1854.] PROCEEDINGS OF LIEUTENANT MECHAM. 191 



' that nothing but a blast will do/ that I am occasion- 

 ally persuaded : very nearly on every occasion it has been 

 followed by a prodigious slip, filling up a week's labour." 

 That very night, after the departure of De Bray, she 

 was afloat ! 



I will return to the intelligence brought by Monsieur 

 De Bray. On the 3rd of April, 1854, Her Majesty's Ship 

 Resolute and tender being at that time in their Winter 

 Quarters, twenty-eight miles south-west by south of Cape 

 Cockburn, or in latitude 74 42'N., longitude 10122' W., 

 Captain Kellett despatched Lieutenant Mechani, of the 

 ' Resolute,' and Mr. Krabbe, of the ' Intrepid,' with in- 

 structions to visit and examine the depot at Dealy Island, 

 and then to prosecute their respective journeys; the for- 

 mer to the Princess Royal Islands and Strait, the latter 

 to the ' Investigator,' and ascertain if any of Captain Col- 

 linson's parties had visited any of the stations in the rear 

 of Commander M'Clure. 



Lieutenant Mecham, with Mr. Krabbe under his com- 

 mand, reached the Sailors' Home at Dealy Island on the 

 1 2th, somewhat touched by snow blindness and sore feet 

 at this early period of the season. 



The " Home" was found in perfect condition, well 

 banked up with snow on the outside, but the interior 

 perfectly free from drift. Captain Kellett speaks in high 

 terms of his Carpenter, Mr. Deans, who was the architect, 

 and, by the judicious pitch given to the roof, ascribes its 

 freedom from snow. A portion of bread in one of the 

 tanks was found to be slightly damaged, and one mm 

 cask about a quarter short of contents. 



They experienced some difficulty in effecting an entry, 



