SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. 453 



moved, even by our taking circuits of a wide radius. We 

 ourselves, during the last three days of great exertion, 

 had sunk step by step up to our knees. That, under 

 such circumstances, it was no easy matter to get the 

 sledge along, need be hardly said. For days together the 

 monotonous rhythm of the " Yo ! heave, oh!" might be 

 heard at the foot of the walls. 



The brio^ht lio^ht of the white flakes worked the ex- 

 hausted travellers almost to madness. Only the third 

 part or half of the baggage could be carried at a time ; 

 we were, therefore, obliged to go over the same bit of 

 road three and sometimes five times. Every ten steps 

 the sledge had to be formally dug out; indeed, the bit 

 passed over was like a hollow way, and as the snow 

 became softer, and the tide rose from the edge of the 

 coast, penetrating the under layers, it became like a 

 perfect bog, and wo could do nothing but kneel and pull 

 along in the snow. As by this means one could only 

 advance a few hundred steps daily, and that our last 

 night's encampment was still within gunshot, it seemed 

 almost impossible for us ever to reach the land, although 

 we had approached the coast within half a nautical mile. 



Thus the 11th and 12th of May passed; the snow-storms 

 of the last few days had lost their terrific character of the 

 earlier months, and offered no serious hindrance. The 

 continued jerking forward of the sledge had given us all 

 a violent headache, the throbbing of which was most 

 painful. We had carried the greater part of the baggage 

 800 paces forward — our whole day's march — and had re- 

 turned to fetch the tent and the rem^ainder, but, before 

 taking it down, we rested for half an hour, when, upon 

 going out, we saw three bears inspecting it, the result of 



