The many hundred bundles of dried fish were squeezed into the main hold, full as it was.  All sledging and ski outfit was carefully stowed away, so as to be protected as far as possible from damp.  These things had to be kept dry, otherwise they, would become warped and useless.  Bjaaland had charge of this outfit, and he knew how it should be treated.

As is right and proper, when all the goods had been shipped, it was the turn of the passengers.  The Fram was anchored off Fredriksholm, and the necessary preparations were immediately made for receiving our four-footed friends.  Under the expert direction of

Bjaaland and Stubberud, as many as possible of the crew were set to work with axe and saw, and in the course of a few hours the Fram had got a new deck.  This consisted of loose pieces of decking, which could easily be raised and removed for flushing and cleaning.  This false deck rested on three-inch planks nailed to the ship’s deck; between the latter and the loose deck there was therefore a considerable space, the object of which was a double one —­ namely, to let the water, which would unavoidably be shipped on such a voyage, run off rapidly, and to allow air to circulate, and thus keep the space below the animals as cool as possible.  The arrangement afterwards proved very successful.

The bulwarks on the fore-part of the Fram’s deck consisted of an iron railing covered with wire-netting.  In order to provide both shade and shelter from the wind, a lining of boards was now put up along the inside of the railing, and chains were fastened in all possible and impossible places to tie the dogs up to.  There could be no question of letting them go loose —­ to begin with, at any rate; possibly, we might hope to be able to set them free later on, when they knew their masters better and were more familiar with their surroundings generally.

Late in the afternoon of August 9 we were ready to receive our new shipmates, and they were conveyed across from the island in a big lighter, twenty at a time.  Wisting and Lindstrom superintended the work of transport, and maintained order capitally.  They had succeeded in gaining the dogs’ confidence, and at the same time their complete respect —­ just what was wanted, in fact.  At the Fram’s gangway the dogs came in for an active and determined reception, and before they had recovered from their surprise and fright, they were securely fastened on deck and given to understand with all politeness that the best thing they could do for the time being was to accept the situation with calmness.  The whole proceeding went so rapidly that in the course of a couple of hours we had all the ninety-seven dogs on board and had found room for them; but it must be added that the Fram’s deck was utilized to the utmost.  We had thought we should be able to keep the bridge free, but this could not be done if we were to take them all with us.  The last boat-load, fourteen in number, had to be accommodated there.  All