Page:The frozen North; an account of Arctic exploration for use in schools (IA frozennorthaccou00hort).pdf/145

 diet, for in cold countries men long for fatty food. It was so cold that often Nansen and Johansen had to sleep in the same bag in order to keep warm. Sometimes they drew pieces of blubber out of the lamp and ate them. These favorite dainties they called biscuit. The walrus hides attracted the bears and foxes to the hut, so that often during the winter the men succeeded in securing fresh meat.

The winter was a long and weary one. Though Christmas, 1895, found them rather low-spirited, they made up their minds to observe the day. Their celebration consisted of reversing their shirts, and treating themselves to bread and chocolate. They broke up their camp in the spring (May, 1896), and started southward by water.

During this trip Nansen nearly lost his life. The men left their kayaks one day fastened to the edge of the ice, while they went to the top of a hummock to look around. Presently Johansen shouted, "The kayaks are adrift." Both men rushed for the water, and Nansen, reaching it first, jumped in and swam for the boats. The water was terribly cold and the boats had drifted a long distance, but Nansen knew that the loss of the boats meant death to him and his companion. He swam as long as he could, and then lay on his back and floated, to rest. Again he tried to swim, but his limbs became stiff and numb so that he could scarcely move them. Feebly he pushed on until he succeeded in grasping a ski which was lying across the bow, and so drawing the kayak to him. It was almost more than his chilled and weary body could accomplish to pull himself into one of the boats and paddle back. Johansen, who was anxiously watching, expected every moment to see his companion sink down unconscious. But Nansen's iron will and strength conquered. Johansen gave