298 HOBSON'S JOURNEY. Chap. XVII. 



weight; and where they would drag a moderately laden 

 sledge thirteen miles a day, an equal number of dogs would 

 drag half the same load for twenty-seven miles. 



The work of a single expedition of two ships (Kellett's 

 and my own) with ninety officers and men, at a wintering 

 station, amounted to 1282 statute miles, sledged in autumn, 

 and 7352 miles in spring, by eleven parties ; in this manner 

 1800 miles of coast-line were explored. 



These great results are astonishing ; and yet the system 

 of sledge exploration is capable of still further development ; 

 already it has brought even the North Pole of the earth 

 within our reach ! 



What laurels, what world-wide renown will be his, who 

 first accomplishes this crowning feat of geographical dis- 

 covery ! 



In his hour of triumph let him remember the ladder by 

 which he has climbed ; the successive steps of which were 

 worked out by Lyons in 1822, and by a hundred others 

 in the Franklin search. 



Hobson's report is a minute record of all that occurred 

 during his journey of seventy-four days, and includes a list 

 of all the relics brought on board, or seen by him. He 

 suffered very severely in health : when only ten days out 

 from the ship, traces of scurvy appeared ; when a month 

 absent, he walked lame; towards the latter end of the 

 journey, he was compelled to allow himself to be dragged 

 upon the sledge, not being able to walk more than a few 

 yards at a time ; and on arriving at the ship on the 14th 

 June, poor Hobson was unable to stand. How strongly 

 this bears upon the last sad march of the lost crews ! And 

 yet Hobson's food throughout the whole journey was pem- 

 mican of the very best quality, the most nutritious description 

 of food that we know of, and varied occasionally by such 

 game as they were able to shoot. In spite of this fresh- 



