187G UNITED STATES RANGE. 323 



have been very dull had it not been for the Empress's 

 cards, which afforded great amusement to the men, who 

 are delighted with them. On reaching the hospital we 

 all went in to see Lorrimer, who was very glad to see 

 ns again ; he was very weak and low-spirited, quite 

 unable to walk, or do anything almost, without help/ 



During the homeward journey Woolley was ob- 

 liged to fall out from the drag-ropes, and finally had 

 to be carried on the sledge. The day following their 

 arrival at Floeberg Beach a third man was taken ill with 

 scurvy, while the remaining four appeared in good 

 health. One, however, was attacked twenty-four days 

 afterwards ; and another, Stuckberry, forty-four days 

 after having been placed on the regular ship's ration. 



To the westward of Cape Joseph Henry, the snow 

 in the sheltered hollows had proved to be even softer 

 than it was earlier in the season ; the sledge was fre- 

 quently buried, and the men sank knee-deep at every 

 step. Under such circumstances a flat sledge would 

 be better than the high-runner sledge ; but for general 

 service, and more especially for travelling over ice, the 

 latter is to be preferred. No traveller can afford to 

 take both. 



Mr. Egerton and Captain Feilden returned on the 

 24th from their exploration in the United States 

 Eange. Like Giffard they found all the plains and 

 valleys which were sheltered by mountains from the 

 westerly winds, to be simply impassable from the 

 quantity of soft snow collected in them. Selecting a wide 

 valley that opened up from the coast in lat. 82° 40' N., 

 and which stretched in a westerly direction into the 

 interior, they followed it up for about twenty miles, 



