34 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



an attempt to reach Etah. Unfortunately, a severe snow- 

 storm came on soon after they reached a half-way hut. 

 After being storm -bound two days, they attempted to 

 push on, but found that the snow had accumulated to 

 such an extent that it was impossible to complete the 

 journey. They returned to the hut, and next day tried 

 the land ice, but in vain. Kane, however, climbed a hill 

 from which he discovered a trough through the hummock- 

 ridges, and level plains of ice stretching to the south. 

 Had the dogs not been disabled and the moonlight 

 waning, they could now have made the journey ; but as 

 it was, they were forced to return to the brig, which they 

 reached thoroughly exhausted. 



Petersen and Hans started on 3rd February to make 

 another attempt. They returned on the 5th, having 

 found that the snow had become impassable. At this 

 time only five of the party were able to work, and even 

 these were not free from scurvy. On 28th February 

 Kane had to report: "The scurvy is steadily gaining 

 on us. I do my best to sustain the more desperate cases ; 

 but as fast as I partially build up one, another is stricken 

 down. The disease is perhaps less malignant than it was, 

 but it is more diffused throughout our party. Except 

 William Morton, who is disabled by a frozen heel, not 

 one of our eighteen is exempt. Of the six workers of our 

 party, as I counted them a month ago, two are unable to 

 do outdoor work, and the remaining four divide the 

 duties of the ship among them. Hans musters his re- 

 maining energies to conduct the hunt. Petersen is his 

 disheartened, moping assistant. The other two, Bonsall 

 and myself, have all the daily offices of household and 

 hospital. We chop five large sacks of ice, cut 6 fathoms 

 of 8-inch hawser into junks of a foot each, serve out 

 the meat when we have it, hack at the molasses, and hew 

 out with crowbar and axe the pork and dried apples, pass 



