348 VIEW FROM THE CLIFF. 



was likely to carry us from a direct line, I walked, 

 while the dogs were resting, a few miles along the 

 shore until I could see the head of the bay, distant 

 not less than twenty miles. To make this long de- 

 tour would occupy at least two if not three days, — 

 an undertaking not justified by the state of our pro- 

 visions, — and we therefore went into camp, weary 

 with more than twelve hours* work, to await the issue 

 of further observation on the morrow. 



Surprised at the condition of the ice in the bay, I 

 determined to climb the hill above the camp, with the 

 view of ascertaining the probable cause of our being 

 thus baffled ; and to ascertain if a more direct route 

 could not be found further to the eastward than that 

 by the land-ice of the bay ; for it was now clear that 

 it was only possible to continue our journey north- 

 ward in one or the other of these directions. The 

 labors of the day made it necessary, however, that I 

 should procure some rest before attempting to climb 

 the hill to such an elevation as would enable me to 

 obtain a clear view of the condition of the ice to the 

 opposite shore. 



After a most profound and refreshing sleep, inspired 

 by a weariness which I had rarely before experienced, 

 to an equal degree, I climbed the steep hill-side to the 

 top of a ragged cliff, which I supposed to be about 

 eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. 



The view which I had from this elevation furnished 

 a solution of the cause of my progress being arrested 

 on the previous day. 



The ice was everywhere in the same condition as 

 in the mouth of the bay, across which I had endeav- 

 ored to pass. A broad crack, starting from the mid- 

 dle of the bay, stretched over the sea, and uniting 



