ch. xxvii] The Search for Franklin. L 257 
for this ration would be 2i| oz. of spirits of wine, or 
rather over a pint. The provisions and fuel for seven 
men for forty days weighed 876 lb., which in addition to 
the constant 440 lb. gave a total of 1316 lb., or 220 lb. 
per man at starting, the weight being reduced by 22 lb. 
each day. 
M'Clintock's plan was that each division of sledges 
should have an auxiliary sledge to fill them up at a distance 
of 50 miles from the ship ; and each extended sledge was 
to have a limited sledge to fill it up at a hundred miles 
further. At an average rate of only ten miles a day this 
would enable the extended sledges to advance 350 miles 
from the ships, picking up depots as they returned. 
The dress consisted of flannel waistcoats and drawers, 
woollen socks with a square of blanket folded over them, 
and duck boots with leather soles or moccasins in 
extreme cold. Box-cloth trousers, waistcoat with chamois 
leather sleeves, and a box-cloth monkey jacket were worn, 
and over all a white duck jumper as a snow repeller, with 
chamois leather on the shoulders, and pockets for ammuni- 
tion, watch, and note-book. The head covering was a fur 
cap with ear-flaps. A water-bottle covered with flannel 
was carried next the flannel waistcoat, but until June the 
water always became ice. The weight of an entire suit 
was from 16 to 20 lb. 
March was the coldest month, the mean being ~34°Fahr. 
and the minimum -53° Fahr. From March 10th nothing 
was thought of but making the sledge equipments com- 
plete. The Commodore issued a series of questions in 
minutest detail relating to the various requirements. 
These details are of the greatest importance, because 
they constitute the original basis of sledge travelling, of 
which Leopold M'Clintock was the founder. He placed 
a most comprehensive means of search for our missing 
countrymen in the hands of the Commodore. Nothing to 
be compared with it, in magnitude and efficiency, has 
ever been seen in the Arctic regions before or since. 
There were, including Penny's crews, no less than 220 men 
ready to start, all full of zeal and enthusiasm. 
Commodore Austin had no clue as to the position of 
the missing crews, and at that time little was known of 
the region to be searched. He accordingly resolved to 
M. I. 17 
