Chap. IX. PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. 297 



drag all our loads at one journey, and in a great many 

 instances, during the first fortnight, we had to make three 

 journeys with the boats and baggage ; that is, to traverse 

 the same road five times over."— pp. 67, 68. 



When they had the good fortune to reach a small 

 floe, the snow on its surface was so deep, and the 

 pools of water so frequent, that after a laborious 

 day's work the distance traversed was perhaps two 

 miles, arid rarely exceeded five. The snow more- 

 over was so soft as to take them up to the knee at 

 almost every other step, and frequently still deeper ; 

 so that they were sometimes five minutes together 

 in moving a single empty boat with all their united 

 strength. The rain produced a greater effect on 

 the snow than the sun. Parry says that Ross and 

 himself, in their pioneering duty, were so frequently 

 beset, that sometimes, after trying in vain to extri- 

 cate their legs, they were obliged to sit down to rest 

 themselves; and the men in dragging the sledges 

 were often under the necessity of crawling on all 

 fours to make any progress at all. In one place 

 thev were more than two hours in proceeding one 

 hundred and fifty yards. Yet the men worked with 

 cheerfulness and good will, hoping to reach the spot 

 (though they had long passed it), where Captain 

 Lutwidge found " one continued plain of smooth 

 unbroken ice, bounded only by the horizon." 



One day of great fatigue, after stopping to empty 

 their boots and wring their stockings, 



