arctic regions, and we had hardly seen

a seal." The fact that they had not seen a seal is simply enough

explained by the absence of ice. From my impression of it, the region

must, on the contrary, abound in seals. Nordenskiöld himself says that

"numbers of seals, both Phoca barbata and Phoca hispida, were to be

seen" on the ice in Taimur Strait.

So this was all the progress we had made up to the end of August. On

August 18, 1878, Nordenskiöld had passed through this sound, and on

the 19th and 20th passed Cape Chelyuskin, but here was an impenetrable

mass of ice frozen on to the land lying in our way at the end of the

month. The prospect was anything but cheering. Were the many prophets

of evil--there is never any scarcity of them--to prove right even

at this early stage of the undertaking? No! The Taimur Strait must

be attempted, and should this attempt fail another last one should

be made outside all the islands again. Possibly the ice masses out

there might in the meantime have drifted and left an open way. We

could not stop here.

September came in with a still, melancholy snowfall, and this

desolate land, with its low, rounded heights, soon lay under a deep

covering. It did not add to our cheerfulness to see winter thus gently

and noiselessly ushered in after an all too short summer.

On September 2d the boiler was ready at last, was filled with fresh

water from the sea surface, and we prepared to start. While this

preparation was going on Sverdrup and I went ashore to have a look

after reindeer. The snow was lying thick, and if it had not been so

wet we could have used our snow-shoes. As it was, we tramped about in

the heavy slush without them, and without seeing so much as the track

of a beast of any kind. A forlorn land, indeed! Most of the birds of

passage had already taken their way south; we had met small flocks of

them at sea. They were collecting for the great flight to the sunshine,

and we, poor souls, could not help wishing that it were possible to

send news and greeting with them. A few solitary Arctic and ordinary

gulls were our only company now. One day I found a belated straggler

of a goose sitting on the edge of the ice.

We steamed south in the evening, but still followed by the

dead-water. According to Nordenskiöld's map, it was only about 20 miles

to Taimur Strait, but we were the whole night doing this distance. Our

speed was reduced to about a fifth part of what it would otherwise

have been. At 6 A.M. (September 3d) we got in among some thin ice that

scraped the dead-water off us. The change was noticeable at once. As

the Fram cut into the ice crust she gave a sort of spring forward,

and, after this, went on at her ordinary speed; and henceforth we

had very little more trouble with dead-water.

We found what, according to the map, was Taimur Strait entirely blocked

with ice, and we held farther south, to see if we could not come upon

some other strait or passage. It was not an easy matter finding our way

by the map. We had not seen Hovgaard's Islands, marked as lying north

of the entrance to Taimur Strait; yet the weather was so beautifully

clear that it seemed unlikely they could have escaped us if they

lay where Nordenskiöld's sketch-map places them. On the other hand,

we saw several islands in the offing. These, however, lay so far out

that it is not probable that Nordenskiöld saw them, as the weather was

thick when he was here; and, besides, it is impossible that islands

lying many miles out at sea could have been mapped as close to land,

with only a narrow sound separating them from it. Farther south we

found a narrow open strait or fjord, which we steamed into, in order

if possible to get some better idea of the lay of the land. I sat

up in the crow's-nest, hoping for a general clearing up of matters;

but the prospect of this seemed to recede farther and farther. What we

now had to the north of us, and what I had taken to be a projection of

the mainland, proved to be an island; but the fjord wound on farther

inland. Now it got narrower--presently it widened out again. The

mystery thickened. Could this be Taimur Strait, after all? A dead calm

on the sea. Fog everywhere over the land. It was wellnigh impossible

to distinguish the smooth surface of the water from the ice, and the

ice from the snow-covered land. Everything is so strangely still and

dead. The sea rises and falls with each twist of the fjord through

the silent land of mists. Now we have open water ahead, now more

ice, and it is impossible to make sure which it is. Is this Taimur

Strait? Are we getting through? A whole year is at stake! ... No! here

we stop--nothing but ice ahead. No! it is only smooth water with the

snowy land reflected in it. This must be Taimur Strait!

But now we had several large ice-floes ahead, and it was difficult to

get on; so we anchored at a point, in a good, safe harbor, to make

a closer inspection. We now discovered that it was a strong tidal

current that was carrying the ice-floes with it, and there could be

no doubt that it was a strait we were lying in. I rowed out in the

evening to shoot some seals, taking for the purpose my most precious

weapon, a double-barrelled Express rifle, calibre 577. As we were in

the act of taking a sealskin on board the boat heeled over, I slipped,

and my rifle fell into the sea--a sad accident. Peter Henriksen and

Bentzen, who were rowing me, took it so to heart that they could not

speak for some time. They declared that it would never do to leave

the valuable gun lying there in 5 fathoms of water. So we rowed

to the Fram for the necessary apparatus, and dragged the spot for

several hours, well on into the dark, gloomy night. While we were

thus employed a bearded seal circled round and round us, bobbing

up its big startled face, now on one side of us, now on the other,

and always coming nearer; it was evidently anxious to find out what

our night work might be. Then it dived over and over again, probably

to see how the dragging was getting on. Was it afraid of our finding

the rifle? At last it became too intrusive. I took Peter's rifle,

and put a ball through its head; but it sank before we could reach it,

and we gave up the whole business in despair. The loss of that rifle

saved the life of many a seal; and, alas! it had cost me £28.

