OF THE POLAR SEA. 149 
dogs were furnished in equal proportions by the 
two Companies. Fifteen days’ provision so com- 
pletely filled the sledges, that it was with diffi- 
culty we found room for a small sextant, one suit 
of clothes, and three changes of linen, together 
with our bedding. Notwithstanding we thus 
restricted ourselves, and even loaded the carioles 
with part of the luggage, instead of embarking in 
them ourselves, we did not set out without con- 
siderable grumbling from the voyagers of both 
Companies, respecting the overlading of their 
dogs. However, we left the matter to be settled 
by our friends at the fort; who were more con- 
versant with winter travelling than ourselves. 
Indeed, the loads appeared to us so great that we 
Should have been inclined to listen to the com- 
plaints of the drivers. The weight usually placed 
upon a sledge, drawn by three dogs, cannot, at 
the commencement of a journey, be estimated at 
less than three hundred pounds, which, however, 
suffers a daily diminution from the consumption 
of provisions. The sledge itself weighs about 
thirty pounds. When the snow is hard frozen, 
or the track well trodden, the rate of travelling is 
about two miles and a half an hour including 
Tests, or about fifteen miles a day. If the snow 
is loose, the speed is necessarily much less and 
the fatigue greater. 
