122 ELISHA KENT KANE. 



idea may be formed by the Department of the nature of thia 

 journey from the fact that every three and a hatf miles thus 

 attained cost us from twelve to fifteen miles of actual travel. 



" To sustain the party by the aid of fresh food required 

 dog-journeys to the south settlements of the Esquimaux, dis- 

 tant from us about seventy-five miles. I found it necessary, 

 also, to return from time to time to the brig, with the view 

 of augmenting our supplies. My last visit to her was on the 

 8th of June, for the purpose of procuring some pork to serve 

 for fuel. She was then precisely as when we left her on the 

 17th of May, immovably frozen in, with nine feet of solid ice 

 under her bows. We availed ourselves of the occasional fa- 

 cilities which these visits allowed us to increase our stock of 

 bread, of which we succeeded in baking four hundred and 

 eighty pounds. 



"Continuing our southward progress, we neared Littleton 

 Island. Our sick, first left at Anoatok, were gradually brought 

 down to the boats as some of them gained strength enough to 

 aid in the labor of dragging. The condition of the ice as it 

 became thinner and decaying made this labor more difficult; 

 and, in the course of our many breaks through, several of 

 the party narrowly escaped being carried under by the tides. 

 In the effort to liberate our sledges from the broken ice after 

 one of these accidents, Acting Carpenter Ohlsen received an 

 internal injury. Paralysis of the bladder was rapidly followed 

 by tetanic symptoms, and he died on the 12th of June, three 

 days after his attack. He has left behind him a young wife, 

 who depended entirely upon him for support. He was buried 

 upon Littleton Island, opposite a cape which bears his name. 



"From this stage of our journey up to the time of reaching 

 the first open water, which was near Cape Alexander, we were 

 comforted by the friendly assistance of the Esquimaux of 

 Etah. These people faithfully adhered to the alliance which 



