26 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



Humboldt. They cached some of their stores, and an 

 india-rubber boat, near Dallas Bay, in lat. 79'5 C , 

 long. 66°. 



On the 20th May another sledge-party was sent off', and 

 consisted of Dr. Hayes and William Godfrey. They 

 were to cross Smith's Straits above the inlet and make as 

 near as possible a straight course for Cape Sabine. This 

 they accomplished with great difficulty, and proceeded 

 north on the ice along the west coast as far as latitude 

 79° 45'. They then returned south as far as Cape Sabine, 

 and recrossed the straits, arriving at the brig on 1st June. 

 This was a remarkable journey. The equipment was as 

 follows : — a light sledge and team of seven dogs, 80 lb. 

 of pemmican, 16 lb. of bread, 18 lb. of lard and rope- 

 yarn for fuel ; a reindeer-skin sleeping-bag for each, a 

 lamp and pot for cooking, sextant, pocket-compass, tele- 

 scope, Sharped rifle, two extra pairs of stockings and one 

 of boots for each. About the third day Dr. Hayes 

 suffered from snow-blindness, and this caused some 

 delay. The dogs'" harness lines had to be frequently 

 repaired, which could only be done ultimately by cutting 

 strips from Godfrey's seal-skin trousers. Great hummocks 

 of ice from 20 to 40 feet in height were encountered. In 

 crossing these ridges the sledge frequently capsized and 

 rolled over and over, dogs, cargo, and all. In twelve 

 days a distance not less than 400 miles was covered ; 

 the last day's travel, when provisions ran short, was 

 70 miles. 



Dr. Kane had not completed the entire circuit of the 

 frozen waters of Smith Sound. He could not yet say 

 whether it was landlocked or whether a channel existed 

 still farther to the north. This he determined to dis- 

 cover. McGary, Bonsall, Hickey, and Riley were detailed 

 for the first section of the new parties. They were 

 accompanied by Morton, who had orders to keep himself 



