552 
ACCESS TO A POLAR SEA. 
we can push forward our provision depots by sledge and launch, and thus pre- 
pare for the final efforts of our search. 
In this I am strengthened by the valuable opinion of my friend, Mr.Murdaugh, 
late the sailing-master of the Advance. He has advocated this very sound as 
a basis of land operations. And the recent journey of Mr. William Kennedy, 
commanding Lady Franklin's last expedition, shows that the fall and winter 
should no longer be regarded as lost months. 
The sledges, which constitute so important a feature of our expedition, and 
upon which not only our success but our safety will depend, are to be con- 
structed with extreme care. Each sledge will carry the blanket, bags, and furs 
of six men, together with a measured allowance of pemmican ; a 'light tent of 
India-rubber cloth, of a new pattern, will be added ; but for our nightly halt the 
main dependence will be the snow-house of the Esquimaux. It is almost in- 
credible, in the face of what obstacles, to what extent, a well-organized sledge 
party can advance. The relative importance of every ounce of weight can be 
calculated, and the system of advanced depots of provisions organized admi- 
rably. 
Alcohol or tallow is the only fuel ; and the entire cooking apparatus, which 
is more for thawing the snow for tea-water than for heating food, can be car- 
ried in a little bag. Lieutenant M'Clintock, of Commander Austin's expedi- 
tion, traveled thus eight hundred miles— the collective journeys of the expedi- 
tion equaled several thousand; and Baron Wrangell made by dogs 1533 miles 
in seventy-four days, and this over a fast-frozen ocean. 
But the greatest sledge journey upon record is that of my friend, Mr. Ken- 
nedy, who accomplished nearly 1400 miles, most of it in mid-winter, without re- 
turning upon his track to avail himself of deposited provisions. His only food 
—and we may here learn the practical lesson of the traveler, to avoid unneces- 
sary baggage— was pemmican, and his only shelter the snow-house. 
It is my intention to cover each sledge with a gutta percha boat, a contriv- 
ance which the experience of the English has shown to be perfectly portable. 
Thus equipped, we follow the trend of the coast, seeking the open sea. 
Once there, if such a reward awaits us, we launch our little boats, and, bid- 
ding God speed us, embark upon its waters. 
THE END. 
