104 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May 



skeleton chart for a place more likely to be visited. 

 We then pushed on through the thickly falling snow, 

 which had not stopped for an instant ; though two of 

 the men were bad, the others soon warmed up to the 

 work again, and the improved travelling enabled us to 

 get on faster in spite of the general thaw, so that we 

 reached the neighbourhood of our camp of the 13th 

 on the 24th, returning in two days what had taken us 

 six to advance. 



' Just before camping on the 24th a north wind 

 rose, and, as if by magic, the sky cleared, and it 

 became a beautiful morning : there lay Mount Hooker 

 once more in sight, distance about sixteen miles, from 

 which, as I believed, we should see everything ; it was 

 too tempting, so the men agreeing eagerly, the plan 

 was arranged. Craig and Jenkins were to remain 

 with the tent, provisions, and gear, whilst the re- 

 mainder, with one robe, bags, and five days' provisions, 

 were to make a dash for the mountain ; the provisions 

 were neatly packed in day's rations, and everything 

 being ready we turned in for a good rest. 



' When we awoke it was snowing hard, as if it 

 would never stop, so not a word was said, but we 

 packed up and started homewards more disappointed 

 than I can say. By the time we had reached Dragon 

 Point it had cleared again ; this was the place where I 

 had settled to build a cairn, and leave the chart and 

 record. One of the highest mountains in the neigh- 

 bourhood was only six miles off, so I determined on 

 one more effort. The cairn was built, the record and 

 chart deposited, and Alexander Gray and I set off for 

 the mountain ; it took us six hours to reach the top ; 



