TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 203 
route this evening was over as barren a track of 
land as I ever saw, for there was not a single ve- 
getable production of any kind to be seen, except 
lichens. ‘The surface of the country through which 
we passed, was, generally speaking, even, but in 
many places very rough, being covered with loose 
stones, over which we found considerable diffi- 
culty in dragging the cart: but the greatest ob- 
struction that we have yet met with, was in getting 
it across a deep ravine on our way. AA little to 
the northward of this ravine we passed a piece of 
ground covered with patches of red sandstone, in 
a very disintegrated state. We saw no animal of 
any kind during our march this evening, nor even 
the traces of any, except here and there the tracks 
of a fox. 
Sunday, 4th. — In describing the occurrences of 
yesterday, I omitted to mention that we left the 
border of the extensive plain along which we came 
the evening before ; how far we are from it at pre- 
sent it is impossible to say, as the weather is hazy, 
and has been so for most part of the time during 
these four-and-twenty hours past. At the place 
where we dined last night, we left a tin canister, 
containing a piece of-parchment, on which was 
written a short account.of the party who left it. 
We built over it a pile of loose stones, about three 
feet high. We started again a quarter of an hour 
before three o’clock this morning, and continued 
on the march until twenty minutes after seven. 
Our route was over a plain so completely covered 
with snow, that the eye looked in vain for land in 
