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- 

 imir 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 



