FORDING THE RIVER. 
99 
solar lieat from the rocks, we met a flower-growth, 
which, though drearily Arctic in its type, was rich in 
variety and coloring. Amid festuca and other tufted 
grasses twinkled the purple lychnis and the white star 
of the chickweed; and not without its pleasing asso¬ 
ciations I recognised a solitary hesperis,—the Arctic 
representative of the wallflowers of liome. (21) 
We forded our way across this river in the morning, 
carrying our pemmican as well as we could out of 
water, but submitting ourselves to a succession of 
plunge-baths as often as we trusted our weight on the 
ice-capped stones above the surface. The average 
depth was not over our hips; but the crossing cost us 
so much labor that we were willing to halt half a day 
to rest. 
Some seven miles farther on, a large cape projects 
into this bay, and divides it into two indentations, each 
of them the seat of minor watercourses, fed by the gla¬ 
ciers. From the numerous tracks found in the moss- 
beds, they would seem to be the resort of deer. Our 
meridian observations by theodolite gave the latitude 
of but 78° 52': the magnetic dip was 84° 49'. 
It was plain that the coast of Greenland here faced 
toward the north. The axis of both these bays and 
the general direction of the watercourses pointed to the 
same conclusion. Our longitude was 78° 41' W. 
Leaving four of my party to recruit at this station, I 
started the next morning, with three volunteers;, to cross 
the ice to the northeastern headland, and thus save 
the almost impossible circuit by the shores of the bay. 
