﻿1848. LEAVE A BOAT. 293 



water being already cooled down to the freezing 

 point. 



By a repetition of the same operations, which 

 occupied us during the previous day, we advanced 

 on the 27th about three miles and a half. After 

 Mr. Rae had attentively examined the sea from a 

 high cliff without perceiving any slackness in the 

 ice or motion during the flood or ebb tide, I de- 

 termined on lightening the labours of the men, by 

 leaving one boat and her cargo on a rocky point, 

 which bears north 28° west from Cape Krusenstern, 

 distant twelve miles. Our encampment in the 

 evening was on a flat terrace of slaty limestone 

 under a high cliff of the same rock. The lime- 

 stone reposes on beds of chert or quartz rock in 

 thin layers, which in some places are detached in 

 large slates. Here we deposited, on a flat shelf of 

 the rock, several cases of pemican, an arm-chest, 

 and some other things that encumbered the boats, 

 and rendered them less fit for launching over the 

 ice. 



During the night, a fresh wind from the east- 

 south-east brought much snow, which added to 

 the pasty condition of the surface of the water, and 

 produced a layer of semi-fluid matter that com- 

 pletely deadened a boat's way under oars. 



Three hours were consumed on the morninof of 

 the 28th in bringing the boats about a hundred 



u 3 



