187G BEAUMONT'S RETURN JOURNEY. 100 



days, making us up to eighteen days ; then on we 

 went. 



c Craig now could barely walk, but his courage did 

 not fail. Dobing became rapidly worse, but fortu- 

 nately Jones revived, and there were still three on the 

 drag-ropes. We toiled painfully through M'Cormkvk 

 Pass, a very hard road, all rocks and water, but very 

 little snow. The work towards the end became ex- 

 cessively severe on account of the narrowness and 

 steepness of the passes. The sledge had to be un- 

 loaded and the sick lowered down separately in the 

 sail. At last we got into Newman Bay, and found the 

 travelling on the floe quite a rest ; but the work had 

 told on the men who were left, and though Jones still 



7 o 



dragged with difficulty, it was evident that soon both 

 he and Gray would be too ill to pull at all. I felt 

 stiff and sore about the body from constant over- 

 exertion, but I did not exhibit any of the well-known 

 scurvy symptoms as yet. We were travelling very 

 slowly now, for Craig, who had held out so long, could 

 scarcely stand, and he and Dobing had to be waited 

 for constantly. 



6 On the 21st of June we camped about ten miles 

 from the bottom of the bay, close to the west or south 

 shore. It soon after came on to blow a gale, and the 

 squalls were so violent and changeable in their direc- 

 tion that all our efforts to keep the tent standing were 

 unavailing, and we had to put the sick on the sledge 

 and cover them over with the sail ; but the drifting 

 snow which whirled around us penetrated everywhere, 

 and soon wet them through, and they caught colds, 

 which made Paul much worse afterwards. 



