Coutts Inlet. 



263 



season for Arctic exploration. With a stout ship, 

 and a well organized and efficiently conducted 

 expedition, there is no reason why that hitherto un- 

 approachable spot, the North Pole, should not be 

 reached in a couple of seasons. This morning we 



Bear and White Whale. 



sighted the land about Coutts Inlet, but at such a 

 distance as scarcely to be able to distinguish any- 

 thing. It appears high, undulating land, and is 

 thickly coated with snow. The rapid manner in 

 which changes take place in these regions is most 

 remarkable. This morning, with the exception of 

 a few bergs, there was no ice visible, but this even- 

 ing we are amidst heavy pack-ice, some of the floes 



