308 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April 



render our progress slow. Selecting the route is a 

 work of difficulty, it being impossible to see many 

 yards ahead — above, below, and around being all of 

 one uniform colour. Had again the misfortune to 

 capsize the sledge and boat on which was Porter ; but 

 luckily no evil resulted, a slight delay being the only 

 inconvenience. On the surface of a floe crossed during 

 the evening was a crust of ice about an inch thick 

 covering the deep snow. To our great surprise, whilst 

 crossing a fringe of hummocks, we observed the tracks 

 of a hare. They were apparently recent. The little 

 creature was evidently exhausted, the steps being short 

 and close together, and travelling in a southerly direc- 

 tion. These footprints naturally excited our interest, 

 as we were fully seventeen miles from the nearest land. 

 Distance marched six miles ; made good one and-a- 

 half. 



* 29ih. — A fine sunny day, but with a sharp wind 

 from the north-west. Our work to-day has been very 

 distressing, and we advance but slowly ; small floes 

 with huge hummocks, and the snow over our knees. 

 We are often compelled to deviate considerably to the 

 eastward or westward of our course, in order to make 

 progress at all. Occasionally during the latter part of 

 the day we were able to avail ourselves of a few short 

 leads of young ice that we constantly met twining 

 round the heavy floes and between the hummocks, but 

 never to such an extent as to profit greatly by them. 

 Distance marched seven and-a-half miles ; made good 

 one and-a-quarter. Temperature at midnight minus 4°. 



« oOth. — Shortly after the tents were pitched last 

 night the wind freshened, the clouds thickened, and 



