ch. xxxiii] The Rotite by Smith Sound 307 
did all that was possible for him, but his condition was so 
serious that he had to be put on the sledge and taken 
back to the ship. It was found necessary to amputate 
both feet, but it was in vain, and he died on the 14th 
May. Meanwhile, on March 20th, Egerton and Rawson 
started again, and reached the Discovery 1 . 
The 3rd of April was the day fixed upon for the start 
of the main sledge parties, Markham north over the 
frozen sea, Aldrich west along the north coast of Ellesmere 
Island. Captain Nares, in compliance with his instruc- 
tions, decided to send the sledge crews north dragging 
two boats as well as their sledge with provisions, which 
necessitated going over the same ground four or five 
times, thus allowing the travellers only to attain a very 
short distance from the ship. Sir Leopold M'Clintock 
would have put the whole strength of the expedition 
on the northern journey, and would easily have achieved 
the distance with healthy men. No boats would have 
been taken, but the sledges would have been made 
convertible into boats in the event of lanes of water 
barring progress. There could be no depots, but sup- 
porting sledges would have been used to advance the 
main sledge to the pole, and to meet it in returning. 
The distance to the Pole and back was much shorter 
than some of the sledge journeys successfully made 
during the search expeditions. But alas ! the indispens- 
able condition of healthy men was wanting. 
Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr reached 
the autumn depot at Cape Joseph Henry on the 10th 
April, 1876, and commenced their journey over the frozen 
sea with the thermometer at —33° Fahr. They encoun- 
tered small floes surrounded by broad fringes of hummocks, 
across which roads had to be made for the sledges. Even 
then the sledges could only be got over by standing 
pulls, while the ground had to be gone over four times, 
dragging up the boat sledges. The work was tremendous, 
and the officers worked harder than the men, with less 
rest. Soon scurvy began to appear, the two first cases 
on the 16th and 17th April. On the 19th Commander 
1 Rawson was mortally wounded at the battle of Tel-el- Kebir, while 
serving as naval aide-de-camp to Sir Garnet Wolseley. Admiral Sir George 
Egerton, K.C.B., became Commander-in-Chief at Devcnport. 
20- — 2 
