1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 373 



unload it, return with it empty, and then bring on the 

 remainder of the gear and invalids. The snow being 

 very deep, the continual walking backwards and for- 

 wards is very fatiguing to the men ; they find it easier 

 to drag a sledge through the deep snow than to walk 

 without the support of the drag. belt. Distance made 

 good a quarter of a mile. Temperature minus 9°. 



4 Sth. — The interiors of our tents in the evening 

 have more the appearance of hospitals than the 

 habitations of strong working-men. In addition to the 

 " cripples," four men belonging to the " Marco Polo " 

 are suffering from snow-blindness, although in a mild 

 form. At noon started all available hands under Parr, 

 with pick and shovel road-making, as we are desirous 

 of ascertaining if this apparently interminable line of 

 hummocks is of great extent. To solve this is all we 

 can now expect to do. A bright warm day. Aired 

 and dried all tent gear, &c. Walked on with Parr 

 towards the end of the day about a mile to the north- 

 ward, selecting a route for the sledges. At our farther- 

 most point from the summit of a high hummock we 

 saw, about two or three degrees to the northward of 

 Cape Aldrich, either land or the loom of it. The hum- 

 mocks around us are of different heights and bulk, 

 varying from small fragments of ice to huge piles over 

 forty feet high. 



< 9 th. — We have at length arrived at the conclusion, 

 although with a great deal of reluctance, that our sick 

 men are really suffering from scurvy, and that in no 

 mild form. Should our surmise be correct, we can 

 scarcely expect to see any of the afflicted ones improve 

 until they can be supplied with fresh meat and vege- 