We took the boat again next day and rowed eastward, to find out if

there really was a passage for us through this strait. It had turned

cold during the night and snow had fallen, so the sea round the Fram

was covered with tolerably thick snow-ice, and it cost us a good

deal of exertion to break through it into open water with the boat. I

thought it possible that the land farther in on the north side of the

strait might be that in the neighborhood of Actinia Bay, where the

Vega had lain; but I sought in vain for the cairn erected there by

Nordenskiöld, and presently discovered to my astonishment that it was

only a small island, and that this island lay on the south side of the

principal entrance to Taimur Strait. The strait was very broad here,

and I felt pretty certain that I saw where the real Actinia Bay cut

into the land far to the north.

We were hungry now, and were preparing to take a meal before we rowed

on from the island, when we discovered to our disappointment that the

butter had been forgotten. We crammed down the dry biscuits as best

we could, and worked our jaws till they were stiff on the pieces we

managed to hack off a hard dried reindeer chine. When we were tired of

eating, though anything but satisfied, we set off, giving this point

the name of "Cape Butterless." We rowed far in through the strait,

and it seemed to us to be a good passage for ships--8 or 9 fathoms

right up to the shore. However, we were stopped by ice in the evening,

and as we ran the risk of being frozen in if we pushed on any farther I

thought it best to turn. We certainly ran no danger of starving, for we

saw fresh tracks both of bears and reindeer everywhere, and there were

plenty of seals in the water; but I was afraid of delaying the Fram,

in view of the possibility of progress in another direction. So we

toiled back against a strong wind, not reaching the ship till next

morning; and this was none too early, for presently we were in the

midst of a storm.

On the subject of the navigability of Taimur Strait, Nordenskiöld

writes that, "according to soundings made by Lieutenant Palander,

it is obstructed by rocky shallows; and being also full of strong

currents, it is hardly advisable to sail through it--at least, until

the direction of these currents has been carefully investigated." I

have nothing particular to add to this, except that, as already

mentioned, the channel was clear as far as we penetrated, and had

the appearance of being practicable as far as I could see. I was,

therefore, determined that we would, if necessary, try to force our

way through with the Fram.

The 5th of September brought snow with a stiff breeze, which steadily

grew stronger. When it was rattling in the rigging in the evening

we congratulated each other on being safe on board--it would not

have been an easy matter to row back to-day. But altogether I was

dissatisfied. There was some chance, indeed, that this wind might

loosen the ice farther north, and yesterday's experiences had given me

the hope of being able, in case of necessity, to force a way through

this strait; but now the wind was steadily driving larger masses of

ice in past us; and this approach of winter was alarming--it might

quite well be on us in earnest before any channel was opened. I

tried to reconcile myself to the idea of wintering in our present

surroundings. I had already laid all the plans for the way in which

we were to occupy ourselves during the coming year. Besides an

investigation of this coast, which offered problems enough to solve,

we were to explore the unknown interior of the Taimur Peninsula right

across to the mouth of the Chatanga. With our dogs and snow-shoes we

should be able to go far and wide; so the year would not be a lost

one as regarded geography and geology. But no! I could not reconcile

myself to it! I could not! A year of one's life was a year; and our

expedition promised to be a long one at best. What tormented me most

was the reflection that if the ice stopped us now we could have no

assurance that it would not do the same at the same time next year;

it has been observed so often that several bad ice-years come together,

and this was evidently none of the best. Though I would hardly confess

the feeling of depression even to myself, I must say that it was not

on a bed of roses I lay these nights until sleep came and carried me

off into the land of forgetfulness.

Wednesday, the 6th of September, was the anniversary of my

wedding-day. I was superstitious enough to feel when I awoke in the

morning that this day would bring a change, if one were coming at

all. The storm had gone down a little, the sun peeped out, and life

seemed brighter. The wind quieted down altogether in the course of the

afternoon, the weather becoming calm and beautiful. The strait to the

north of us, which was blocked before with solid ice, had been swept

open by the storm; but the strait to the east, where we had been with

the boat, was firmly blocked, and if we had not turned when we did

that evening we should have been there yet, and for no one knows how

long. It seemed to us not improbable that the ice between Cape Lapteff

and Almquist's Islands might be broken up. We therefore got up steam

and set off north about 6.30 P.M. to try our fortune once more. I felt

quite sure that the day would bring us luck. The weather was still

beautiful, and we were thoroughly enjoying the sunshine. It was such

an unusual thing that Nordahl, when he was working among the coals

in the hold in the afternoon, mistook a sunbeam falling through the

hatch on the coal dust for a plank, and leaned hard on it. He was not a

little surprised when he fell right through it on to some iron lumber.

