NARES' EXPEDITION (1876) 135 



It was left for Nansen and Peary to prove that Nares 

 and Mark ham were wrong. 



We will now follow the sledge-party to the west. 

 After parting company with Markham on the 11th of 

 April, Aldrich and Giff'ard with their two sledges crossed 

 Feilden Peninsula — the watershed of which was estimated 

 to be 500 feet above the sea-level. They reached the 

 shore of James Ross Bay on the 15th. Four hares were 

 shot and traces of ptarmigan seen. These hares were the 

 only game obtained. Crossing the bay, Crozier Island 

 was visited on the 17th. On the 19th, the Parry Penin- 

 sula, 2J miles in breadth, was crossed, and the shore of 

 Clements Markham Inlet reached. On the 22nd, Cape 

 Colan, the west point of the inlet, was arrived at, and a 

 depot of provisions left for the return journey. 



On the 25th, Giff'ard and his crew, after completing 

 the other sledge to forty-four days 1 provisions, parted 

 company, to return to the Alert. 



For the next seven days, when Cape Columbia was 

 reached, Aldrich's sledge being fully laden, the daily 

 advance was extremely slow, as usual in similar journeys, 

 and the soft snow entailed very severe labour. On the 

 30th April, Aldrich wrote : " The Sergeant-Major has just 

 shown me a very ugly-looking red patch or blotch just 

 above the ankle ; the limb is slightly swollen." This was 

 a sign of scurvy, which was not suspected for some time 

 afterwards. Cape Aldrich, where a depot of provisions 

 was left, was reached on 1st May. Cape Columbia, 

 the most northern point attained, was also reached on 

 1st May. The latitude was found to be 83° 7' N. On 

 the 8th of May another depot was formed ; and on the 

 10th, Aldrich writes: "The men are nearly all suffering 

 a great deal with their unfortunate legs, which appear to 

 get worse every day. This we all feel to be very disap- 

 pointing, as it affects the journey, and although stiff limbs 



