ELISHA KENT KANE. 89 



sions in accordance with the orders which they had 

 received before starting. During their journey the 

 party had met with some singular adventures. On 

 one occasion, at midnight, while encamped on the 

 frozen ice-field, the ice suddenly cracked directly 

 beneath them ; a large fissure opened ; the ice around 

 them gradually broke into fragments ; and it was 

 only by rapidly taking possession of one of the largest 

 pieces and rowing with it to the main ice that they 

 escaped destruction. They ultimately reached lati- 

 tude 79 50'. During their progress they buried 

 eight hundred pounds of provisions, for the future 

 use of the expedition. They then returned to the brig. 



The rigors of an Arctic winter now increased 

 around them. It required the utmost prudence on 

 the part of the adventurers to enable them to endure 

 the intense cold. Notwithstanding all this, Dr. Kane 

 continued his astronomical and scientific experi- 

 ments in his observatories ; and their results were 

 afterward appended to the published journal of the 

 expedition. Sometimes the thermometer stood at 

 seventy-five degrees below zero in the external air. 

 At this prodigiously cold temperature chloric ether 

 became solid, and chloroform displayed a granular 

 pellicle on its surface. Human nature could scarcely 

 endure a greater intensity of cold than this. 



Unbroken darkness now prevailed throughout the 



