ENCAMPMENT. 269 



culty in finding the right track ; indeed, the 

 continued absence of Maufelly and his com- 

 panion was what I had not calculated upon, 

 though I still hoped they would be found at 

 an appointed place, near the entrance of the 

 next river. 



We encamped this day (June 14.) at the 

 point of a large opening leading to the east- 

 ward, and the greater proportion of the men 

 came up in tolerably good condition, consider- 

 ing the badness of the ice, the spikes of which 

 were just soft enough to allow the runners to 

 cut through, instead of sliding over it, increasing 

 thereby the labour of getting along. It was past 

 noon when the carpenters, who were always 

 the last, arrived ; one of them was so affected 

 by the glare of the ice as to be almost unable to 

 see, and would fain have excused himself on 

 that account from taking any share in the work. 

 He had, however, brought the evil on himself by 

 not keeping pace with his comrades in the night 

 march, which he could well have done, as he had 

 a much lighter load to drag, and his strength was 

 unimpaired ; so, notwithstanding his complaints, 

 he was obliged to take hold of a cord made fast 

 to his brother's sledge, and to drag his burden 

 as usual. Indeed, squeamishness is little heeded 

 in such travelling as this, and shirking is quite 

 out of the question. I could not dispense with 



