GREENLAND BY THE POLAR SEA 



doubtful hunting-grounds. But as for the time being we had 

 sufficient dog food, this was not now necessary. 



We did not expect to find the same good ice as that on 

 which we had driven along the coast in Hall Basin, where the 

 great land between Robeson Channel and Sherard Osborne 

 Fjord acts as a buffer against the enormous pressure of the 

 Polar Sea. Not a single ice-ridge was found on the ice-foot, 

 which in certain places was quite broad and easy to drive on, 

 though in other places it was too narrow for the passage of 

 sledges. 



Towards evening the different hunting parties returned ; 

 Inukitsoq and Hendrik had been almost to Newman Bay, but 

 had seen nothing alive — they had not even come across an old 

 track. 



Ajako and Bosun had been inland on the Peninsula and 

 had killed two hares. 



For the last time we made our camp with three tents and 

 feasted modestly on the hares. The fine weather continued 

 so that we rarely stayed in the tents ; it was far better to be 

 outside. 



We paid a visit to two beacons in the mountains near 

 by, but could not find any records. By one of them, however, 

 we found a big flat stone with the inscription : 



A. A. ODELL. 1872. R. W. C. 



Odell was one of the engineers of the Polaris. 



The neighbourhood was beautiful, though its history turned 

 our mood to one of seriousness. For we were camping near a 

 cemetery, and the men whom fate had broken here were young 

 and capable ; but they had met difficulty and toil stronger than 

 their own strong constitutions. 



Opposite to us the Discovery wintered during 1875-76, 

 and the Alert farther northward the same year. Both ships 

 had sacrificed brave and intrepid members of their crew for the 

 exploration of this land. Finally, the Greely Expedition had 

 wintered in Lady Franklin Bay — an expedition which gave 

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