It became more and more difficult to make anything of the land, and our

observation for latitude at noon did not help to clear up matters. It

placed us at 76° 2' north latitude, or about 14 miles from what is

marked as the mainland on Nordenskiöld's or Bove's map. It was hardly

to be expected that these should be correct, as the weather seems to

have been foggy the whole time the explorers were here.

Nor were we successful in finding Hovgaard's Islands as we sailed

north. When I supposed that we were off them, just on the north side of

the entrance to Taimur Strait, I saw, to my surprise, a high mountain

almost directly north of us, which seemed as if it must be on the

mainland. What could be the explanation of this? I began to have a

growing suspicion that this was a regular labyrinth of islands we

had got into. We were hoping to investigate and clear up the matter

when thick weather, with sleet and rain, most inconveniently came on,

and we had to leave this problem for the future to solve.

The mist was thick, and soon the darkness of night was added to it, so

that we could not see land at any great distance. It might seem rather

risky to push ahead now, but it was an opportunity not to be lost. We

slackened speed a little, and kept on along the coast all night,

in readiness to turn as soon as land was observed ahead. Satisfied

that things were in good hands, as it was Sverdrup's watch, I lay

down in my berth with a lighter mind than I had had for long.

At 6 o'clock next morning (September 7th) Sverdrup roused me with

the information that we had passed Taimur Island, or Cape Lapteff, at

3 A.M., and were now at Taimur Bay, but with close ice and an island

ahead. It was possible that we might reach the island, as a channel had

just opened through the ice in that direction; but we were at present

in a tearing "whirlpool" current, and should be obliged to put back

for the moment. After breakfast I went up into the crow's-nest. It was

brilliant sunshine. I found that Sverdrup's island must be mainland,

which, however, stretched remarkably far west compared with that

given on the maps. I could still see Taimur Island behind me, and

the most easterly of Almquist's Islands lay gleaming in the sun to

the north. It was a long, sandy point that we had ahead, and I could

follow the land in a southerly direction till it disappeared on the

horizon at the head of the bay in the south. Then there was a small

strip where no land, only open water, could be made out. After that the

land emerged on the west side of the bay, stretching towards Taimur

Island. With its heights and round knolls this land was essentially

different from the low coast on the east side of the bay.

To the north of the point ahead of us I saw open water; there was some

ice between us and it, but the Fram forced her way through. When we got

out, right off the point, I was surprised to notice the sea suddenly

covered with brown, clayey water. It could not be a deep layer, for

the track we left behind was quite clear. The clayey water seemed

to be skimmed to either side by the passage of the ship. I ordered

soundings to be taken, and found, as I expected, shallower water--first

8 fathoms, then 6 1/2, then 5 1/2. I stopped now, and backed. Things

looked very suspicious, and round us ice-floes lay stranded. There

was also a very strong current running northeast. Constantly sounding,

we again went slowly forward. Fortunately the lead went on showing 5

fathoms. Presently we got into deeper water--6 fathoms, then 6 1/2--and

now we went on at full speed again. We were soon out into the clear,

blue water on the other side. There was quite a sharp boundary-line

between the brown surface water and the clear blue. The muddy water

evidently came from some river a little farther south.

From this point the land trended back in an easterly direction, and we

held east and northeast in the open water between it and the ice. In

the afternoon this channel grew very narrow, and we got right under

the coast, where it again slopes north. We kept close along it in a

very narrow cut, with a depth of 6 to 8 fathoms, but in the evening

had to stop, as the ice lay packed close in to the shore ahead of us.

This land we had been coasting along bore a strong resemblance

to Yalmal. The same low plains, rising very little above the sea,

and not visible at any great distance. It was perhaps rather more

undulating. At one or two places I even saw some ridges of a certain

elevation a little way inland. The shore the whole way seemed to

be formed of strata of sand and clay, the margin sloping steeply to

the sea.

