662 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



Looking further north we saw the most promising 

 place jet, which seemingly offered an easy transit 

 across the narrowest part of this ice channel. Send- 

 ing Mr. Dunbar ahead to pick out the road, I hurried 

 back to bring up the sleds, and at 9.35 p. m. we com- 

 menced our first forward movement. Some little pick- 

 axe work gave us a fairly good road, though three jams 

 were threatening to relax and leave water gaps every 

 movement. In fact, hardly had we got the boats 

 through than one of them opened. Meanwhile, a cold 

 fog had shut us in and hidden the island from our 

 sight. 



July 22d, Friday. — As but one sled or one boat 

 could be hauled at one time through the passageway 

 above described, it was one a. m. before our last boat 

 was through, and we halted for dinner. We were on a 

 good piece of hard ice, lumpy, but giving fair traveling. 

 This was separated from a much larger piece of hard, 

 old, smooth ice by another ugly mess, which we could 

 get over if it held together ; but it was threatening to 

 open at any moment. 



Before dinner I had sent Melville forward to cut a 

 road, which was done, and by great good fortune at 

 2.20 a. m., when we turned to, we got everything 

 through without trouble. Before us there lay a mile 

 of excellent going, which we took so well that at 5.45 

 A. m., when I pitched camp, I felt satisfied that two 

 miles might be scored as made good from our starting- 

 point at 9.35 p. m. yesterday. 



Dunbar and I had gone half a mile further ahead on 

 hard, smooth ice (after passing a ridge at which we 

 camped), and were then brought to a stand by some 

 more confused mess, across and beyond which the fog 

 prevented us from seeing. Though we might have 



