NARES' EXPEDITION (1876) 141 



to pull the sledge while blindfold. James Hand expired 

 a few hours after their arrival at Polaris Bay. 



On the 8th August, Beaumont with his companions 

 started on their perilous journey across Hall's Basin to 

 Discovery Bay. After two hours on the ice, they came 

 to a large space of water 3 miles broad, and launched 

 their boat, which had previously been taken across from 

 the Discovery. They had repeatedly to draw the boat 

 on the ice, haul it on their sledge till water was again 

 met, and then launch. While crossing they found them- 

 selves drifting south, and were in the greatest danger of 

 being swept into Kennedy Channel ; fortunately, a wind 

 from the south-east set in, and they eventually reached 

 land between Cape Lieber and Cape Baird on the 12th, 

 and arrived at Discovery Bay on 14th August. 



After the return of the northern and western sledge- 

 parties so completely broken down, Captain Nares 

 determined to give up all further exploration, and to 

 proceed to the southward with both ships as soon as 

 the ice should break up and release them. On the 

 31st Julv the Alert succeeded in escaping from the ice 

 at Floeberg Beach, and after meeting many difficulties 

 reached Discovery Bay on 12th August. 



Nares writes : " On the 16th, the weather still re- 

 maining distressingly hue and calm, an excursion was 

 made to the coal-beds near Cape Murchison. This 

 deposit of coal, or, more correctly, lignite, is exposed 

 in a ravine near Watercourse Bay, for a distance of over 

 200 yards. At its greatest exposure the thickness of the 

 seam is 25 feet, but we had no means of ascertaining 

 how much deeper it descended below the level of the 

 stream. Above the coal are beds of shale and sand- 

 stones. The coal was pronounced after trial by our 

 engineers to be equal to the best Welsh. The seam 

 where exposed is at an elevation of about 200 feet above 