Many reindeer herds were to be seen on the plains, and next morning

(September 8th) I went on shore on a hunting expedition. Having shot

one reindeer I was on my way farther inland in search of more, when

I made a surprising discovery, which attracted all my attention and

made me quite forget the errand I had come on. It was a large fjord

cutting its way in through the land to the north of me. I went as far

as possible to find out all I could about it, but did not manage to

see the end of it. So far as I could see, it was a fine broad sheet

of water, stretching eastward to some blue mountains far, far inland,

which, at the extreme limit of my vision, seemed to slope down to

the water. Beyond them I could distinguish nothing. My imagination

was fired, and for a moment it seemed to me as if this might almost

be a strait, stretching right across the land here, and making an

island of the Chelyuskin Peninsula. But probably it was only a river,

which widened out near its mouth into a broad lake, as several of the

Siberian rivers do. All about the clay plains I was tramping over,

enormous erratic blocks, of various formations, lay scattered. They

can only have been brought here by the great glaciers of the Ice

Age. There was not much life to be seen. Besides reindeer there were

just a few willow-grouse, snow-buntings, and snipe; and I saw tracks

of foxes and lemmings. This farthest north part of Siberia is quite

uninhabited, and has probably not been visited even by the wandering

nomads. However, I saw a circular moss-heap on a plain far inland,

which looked as if it might be the work of man's hand. Perhaps, after

all, some Samoyede had been here collecting moss for his reindeer;

but it must have been long ago; for the moss looked quite black and

rotten. The heap was quite possibly only one of Nature's freaks--she

is often capricious.

What a constant alternation of light and shadow there is in this Arctic

land. When I went up to the crow's-nest next morning (September 9th)

I saw that the ice to the north had loosened from the land, and I

could trace a channel which might lead us northward into open water. I

at once gave the order to get up steam. The barometer was certainly

low--lower than we had ever had it yet; it was down to 733 mm.--the

wind was blowing in heavy squalls off the land, and in on the plains

the gusts were whirling up clouds of sand and dust.

Sverdrup thought it would be safer to stay where we were; but it would

be too annoying to miss this splendid opportunity; and the sunshine

was so beautiful, and the sky so smiling and reassuring. I gave orders

to set sail, and soon we were pushing on northward through the ice,

under steam, and with every stitch of canvas that we could crowd

on. Cape Chelyuskin must be vanquished! Never had the Fram gone so

fast; she made more than 8 knots by the log; it seemed as though she

knew how much depended on her getting on. Soon we were through the ice,

and had open water along the land as far as the eye could reach. We

passed point after point, discovering new fjords and islands on the

way, and soon I thought that I caught a glimpse through the large

telescope of some mountains far away north; they must be in the

neighborhood of Cape Chelyuskin itself.

The land along which we to-day coasted to the northward was

quite low, some of it like what I had seen on shore the previous

day. At some distance from the low coast, fairly high mountains or

mountain chains were to be seen. Some of them seemed to consist of

horizontal sedimentary schist; they were flat-topped, with precipitous

sides. Farther inland the mountains were all white with snow. At one

point it seemed as if the whole range were covered with a sheet of

ice, or great snow-field that spread itself down the sides. At the

edge of this sheet I could see projecting masses of rock, but all

the inner part was spotless white. It seemed almost too continuous

and even to be new snow, and looked like a permanent snow mantle.

Nordenskiöld's map marks at this place, "high mountain chains inland";

and this agrees with our observations, though I cannot assert that

the mountains are of any considerable height. But when, in agreement

with earlier maps, he marks at the same place, "high, rocky coast,"

his terms are open to objection. The coast is, as already mentioned,

quite low, and consists, in great part at least, of layers of clay or

loose earth. Nordenskiöld either took this last description from the

earlier, unreliable maps, or possibly allowed himself to be misled

by the fog which beset them during their voyage in these waters.

In the evening we were approaching the north end of the land, but

the current, which we had had with us earlier in the day, was now

against us, and it seemed as if we were never to get past an island

that lay off the shore to the north of us. The mountain height which

I had seen at an earlier hour through the telescope lay here some

way inland. It was flat on the top, with precipitous sides, like

those mountains last described. It seemed to be sandstone or basaltic

rock; only the horizontal strata of the ledges on its sides were not

visible. I calculated its height at 1000 to 1500 feet. Out at sea we

saw several new islands, the nearest of them being of some size.

The moment seemed to be at hand when we were at last to round that

point which had haunted us for so long--the second of the greatest

difficulties I expected to have to overcome on this expedition. I sat

up in the crow's-nest in the evening, looking out to the north. The

land was low and desolate. The sun had long since gone down behind

the sea, and the dreamy evening sky was yellow and gold. It was

lonely and still up here, high above the water. Only one star was

to be seen. It stood straight above Cape Chelyuskin, shining clearly

and sadly in the pale sky. As we sailed on and got the cape more to

the east of us the star went with it; it was always there, straight

above. I could not help sitting watching it. It seemed to have some

charm for me, and to bring such peace. Was it my star? Was it the

spirit of home following and smiling to me now? Many a thought it

brought to me as the Fram toiled on through the melancholy night,

past the northernmost point of the old world.

