HAYES, HALL AND OTHER ADVENTURERS 317 



pushed on till noon, when they took their bearings. They had 

 reached latitude 83 degrees 20 minutes 26 seconds north, and were 

 then only 399^ miles from the Pole itself, having beaten all other 

 records of Arctic explorations. 



The return to the ship proved exhausting in the extreme. One 

 of the men died and the others were so utterly worn out that hope of 

 reaching the ships was almost abandoned. Lieutenant Parr was 

 the strongest, yet even he was pitiably weak, and when he volun- 

 teered to set out alone for the ship in quest of relief few dreamed 

 that he would be able to reach his goal. 



They could scarcely accept the evidence of their ears the next 

 morning when the shouts of men's voices came to them in their 

 sleeping bags. The gallant Parr had reached the ship, and the bold 

 fellows who had conquered the "farthest north" were saved when 

 on the brink of death. 



Other surveying parties were sent out and on their return the 

 vessels started for home, reaching England without misadventure 

 on November 2, 1876, with the proud consciousness of having sur- 

 passed Parry's record of 1827 and approached nearer the pole than 

 any man had before done. 



