338 ROTTEN ICE. 



« 



lying high and dry upon the beach, pushed up by the 

 resistless pack even above the level of the highest 

 tides. The first embarrassment to our progress occa- 

 sioned by this cause occurred soon after setting out 

 from our camp above Cape Frazer, and being wholly 

 unable to pass it, we were obliged to take once more 

 to the ice-fields. But this was a matter not easily ac- 

 complished. The tide was out, apparently at full ebb, 

 and the land-ice formed a wall, down which we were 

 obliged to scramble. By lashing the two sledges to- 

 gether we made a ladder, and thus secured our own 

 descent ; while the dogs were lowered by their traces, 

 and the cargo piece by piece with a line. The field- 

 ice was, however, found to be, in addition to its rough- 

 ness, in many places very rotten and insecure, so that 

 after one of the teams had broken through and was 

 rescued not without difficulty, we found ourselves 

 compelled to haul in shore and take once more to the 

 land-ice. Being thenceforth under the necessity of 

 following all the windings of the shore line, our dis- 

 tance was at least doubled, and when we hauled up 

 for the night both ourselves and the dogs were very 

 weary. 



Although much exhausted with the day's journey, 

 1 availed myself of the time consumed by my com- 

 panions in preparing the camp and supper to climb 

 the hill-side for a view. The air was quite clear, and 

 I commanded an uninterrupted horizon to the east- 

 ward. The ice was much less rough than that which 

 we had crossed in Smith Sound, owing to the old floes 

 having been less closely impacted while that part of 

 the sea was freezing up during the last autumn or 

 winter. Hence, there was much more new ice. It 

 was evident that the sea had been open to a very 