Towards morning we were off what we took to be actually the northern

extremity. We stood in near land, and at the change of the watch,

exactly at 4 o'clock, our flags were hoisted, and our three last

cartridges sent a thundering salute over the sea. Almost at the same

moment the sun rose. Then our poetic doctor burst forth into the

following touching lines:

"Up go the flags, off goes the gun;

The clock strikes four--and lo, the sun!"

As the sun rose, the Chelyuskin troll, that had so long had us

in his power, was banned. We had escaped the danger of a winter's

imprisonment on this coast, and we saw the way clear to our goal--the

drift-ice to the north of the New Siberian Islands. In honor of the

occasion all hands were turned out, and punch, fruit, and cigars were

served in the festally lighted saloon. Something special in the way

of a toast was expected on such an occasion. I lifted my glass, and

made the following speech: "Skoal, my lads, and be glad we've passed

Chelyuskin!" Then there was some organ-playing, during which I went

up into the crow's-nest again, to have a last look at the land. I now

saw that the height I had noticed in the evening, which has already

been described, lies on the west side of the peninsula, while farther

east a lower and more rounded height stretches southward. This last

must be the one mentioned by Nordenskiöld, and, according to his

description, the real north point must lie out beyond it; so that

we were now off King Oscar's Bay; but I looked in vain through the

telescope for Nordenskiöld's cairn. I had the greatest inclination to

land, but did not think that we could spare the time. The bay, which

was clear of ice at the time of the Vega's visit, was now closed in

with thick winter ice, frozen fast to the land.

We had an open channel before us; but we could see the edge of the

drift-ice out at sea. A little farther west we passed a couple of small

islands, lying a short way from the coast. We had to stop before noon

at the northwestern corner of Chelyuskin, on account of the drift-ice

which seemed to reach right into the land before us. To judge by the

dark air, there was open water again on the other side of an island

which lay ahead. We landed and made sure that some straits or fjords on

the inside of this island, to the south, were quite closed with firm

ice; and in the evening the Fram forced her way through the drift-ice

on the outside of it. We steamed and sailed southward along the coast

all night, making splendid way; when the wind was blowing stiffest

we went at the rate of 9 knots. We came upon ice every now and then,

but got through it easily.

Towards morning (September 11th) we had high land ahead, and had

to change our course to due east, keeping to this all day. When

I came on deck before noon I saw a fine tract of hill country,

with high summits and valleys between. It was the first view of the

sort since we had left Vardö, and, after the monotonous low land we

had been coasting along for months, it was refreshing to see such

mountains again. They ended with a precipitous descent to the east,

and eastward from that extended a perfectly flat plain. In the course

of the day we quite lost sight of land, and strangely enough did not

see it again; nor did we see the Islands of St. Peter and St. Paul,

though, according to the maps, our course lay close past them.

Thursday, September 12th. Henriksen awoke me this morning at 6 with

the information that there were several walruses lying on a floe

quite close to us. "By Jove!" Up I jumped and had my clothes on in a

trice. It was a lovely morning--fine, still weather; the walruses'

guffaw sounded over to us along the clear ice surface. They were

lying crowded together on a floe a little to landward from us, blue

mountains glittering behind them in the sun. At last the harpoons were

sharpened, guns and cartridges ready, and Henriksen, Juell, and I set

off. There seemed to be a slight breeze from the south, so we rowed

to the north side of the floe, to get to leeward of the animals. From

time to time their sentry raised his head, but apparently did not see

us. We advanced slowly, and soon we were so near that we had to row

very cautiously. Juell kept us going, while Henriksen was ready in

the bow with a harpoon, and I behind him with a gun. The moment the

sentry raised his head the oars stopped, and we stood motionless;

when he sunk it again, a few more strokes brought us nearer.

