1853.] CAPE DISRAELI. 265 



four miles east-south-east, the remarkable jutting head- 

 land seen from Mount Parker : our delay was fortunate, 

 and saved much labour, and possibly the destruction of 

 the sledges. 



May 13. At noon the weather was fine, moderately 

 clear, and warm, with the temperature at 20; latitude, 

 76 44' N. At eight, with a temperature of -f-5, we 

 moved forward. Our course now lay down-hill, for the 

 nearest floe-edge (luckily a frozen swamp or pool) be- 

 came available, which led us out of our dilemma by its 

 outlet to the sea, and before midnight we were encamped 

 at the base of the remarkable headland before noticed. 

 Mr. Allard was now ordered to complete our two sledges 

 to forty days each, and return to the ship, replenishing 

 at the back depots up to Princess Royal Island ; on his 

 return from the ship, accompanied by Dr. Lyall and his 

 ten-men sledge, he was to bring up the whale-boat, 

 should open water render any such step advisable. Our 

 party ascended the mount, elevated about eight hundred 

 feet above the sea, from whence our immediate course 

 and future operations would be determined. This was 

 a critical position, involving perhaps our ultimate suc- 

 cess or failure in reaching Jones's Sound. We had now 

 lessened our latitude to 76 41' 30" N., ten miles south 

 of the ship's position ; and here we had reached an 

 angle, dividing two lines of advance. A wide, capacious 

 channel invited to the south, possibly turning, beyond 

 the points in view, westerly or easterly, but clearly to 

 my mind not a navigable sea ; it might lead to Jones's 

 Sound, but " the great object of our search" was over 

 navigable seas, and where any party escaping would in- 



