bring. Frostbites from our last march forced us to wait until we
definitely knew that spring had really come. On September 24th we saw
at last positive evidence that spring had arrived: the seals began to
clamber up on the ice. This sign was hailed with rejoicing--not a whit
less the seal meat which Bjaaland brought on the same day. The dogs,
too, enjoyed the arrival of spring. They were ravenous for fresh seal
meat. On September 29th another unrefutable sign of spring appeared in
the arrival of a flock of Antarctic petrels. They flew around our house
inquisitively to the joy of all, not only of ourselves, but also of the
dogs. The latter were wild with joy and excitement, and ran after the
birds in hopes of getting a delicate morsel. Foolish dogs! Their chase
ended with a wild fight among themselves.

On October 20th the weather had at last become so stable that we could
start. We had, meanwhile, changed our original plan, which was that we
should all advance southward together. We realized that we could travel
with perfect safety in two groups, and thus accomplish much more. We
arranged that three men should go to the east to explore King Edward
VII. Land; the remaining five men were to carry out the main plan, the
advance on the South Pole.

October 20th was a beautiful day. Clear, mild weather prevailed. The
temperature was 1 deg. Centigrade above zero. Our sleds were light, and we
could advance rapidly. We did not need to hurry our dogs, for they were
eager enough themselves. We numbered five men and fifty-two dogs with
four sleds. Together with the provisions which we had left in the three
depots at the eightieth, the eighty-first, and the eighty-second
parallels we had sufficient sustenance for 120 days.

Two days after our departure we nearly met with a serious accident.
Bjaaland's sled fell into one of the numerous crevasses. At the
critical moment we were fortunately able to come to Bjaaland's aid; had
we been a moment later the sled with its thirteen dogs would have
disappeared in the seemingly bottomless pit.

On the fourth day we reached our depot at 80 deg. S. We remained there two
days and gave our dogs as much seal meat as they would eat.

Between the eightieth and the eighty-first parallel the Barrier ice
along our route was even, with the exception of a few low undulations;
dangerous hidden places were not to be found. The region between the
eighty-first and the eighty-second parallel was of a tot