Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/72

68 more consolidated and firm enough to walk upon; the snow is often very soft on the Antarctic floes. In the summer of 1892 and 1893, when cruising in Erebus and Terror Gulf, I sank to my knees when walking on the floes or pack, and the sealers often had hard work in dragging the skins of the slaughtered seals to the water's edge. The amount and softness of the snow doubtlessly vary in different years and different places, but there is, as a rule, more and softer snow on the floes in the south than in the north.

In summer it is warmer in the Arctic than the Antarctic, and the sun melts pools on the surface of the floes and pack. In this greater surface-melting the snow layer is diminished greatly during the summer months in the Arctic. I never met with pools of water on Antarctic pack ice, though such may occur. These pools of water on the ice in the Arctic Regions are in most cases composed of fresh water, so much so that when there is a considerable pool conveniently situated a whaler or exploring ship will fasten the ship on to the piece of pack or floe with her ice-anchors, and will, by means of the hose and pump, or by buckets, fill up the fresh-water tanks. This water makes perfect drinking water, far finer than can be got in any seaport. To know that there is always in readiness a perfect