The South Pole, vol 2 | Page 6

the tent, and our arrangements worked
splendidly the whole time. They were as follows: as soon as we halted,
all took a hand at the tent. The pegs in the valance of the tent were
driven in, and Wisting crept inside and planted the pole, while the rest
of us stretched the guy-ropes. When this was done, I went in, and all
the things that were to go inside were handed in to me -- sleeping-bags,
kit-bags, cookers, provisions. Everything was put in its place, the
Primus lighted, and the cooker filled with snow. Meanwhile the others
fed their dogs and let them loose. Instead of the "guard," we shovelled
loose snow round the tent; this proved to be sufficient protection -- the
dogs respected it. The bindings were taken off all our ski, and either
stowed with other loose articles in a provision-case, or hung up
together with the harness on the top of the ski, which were lashed
upright to the front of the sledge. The tent proved excellent in every
way; the dark colour subdued the light, and made it agreeable.
Neptune, a fine dog, was let loose when we had come six miles over
the plain; he was so fat that he could not keep up. We felt certain that
he would follow us, but he did not appear. We then supposed that he
had turned back and made for the flesh-pots, but, strangely enough, he
did not do that either. He never arrived at the station; it is quite a
mystery what became of him. Rotta, another fine animal, was also set
free; she was not fit for the journey, and she afterwards arrived at home.
Ulrik began by having a ride on the sledge; he picked up later. Björn
went limping after the sledge. Peary was incapacitated; he was let loose
and followed for a time, but then disappeared. When the eastern party
afterwards visited the depot in 80° S., they found him there in good
condition. He was shy at first, but by degrees let them come near him
and put the harness on. He did very good service after that. Uranus and
Fuchs were out of condition. This was pretty bad for the first day, but
the others were all worth their weight in gold.
During the night it blew a gale from the east, but it moderated in the
morning, so that we got away at 10 a.m. The weather did not hold for
long; the wind came again with renewed force from the same quarter,
with thick driving snow. However, we went along well, and passed flag

after flag. After going nineteen and a quarter miles, we came to a snow
beacon that had been erected at the beginning of April, and had stood
for seven months; it was still quite good and solid. This gave us a good
deal to think about: so we could depend upon these beacons; they
would not fall down. From the experience thus gained, we afterwards
erected the whole of our extensive system of beacons on the way south.
The wind went to the south-east during the day; it blew, but luckily it
had stopped snowing. The temperature was -11.5° F., and bitter enough
against the wind. When we stopped in the evening and set our tent, we
had just found our tracks from the last trip; they were sharp and clear,
though six weeks old. We were glad to find them, as we had seen no
flag for some time, and were beginning to get near the ugly trap,
forty-six and a half miles from the house, that had been found on the
last depot journey, so we had to be careful.
The next day, the 21st, brought very thick weather: a strong breeze
from the south-east, with thick driving snow. It would not have been a
day for crossing the trap if we had not found our old tracks. It was true
that we could not see them far, but we could still see the direction they
took. So as to be quite safe, I now set our course north-east by east --
two points east was the original course. And compared with our old
tracks, this looked right, as the new course was considerably more
easterly than the direction of the tracks. One last glance over the
camping-ground to see whether anything was forgotten, and then into
the blizzard. It was really vile weather, snowing from above and
drifting from below, so that one was quite blinded. We could not see
far; very often we on the last sledge had difficulty in seeing the first.
Bjaaland was next in front of us. For a long time we had been going
markedly downhill, and this was not in accordance with our reckoning;
but