COOK'S EXPEDITION (1908) 331 



marched ahead of the sledges. Near the 88th parallel 

 very heavy ice was crossed. 



On the 6th May they were stopped by a very severe 

 snowstorm. An attempt was made to build a snow-house, 

 but the wind swept the blocks away. An effort was then 

 made to put up the tent, but this was found impossible. 

 In sheer despair, they crept under the tent without 

 erecting the pole. For several days the wind was too 

 strong to allow them to travel, and the atmospheric con- 

 ditions made it impossible to take observations. Added 

 to these difficulties was the fact that the food-supply was 

 running short. 



On 24th May the weather cleared sufficiently to enable 

 Dr. Cook to make an observation, which placed them on 

 the 84th parallel, near the 97th meridian. 



The temperature now gradually rose to zero, and caused 

 the formation of a fog which proved a serious obstacle to 

 progress. It was Dr. Cook's intention to make for his 

 cache in Nansen's Sound, but when next the sky cleared, 

 after a long struggle, the party found themselves far 

 south, in Crown Prince Gustav Sea. Open water and 

 broken ice made it impossible for them to reach Heiberg 

 Island. 



Dr. Cook was still anxious to return home in 1908, and 

 when he saw that he was cut off from Annootok, he 

 decided to make for Lancaster Sound, where he hoped to 

 find one of the Scottish whalers. This allowed him to 

 take advantage of the southerly drift of the ice. Passing 

 through Hassel Sound, the party were fortunate in securing 

 both bears and seals. Dr. Cook states that from this 

 point they travelled southward over Norwegian Bay into 

 Wellington Channel. 1 Here, however, they found the ice 

 so much broken up that sledging was impossible, and 



1 Dr. Cook seems to have made a mistake here. His route was 

 evidently west of Norwegian Bay. 



