CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE RED BOAT SINKING-THE LIFE-BOAT CACHE-THE OPEN 
WATER—OHLSEN’S DEATH—HIS FUNERAL—BARENTZ, OUR PRE¬ 
CURSOR -ACCOMODAII-THE PRESCRIPTION-CAPE WELCOME_ 
THE RESOLVE. 
Though the condition }f the ice assured us that we 
were drawing near the end of our sledge-journeys, it 
by no means diminished their difficulty or hazards. 
The part of the field near the open water is always 
abraded by the currents, while it remains apparently 
firm on the surface. In some places it was so trans¬ 
parent that we could even see the gurgling eddies 
below it; while in others it was worn into open holes 
that were already the resort of wild fowl. But in 
general it looked hard and plausible, though not more 
than a foot or even six inches in thickness. 
This continued to be its character as long as we 
pursued the Littleton Island channel, and we were 
compelled, the whole way through, to sound ahead 
with the boat-hook or narwhal-horn. We learned this 
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