220 NEAREST THE POLE 



which we can just see dimly, is unattainable, by reason 

 of a wide, unfordable lake. 



The sun shone enough at intervals at this camp 

 to nearly complete drying the six deerskins begun at 

 Twenty-mile Cape. 



Leaving this camp in overcast weather, we reached 

 the twelve-mile tumulus, after wading stream after 

 stream all running to the land. 



From the summit of the tumulus I saw the ice ahead 

 of us in the same condition; a gigantic potato field 

 with a long blue lake or a rushing stream in every 

 furrow. 



Wading these constantly, we at last reached the tidal 

 joint and followed this in comfort to a position almost 

 abreast of our camp of the 21st. Only the base of the 

 land was visible at any time. Everything covered with 

 a pall of inky clouds. 



While we slept at the last camp, the temperature fell 

 below the freezing point, crusting the snow, and freez- 

 ing the smaller pools of water, and the northeast wind 

 which had been blowing ever since we left Southwest 

 Camp, increased to a half gale, shaking our tent 

 violently. The low canopy of inky clouds remained 

 the same. 



With all our clothing wet, and our foot-gear satu- 

 rated, this was almost serious for us, and made the 

 first half of this march extremely uncomfortable. 

 Added to this, I felt pronouncedly off-colour on waking. 

 The last two days of constant wading and the heaviest 

 of snowshoeing had taken it out of mc quite a bit. 



Four hours after leaving camp, we were abreast of 