Body to body they lay close-packed on a small floe, old and young

ones mixed. Enormous masses of flesh they were! Now and again one

of the ladies fanned herself by moving one of her flappers backward

and forward over her body; then she lay quiet again on her back

or side. "Good gracious! what a lot of meat!" said Juell, who was

cook. More and more cautiously we drew near. While I sat ready with

the gun, Henriksen took a good grip of the harpoon shaft, and as

the boat touched the floe he rose, and off flew the harpoon. But it

struck too high, glanced off the tough hide, and skipped over the

backs of the animals. Now there was a pretty to do! Ten or twelve

great weird faces glared upon us at once; the colossal creatures

twisted themselves round with incredible celerity, and came waddling

with lifted heads and hollow bellowings to the edge of the ice where

we lay. It was undeniably an imposing sight; but I laid my gun to my

shoulder and fired at one of the biggest heads. The animal staggered,

and then fell head foremost into the water. Now a ball into another

head; this creature fell too, but was able to fling itself into the

sea. And now the whole herd dashed in, and we as well as they were

hidden in spray. It had all happened in a few seconds. But up they came

again immediately round the boat, the one head bigger and uglier than

the other, their young ones close beside them. They stood up in the

water, bellowed and roared till the air trembled, threw themselves

forward towards us, then rose up again, and new bellowings filled

the air. Then they rolled over and disappeared with a splash, then

bobbed up again. The water foamed and boiled for yards around--the

ice-world that had been so still before seemed in a moment to have

been transformed into a raging bedlam. Any moment we might expect

to have a walrus tusk or two through the boat, or to be heaved up

and capsized. Something of this kind was the very least that could

happen after such a terrible commotion. But the hurly-burly went on

and nothing came of it. I again picked out my victims. They went on

bellowing and grunting like the others, but with blood streaming from

their mouths and noses. Another ball, and one tumbled over and floated

on the water; now a ball to the second, and it did the same. Henriksen

was ready with the harpoons, and secured them both. One more was shot;

but we had no more harpoons, and had to strike a seal-hook into it

to hold it up. The hook slipped, however, and the animal sank before

we could save it. While we were towing our booty to an ice-floe we

were still, for part of the time at least, surrounded by walruses;

but there was no use in shooting any more, for we had no means of

carrying them off. The Fram presently came up and took our two on

board, and we were soon going ahead along the coast. We saw many

walruses in this part. We shot two others in the afternoon, and could

have got many more if we had had time to spare. It was in this same

neighborhood that Nordenskiöld also saw one or two small herds.

We now continued our course, against a strong current, southward along

the coast, past the mouth of the Chatanga. This eastern part of the

Taimur Peninsula is a comparatively high, mountainous region, but with

a lower level stretch between the mountains and the sea--apparently

the same kind of low land we had seen along the coast almost the

whole way. As the sea seemed to be tolerably open and free from ice,

we made several attempts to shorten our course by leaving the coast

and striking across for the mouth of the Olenek; but every time thick

ice drove us back to our channel by the land.

On September 14th we were off the land lying between the Chatanga and

the Anabara. This also was fairly high, mountainous country, with

a low strip by the sea. "In this respect," so I write in my diary,

"this whole coast reminds one very much of Jæderen, in Norway. But

the mountains here are not so well separated, and are considerably

lower than those farther north. The sea is unpleasantly shallow;

at one time during the night we had only 4 fathoms, and were obliged

to put back some distance. We have ice outside, quite close; but yet

there is a sufficient fairway to let us push on eastward."

The following day we got into good, open water, but shallow--never

more than 6 to 7 fathoms. We heard the roaring of waves to the east,

so there must certainly be open water in that direction, which indeed

we had expected. It was plain that the Lena, with its masses of warm

water, was beginning to assert its influence. The sea here was browner,

and showed signs of some mixture of muddy river-water. It was also

much less salt.

"It would be foolish," I write in my diary for this day (September

15th), "to go in to the Olenek, now that we are so late. Even if there

were no danger from shoals, it would cost us too much time--probably a

year. Besides, it is by no means sure that the Fram can get in there at

all; it would be a very tiresome business if she went aground in these

waters. No doubt we should be very much the better of a few more dogs,

but to lose a year is too much; we shall rather head straight east

for the New Siberian Islands, now that there is a good opportunity,

and really bright prospects.

"The ice here puzzles me a good deal. How in the world is it not

swept northward by the current, which, according to my calculations,

ought to set north from this coast, and which indeed we ourselves

have felt. And it is such hard, thick ice--has the appearance of

being several years old. Does it come from the eastward, or does

it lie and grind round here in the sea between the 'north-going'

current of the Lena and the Taimur Peninsula? I cannot tell yet,

but anyhow it is different from the thin, one-year-old ice we have

seen until now in the Kara Sea and west of Cape Chelyuskin.

"Saturday, September 16th. We are keeping a northwesterly course (by

compass) through open water, and have got pretty well north, but see

no ice, and the air is dark to the northward. Mild weather, and water

comparatively warm, as high as 35° Fahr. We have the current against

us, and are always considerably west of our reckoning. Several flocks

of eider-duck were seen in the course of the day. We ought to have

land to the north of us; can it be that which is keeping back the ice?"

