46 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. JUNE 



we come to water underneath. Temperature 35. 

 Made good six miles. 



' Sunday, June 25th. Lunched in Eavine Bay, 

 and reached the tents on Mushroom Point about 3 P.M. 

 As we were now only six miles from the ships, and we 

 had reason to expect good travelling, we rested for 

 three hours in the tents already pitched, and I served 

 out the remainder of the medical comforts, which was 

 sufficient to give all the sick a very fair meal ; then, 

 after a short nap, we hauled the sledges over the land. 

 On reaching the next bay we found to our dismay that 

 the travelling was extremely bad, deep soft snow, 

 water in places, and sludge, through which we had 

 great difficulty with both sledges, the dogs being afraid 

 of water and useless in the deep snow. A fair fresh 

 breeze sprang up, to which we made sail, but it was 

 becoming apparent we would have to camp out another 

 night, when we sighted a sledge in the distance. This 

 turned out to be a volunteer party of officers and 

 men, with Captain Nares and Commander Mark- 

 ham, who soon hurried us on, and we reached the 

 ship just after midnight, amid the cheers and congratu- 

 lations of our shipmates. Adam Ayles and David 

 Mitchell in the drag-ropes, the latter allowed to 

 totter alongside in his belt, in consideration of his own 

 request.' 



Lieutenant Aldrich having discovered that the con- 

 tinuous border of the heavy Polar pack extends for 

 a distance of two hundred miles towards the westward 

 from Floeberg Beach, and that at the farthest point 

 reached it was trending towards the south-west, demon- 

 strates that no land exists for a considerable distance 



