LECTURE ON ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS. 157 



sight of Port Foulke, extended northward in April in a narrow- 

 stream nearly to the parallel of Rensselaer harbor, and I was obliged 

 therefore to adhere to the eastern shore, instead of pushing over to 

 the north and west, as I had originally intended. In consequence 

 of our forced selection of this route we encountered the same condi- 

 tion of hummocked ice which had embarrassed the exploring parties 

 of Dr. Kane. The centre of the strait was crowded with ridges of 

 broken ice, more extensive than I had ever before seen, and through 

 these, after three weeks' trial, I found it to be impracticable to trans- 

 port the boat which I had intended for the exploration of the Polar 

 sea, and I, accordingly, with much reluctance, was obliged to send the 

 main party back and to continue northward with two dog sledges and 

 three companions. 



The hummocks became worse as we advanced, and, although we 

 were only forty miles, in a direct line, from the west coast of the 

 strait, fourteen days were consumed in reaching it. We were 

 obliged to return several times upon our track for portions of our cargo, 

 and the severity of the labor rapidly reduced the str'ength of the 

 dogs. 



Our track across the strait was nearly the same as that which I had 

 formerly made, upon my return from Grinnell Land in May, 1854, 

 when acting under the orders of Dr. Kane. The unfavorable circum- 

 stances under wliich my surveys were made, during that journey, oc- 

 casioned some errors upon the chart, which I was glad, on this occa- 

 sion, to have opportunity to correct. As I neared the coast of Grin- 

 nell Land, it became evident that a channel or sound opened westward 

 from Smith strait, separating Grinnell Land from the Ellesmere Land 

 of Captain Inglefield. In the mouth of this sound are two large 

 islands, to the northernmost of which I have given the name of Pro- 

 essor A. Dallas Bache, superintendent of the United States Coast Sur- 

 vey, and to the other that of Professor Joseph Henry, secretary of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, to both of which gentlemen the expedition was 

 greatly indebted for the influence which their names gave to the sup- 

 port of the enterprise, and for the liberal contributions which the 

 former made toward my outfit. 



On the 12tli of May I entered Kennedy channel, and following the 

 coast as it trended nearly due north, I reached on the 16th the bay 

 which bears the name of the renowned geographer — Carl Ritter. The 

 roughness of the ice and the deep snow had by this time thoroughly 

 disabled one of my companions and a portion of the dogs ; and I was 

 obliged, therefore, to continue my journey with one team and a single 

 comrade, Mr. George F. Knorr, a young gentleman who served 

 throughout the expedition with remarkable fidelity and spirit. After 

 the termination of three days' severe struggling through deep snow 

 and heav}^ hummocks, which were piled upon the land ice, our provi- 

 sions became exhausted and we were forced to return. We had 

 then reached latitude 81° 35', forty miles beyond the limit of Dr. 

 Kane's explorations on the opposite side of the channel, and further 

 north than had ever before been attained upon land. To the high- 

 est point attained I have given the name of my very kind friend, 