Next day we met ice, and had to hold a little to the south to keep

clear of it; and I began to fear that we should not be able to get

as far as I had hoped. But in my notes for the following day (Monday,

September 18th) I read: "A splendid day. Shaped our course northward,

to the west of Bielkoff Island. Open sea; good wind from the west;

good progress. Weather clear, and we had a little sunshine in the

afternoon. Now the decisive moment approaches. At 12.15 shaped our

course north to east (by compass). Now it is to be proved if my

theory, on which the whole expedition is based, is correct--if we

are to find a little north from here a north-flowing current. So

far everything is better than I had expected. We are in latitude

75 1/2° N., and have still open water and dark sky to the north and

west. In the evening there was ice-light ahead and on the starboard

bow. About seven I thought that I could see ice, which, however,

rose so regularly that it more resembled land, but it was too dark

to see distinctly. It seemed as if it might be Bielkoff Island, and

a big light spot farther to the east might even be the reflection

from the snow-covered Kotelnoi. I should have liked to run in here,

partly to see a little of this interesting island, and partly to

inspect the stores which we knew had been deposited for us here by

the friendly care of Baron von Toll; but time was precious, and to

the north the sea seemed to lie open to us. Prospects were bright,

and we sailed steadily northward, wondering what the morrow would

bring--disappointment or hope? If all went well we should reach

Sannikoff Land--that, as yet, untrodden ground.

"It was a strange feeling to be sailing away north in the dark night

to unknown lands, over an open, rolling sea, where no ship, no boat

had been before. We might have been hundreds of miles away in more

southerly waters, the air was so mild for September in this latitude.

"Tuesday, September 19th. I have never had such a splendid sail. On

to the north, steadily north, with a good wind, as fast as steam and

sail can take us, and open sea mile after mile, watch after watch,

through these unknown regions, always clearer and clearer of ice one

might almost say! How long will this last? The eye always turns to the

northward as one paces the bridge. It is gazing into the future. But

there is always the same dark sky ahead, which means open sea. My

plan was standing its test. It seemed as if luck had been on our side

ever since the 6th of September. We see 'nothing but clean water,' as

Henriksen answered from the crow's-nest when I called up to him. When

he was standing at the wheel later in the morning, and I was on the

bridge, he suddenly said: 'They little think at home in Norway just

now that we are sailing straight for the Pole in clear water.' 'No,

they don't believe we have got so far.' And I shouldn't have believed

it myself if any one had prophesied it to me a fortnight ago; but

true it is. All my reflections and inferences on the subject had led

me to expect open water for a good way farther north; but it is seldom

that one's inspirations turn out to be so correct. No ice-light in any

direction, not even now in the evening. We saw no land the whole day;

but we had fog and thick weather all morning and forenoon, so that we

were still going at half-speed, as we were afraid of coming suddenly on

something. Now we are almost in 77° north latitude. How long is it to

go on? I have said all along that I should be glad if we reached 78°;

but Sverdrup is less easily satisfied; he says over 80°--perhaps 84°,

85°. He even talks seriously of the open Polar Sea, which he once read

about; he always comes back upon it, in spite of my laughing at him.

"I have almost to ask myself if this is not a dream. One must have

gone against the stream to know what it means to go with the stream. As

it was on the Greenland expedition, so it is here.

"'Dort ward der Traum zur Wirklichkeit,

Hier wird die Wirklichkeit zum Traum!'

"Hardly any life visible here. Saw an auk or black guillemot to-day,

and later a sea-gull in the distance. When I was hauling up a bucket of

water in the evening to wash the deck I noticed that it was sparkling

with phosphorescence. One could almost have imagined one's self to

be in the south.

"Wednesday, September 20th. I have had a rough awakening from my

dream. As I was sitting at 11 A.M., looking at the map and thinking

that my cup would soon be full--we had almost reached 78°--there

was a sudden luff, and I rushed out. Ahead of us lay the edge of

the ice, long and compact, shining through the fog. I had a strong

inclination to go eastward, on the possibility of there being land

in that direction; but it looked as if the ice extended farther south

there, and there was the probability of being able to reach a higher

latitude if we kept west; so we headed that way. The sun broke through

for a moment just now, so we took an observation, which showed us to

be in about 77° 44' north latitude."

We now held northwest along the edge of the ice. It seemed to me as

if there might be land at no great distance, we saw such a remarkable

number of birds of various kinds. A flock of snipe or wading birds met

us, followed us for a time, and then took their way south. They were

probably on their passage from some land to the north of us. We could

see nothing, as the fog lay persistently over the ice. Again, later,

we saw flocks of small snipe, indicating the possible proximity of

land. Next day the weather was clearer, but still there was no land

in sight. We were now a good way north of the spot where Baron von

Toll has mapped the south coast of Sannikoff Land, but in about the

same longitude. So it is probably only a small island, and in any

case cannot extend far north.

On September 21st we had thick fog again, and when we had sailed

north to the head of a bay in the ice, and could get no farther, I

decided to wait here for clear weather to see if progress farther north

were possible. I calculated that we were now in about 78 1/2° north

latitude. We tried several times during the day to take soundings,

but did not succeed in reaching the bottom with 215 fathoms of line.

"To-day made the agreeable discovery that there are bugs on board. Must

plan a campaign against them.

