s equipment and provisions for nine men for several years. We
divided into two groups, the ship's group and the land group. The first
was composed of the commander of the ship, Captain Nilsen, and the nine
men who were to stay on board to take the _Fram_ out of the ice and to
Buenos Aires. The other group consisted of the men who were to occupy
the winter quarters and march on to the south. The ship's group had to
unload everything from the ship upon the ice. There the land group took
charge of the cargo and brought it to the building site. At first we
were rather unaccustomed to work, as we had had little exercise on the
long sea voyage. But before long we were all "broken in," and then the
transfer to the site of our home "Framheim" went on rapidly; the house
grew daily.

When all the material had been landed our skilled carpenters, Olav
Bjaaland and Jorgen Stubberud, began building the house. It was a
ready-made house, which we had brought with us; nothing had to be done
but to put together the various numbered parts. In order that the house
might brave all storms, its bottom rested in an excavation four feet
beneath the surface. On January 28th, fourteen days after our arrival,
the house was completed, and all provisions had been landed. A gigantic
task had been performed; everything seemed to point toward a propitious
future. But no time was to be lost; we had to make use of every minute.

The land group had in the mean time been divided into two parties, one
of which saw to it that the provisions and equipment still lacking were
taken out of the ship. The other party was to prepare for an excursion
toward the south which had in view the exploration of the immediate
environs and the establishment of a depot.

On February 10th the latter group marched south. There were four of us
with eighteen dogs and three sleds packed with provisions. That morning
of our start is still vividly in my memory. The weather was calm, the
sky hardly overcast. Before us lay the large, unlimited snow plain,
behind us the Bay of Whales with its projecting ice capes and at its
entrance our dear ship, the _Fram_. On board the flag was hoisted; it
was the last greeting from our comrades of the ship. No one knew
whether and when we should see each other again. In all probability our
comrades would no longer be there when we returned; a year would
probably elapse before we could meet again. One more glance backward,
one more parting greeting