56 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July 



colour from the headlands north and south of it, and is 

 very conspicuous. I had at first determined to send 

 the 'Discovery' direct to Cape Sabine, there to estab- 

 lish a station, while the ■ Alert ' erected a cairn at 

 Cape Isabella ; but considering it important that all 

 the officers and men in both ships should be acquainted 

 with the exact position of each cairn and depot of 

 provisions, I kept the two vessels in company. How- 

 ever exact the description of the position of a depot 

 may be, it is extremely difficult for a traveller 

 during the spring to find a cairn or mark which has 

 been established during the period of the year when 

 the land was wholly or partially free from snow. The 

 choice of a spot on which to build a cairn that can be 

 readily found by a stranger is not so easy a matter as 

 may be supposed. In the present case it was rendered 

 more difficult in consequence of the necessity of guard- 

 ing against the depredations of the Eskimo, who are 

 said to wander round the shores of Ellesmere Land. 

 To obtain this safety for the provisions destined for 

 our travellers it was necessary to hide them away in 

 clefts of the rock at some distance from the cairn 

 which contained directions for finding the depot. 



As we approached the western shore a snowstorm 

 worked its way over the land from the S.W., and 

 reached us just as we arrived at the cape. In order 

 to take advantage of the fair wind, and the snow- 

 storm preventing those on board the ' Discovery ' seeing 

 the position chosen for the cairn, I ordered Captain 

 Stephenson to proceed to Cape Sabine. Commander 

 Markham accompanied by Captain Feilden landed in 

 a small bay on the south side of the extreme point of 