"Friday, September 22d. Brilliant sunshine once again, and white

dazzling ice ahead. First we lay still in the fog because we could

not see which way to go; now it is clear, and we know just as little

about it. It looks as if we were at the northern boundary of the

open water. To the west the ice appears to extend south again. To

the north it is compact and white--only a small open rift or pool

every here and there; and the sky is whitish-blue everywhere on the

horizon. It is from the east we have just come, but there we could

see very little; and for want of anything better to do we shall make

a short excursion in that direction, on the possibility of finding

openings in the ice. If there were only time, what I should like

would be to go east as far as Sannikoff Island, or, better still,

all the way to Bennet Land, to see what condition things are in there;

but it is too late now. The sea will soon be freezing, and we should

run a great risk of being frozen in at a disadvantageous point."

Earlier Arctic explorers have considered it a necessity to keep near

some coast. But this was exactly what I wanted to avoid. It was the

drift of the ice that I wished to get into, and what I most feared

was being blocked by land. It seemed as if we might do much worse

than give ourselves up to the ice where we were--especially as our

excursion to the east had proved that following the ice-edge in that

direction would soon force us south again. So in the meantime we made

fast to a great ice-block, and prepared to clean the boiler and shift

coals. "We are lying in open water, with only a few large floes here

and there; but I have a presentiment that this is our winter harbor.

"Great bug war to-day. We play the big steam hose on mattresses,

sofa-cushions--everything that we think can possibly harbor the

enemies. All clothes are put into a barrel, which is hermetically

closed, except where the hose is introduced. Then full steam is set

on. It whizzes and whistles inside, and a little forces its way through

the joints, and we think that the animals must be having a fine hot

time of it. But suddenly the barrel cracks, the steam rushes out,

and the lid bursts off with a violent explosion, and is flung far

along the deck. I still hope that there has been a great slaughter,

for these are horrible enemies. Juell tried the old experiment of

setting one on a piece of wood to see if it would creep north. It would

not move at all, so he took a blubber hook and hit it to make it go;

but it would do nothing but wriggle its head--the harder he hit the

more it wriggled. 'Squash it, then,' said Bentzen. And squashed it was.

"Friday, September 23d. We are still at the same moorings, working at

the coal. An unpleasant contrast--everything on board, men and dogs

included, black and filthy, and everything around white and bright

in beautiful sunshine. It looks as if more ice were driving in.

"Sunday, September 24th. Still coal-shifting. Fog in the morning,

which cleared off as the day went on, when we discovered that we

were closely surrounded on all sides by tolerably thick ice. Between

the floes lies slush-ice, which will soon be quite firm. There is

an open pool to be seen to the north, but not a large one. From the

crow's-nest, with the telescope, we can still descry the sea across

the ice to the south. It looks as if we were being shut in. Well,

we must e'en bid the ice welcome. A dead region this; no life in

any direction, except a single seal (Phoca foetida) in the water;

and on the floe beside us we can see a bear-track some days old. We

again try to get soundings, but still find no bottom; it is remarkable

that there should be such depth here."

Ugh! one can hardly imagine a dirtier, nastier job than a spell of

coal-shifting on board. It is a pity that such a useful thing as coal

should be so black! What we are doing now is only hoisting it from the

hold and filling the bunkers with it; but every man on board must help,

and everything is in a mess. So many men must stand on the coal-heap

in the hold and fill the buckets, and so many hoist them. Jacobsen

is specially good at this last job; his strong arms pull up bucket

after bucket as if they were as many boxes of matches. The rest of

us go backward and forward with the buckets between the main-hatch

and the half-deck, pouring the coal into the bunkers; and down

below stands Amundsen packing it, as black as he can be. Of course

coal-dust is flying over the whole deck; the dogs creep into corners,

black and toussled; and we ourselves--well, we don't wear our best

clothes on such days. We got some amusement out of the remarkable

appearance of our faces, with their dark complexions, black streaks

at the most unlikely places, and eyes and white teeth shining through

the dirt. Any one happening to touch the white wall below with his

hand leaves a black five-fingered blot; and the doors have a wealth

of such mementos. The seats of the sofas must have their wrong sides

turned up, else they would bear lasting marks of another part of the

body; and the table-cloth--well, we fortunately do not possess such a

thing. In short, coal-shifting is as dirty and wretched an experience

as one can well imagine in these bright and pure surroundings. One

good thing is that there is plenty of fresh water to wash with; we

can find it in every hollow on the floes, so there is some hope of

our being clean again in time, and it is possible that this may be

our last coal-shifting.

"Monday, September 25th. Frozen in faster and faster! Beautiful, still

weather; 13 degrees of frost last night. Winter is coming now. Had

a visit from a bear, which was off again before any one got a shot

at it."