EXPLORING A TRACK. ^ 281 



pect was not encouraging. In every direction, except 

 immediately down the coast toward Cape Hatherton, 

 the ice was very rough, being jammed against the 

 shore and piled up over the sea in great ridges, which 

 looked rather unpromising for sledges. 



The view decided my course of action. Cairn Point 

 would be my starting-place if I crossed the Sound, 

 and a most convenient position for a depot of sup- 

 plies in the event of being obliged to hold on up the 

 Greenland coast. Accordingly, I took from the sledges 

 all of the provisions except what was necessary for a 

 six days' consumption, and discovering a suitable cleft 

 in a rock, deposited it therein, covering it over with 

 heavy stones, to protect it from the bears, intending 

 to proceed up the coast for a general inspection of the 

 condition of the ice on the Sound. 



These various operations consumed the day ; so we 

 fed the dogs and dug into another snow-bank, and got 

 through another night after the fashion of Arctic trav- 

 elers, which is not much of a fashion to boast of We 

 slept and did not freeze, and more than this we did 

 not expect. 



The next day's journey was made with light sledges, 

 but it was much more tedious than the two days pre- 

 ceding ; for the track was rough, and during the greater 

 part of the time it was as much as the dogs could do 

 to get through the hummocked ice with nothing on 

 the sledge but our little food and sleeping gear. As 

 for riding, that was entirely out of the question. Af- 

 ter nine hours of this sort of work, during which we 

 made, lightened as we were, not over twenty miles, 

 we were well satisfied to draw up to the first conven- 

 ient snow-bank for another nightly burrow. 



Being naturally inclined to innovation, I had busied 



