TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 201 
fasted on biscuit, and a pint of gruel, each made 
of salop powder, which we found to be a very pa- 
latable dish. Immediately after breakfast, a party, 
consisting of an officer, and two men, who accom- 
panied us for the first day’s journey, returned to the 
ships. This escort consisted properly of three men, 
but we found the snow so soft inland, that it 
was deemed-necessary to take one of these men with 
us*, so that our travelling party now consists of 
thirteen persons, instead of twelve, as was origi- 
nally intended. We started again at six o’clock 
in the evening, and continued our journey until 
half-past ten P. M., when we again pitched our 
tents, dined, and rested between three and four 
hours. We had a very heavy pull all the after- 
noon, our march being along the skirts of the plain 
before-mentioned, which as [have already remarked, 
is so deeply covered with snow, that it required 
the united exertions of all the officers and men of 
the party to drag the cart through it. The only 
animals we saw in the course of our journey this 
evening, were a few ptarmigans, and a white owl, 
The latter was so shy, that we could not get near 
it, and of the former we got only one or two, the 
assistance of all of us being so indispensably neces- 
sary for getting the cart along, that we had but 
‘little time for sporting. 
Saturday, 3d.— We resumed our journey again 
at half-past two o’clock this morning, the weather 
being hazy, with a light breeze of wind from the 
southward. Soon after we started, we came to the 
* His name is Benjamin Hadman, seaman. 
