226 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



M^' jou"icy would admit. The baggage was placed on light sledges, resembling 

 ^''^r^- those used by Captain Franklin on his late journey to the shores of the 

 Polar Sea, made out of staves shaved thin, six feet eight inches long, four- 

 teen inches broad, and turned up before. Being secured entirely with 

 thongs of hide sunk by grooves into the wood to keep them from wearing, 

 they were perlectly flexible, so as to be in no danger of breaking on un- 

 even ground. It is astonishing to see with what ease such a sledge is 

 dragged along, the friction of so considerable a surface being more than 

 compensated by its passing over the snow without sinking. Each indi- 

 vidual of the party was furnished with one of these, which also served to 

 sleep and sit ui)on; the weight dragged by each of the men being about one 

 hundred and twenty pounds, and that of the officers from ninety to ninety- 

 five. Each person had also a pair of snow-shoes, a deer-skin jacket and 

 boots for sleeping in, and another pair of boots of water-tight seal-skin. 



The general tenor of Captain Lyon's instructions was, " after crossing to 

 the continent, to proceed along that coast to the northward, carefully exa- 

 mining any bend or inlet he might meet with, so as to leave no doubt if pos- 

 sible of its actual extent and communications, thereby preventing the ne- 

 cessity of the ships entering it on their arrival there." I added also the 

 necessary directions for remarking every thing of interest relating to the 

 tides, and the natural productions of the country ; and I limited Captain 

 Lyon to the end of the month in returning, to avoid the possibility of detain- 

 ing the Expedition. 



Their preparations being completed, our travellers left the ships under a 



salute of three cheers from both the crews, and accompanied by a large party 



of officers and men to assist them for the first few hours. A day or two after 



their departure a supply of provisions was lodged at the garden, according to 



apian previously agreed on, in case of our being forced out to sea with the 



ice beiore their return. Arrangements Avere also made for putting an officer 



and two men on shore as a guard to this as well as to the clock, tent, or any 



other articles that might be left behind, in the event of an occurrence of this 



nature. 



Sun. 12. It n)W became too evident that the climate with Avhich our gardeners had 



to contend, would not allow them to furnish us with many ounces of vegetable 



substance, in any reasonable time to w'hich our stay here might be prolonged. 



A register-thermometer left for four and twenty-hours under the glasses of 



the beds (they can scarcely be called hot-hcds) ranged from 23° to 100°, the 



