314 THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 



formidable hummocks has been seen in the offing. These sand-heaps 

 have a considerable intermixture of mud, probably washed off the land, 

 whilst the Polynia Islands lying further offshore are all pure gravel. 

 We also find here small pieces of gray gniess. On this little patch of 

 earth I found the jawbone of a seal, and a few very small pieces of much 

 decayed wood. 



"P. M. Started at seven o'clock for an islet in the center of a deep 

 bay, round which the land rises to moderate elevation; found the islet 

 to be an oval ridge of gravel, its longest diameter about a quarter of a 

 mile. Its most elevated part is to seaward and about 40 feet high, all 

 within is a lagoon. Found here small fragments of driftwood, no tide 

 crack or ice pressure. 



"17th June. After taking bearings, etc., here, we traveled 7 or 8 miles 

 to the next extreme of land, on rounding which we saw several islands 

 forming a chain a few miles offshore; these keep off the heavy polar 

 pack, and within them we have ordinary old floe, but having much less 

 snow upon it all the hummocks being bare . . . Encamped at a quarter 

 before five o'clock. 



"The land is of a more considerable height; in some places a mile 

 or two inland, it may be 150 feet high; and the sand-heaps are now con- 

 fined to the depths of bays and inner points of the islands. We had 

 not been long in our bags before a heavy gale came on, bringing drift 

 and thickly falling snow in its train. 



"P, M. The weather is worse if possible, we cannot advance against 

 this gale not being able to see our way, nor will we retreat before it. 

 It is very mortifying to be thus arrested within one march of our ex- 

 treme, and to be unable to get a glimpse at the coast beyond that which 

 we have actually walked to ; to-morrow we must commence our retreat. 

 The little sledge turned up on its side forms the weather end of our 

 hurricane house; one end of a ridge pole rests upon it, the other end 

 on my compass stand. The sledge's sail thrown over this affords us 

 shelter on three sides, and here we sit anxiously watching the weather, 

 and catching in our spoons the drops which penetrate the canvas. On 

 this sand-heap there are many small fragments of decayed wood, and 

 I have no doubt there is some of larger size and more recent importation 

 on the oviter islands, but now of course hidden by snow. 



"18th June. Towards noon the weather began to improve. 



"P. M. I had intended walking a few miles further, but the weather 

 became too thick, so we reluctantly commenced our return at half-past 

 six. Left a cairn and record on a point near our encampment, then 

 crossed overland into Satellite Bay." (Report of Captain F, L. Mc- 

 Clintock as published in "Further Papers Relating to the Recent Arctic 

 Expeditions in Search of Sir John Franklin," London, 1855, pp. 570-571.) 



Such was the weather and such were the difficulties recorded 

 by McClintock June 16, 1853, and the days just before and 



