18 KANE. [Jan. 14, 1856. 



pedestals cemented by ice. The longitude was based on moon culmi- 

 nations, corroborated by occultations of planets and the solar eclipse of 

 May, 1855. The position of the observatory was found to be in lat. 

 78° 37' and long. 70° 40' 6". Magnetic observations, both absolute and 

 relative, were also kept up. 



Spasmodic disease occasioned the chief difficulty, but scurvy was com- 

 pletely subjugated. In the form of tetanus, the spasms attacked the 

 dogs, and 57 died, with symptoms not unlike hydrophobia. The loss of 

 these animals seriously affected Dr. Kane's plans ; new arrangements 

 had to be formed, which, owing to the smallness of the party, deprived 

 of the dogs, were necessarily restricted. 



A passage to the north over the distorted ice, crowded with bergs, 

 was resolved on. A party sent in advance under Mr. Brooks endured 

 great suffering, and barely escaped with the loss of two lives. Another 

 effort in the same direction was made under Dr. Kane's personal 

 guidance during April and May, and journeys by other parties were 

 carried on till July 10. The addition of four dogs, contributed by 

 Esquimaux, permitted the operations to be considerably extended. Out 

 of nearly 3000 miles traversed, no less than 1 100 were made with the 

 dog-sledge ; and during the following year, 1854-55, Dr. Kane himself 

 travelled 1400 miles with a single team. 



Three expeditions crossed the bay. The great glacier in lat. 79° 12' 

 was surveyed by Dr. Kane in 1855. Another party went to the S. W. ; 

 and the shores of the new channel northward were explored by the 

 third. Open waters washed the shores of the channel and terminated 

 in a sea, the heavy surf of which checked farther progress. 



The farthest point attained is a precipitous headland, named Cape 

 Independence, in lat. 81° 22' N., and long. 65° 35' W. From it the 

 Western Coast was seen stretching to the north with an iceless horizon 

 and a heavy swell rolling on with white caps. Two islands on the 

 eastern threshold of this sea have been named after our lost countrymen. 

 Sir John Franklin and his companion. Captain Crozier. On the west, 

 the coast was observed to be mountainous, and the farthest distinctly 

 sighted point was a lofty mountain, bearing N. 5° E. (solar), estimated 

 to be in lat. 82° 30', and long. 66° W. (approximate), which Dr. Kane 

 proposes to name after Sir Edward Parry, who, he says, "as he has 

 carried his name to the most northern latitude yet reached, should 

 have in this, the highest known northern land, a recognition of his 

 pre-eminent position among Arctic explorers." 



The winter of 1854 passed with many trials, and in the following 

 summer it became necessary to abandon the brig and retreat. On 

 May 17, Dr. Kane commenced his return in sledge boats ; on August 6, 

 in 83 days after leaving the ship, through many perils and escapes, he 



