312 
APPENDIX NO. II. 
(minus 52°) than the ruggedness of the ice, the extreme darkness, and 
the renewal of tetanic diseases among our dogs. Our poor neighbors, 
however, fared worse than ourselves: famine, attended by frightful 
forms of disease, reduced them to the lowest stages of misery and 
emaciation. 
Our own party was gradually disabled. Mr. Brooks and Mr. Wil¬ 
son, both of whom had lost toes by amputation, manifested symptoms 
of a grave character. William Morton was severely frozen; and we 
were deprived of the valuable services of the surgeon by the effects 
of frost-bite, which rendered it necessary for him to submit to ampu¬ 
tation. 
Scurvy with varying phases gradually pervaded our company,' until 
Mr. Bonsall and myself only remained able to attend upon the sick 
and carry on the daily work of the ship, if that name could still appro¬ 
priately designate the burrow which we inhabited. Even after this 
state of things had begun to improve, the demoralizing effects of con¬ 
tinued debility and seemingly hopeless privation were unfavorably 
apparent among some of the party. I pass from this topic with the 
single remark that our ultimate escape would have been hazarded, but 
for the often painfully-enforced routiue which the more experienced 
among us felt the necessity of adhering to rigorously under all circum¬ 
stances. 
In the latter part of March the walrus again made their appearance 
among the broken ice to the south, and we shared with the Esqui¬ 
maux the proceeds of the hunt. The hemorrhages which had much 
depressed our party subsided, and we began slowly to recover our 
strength. The sun came back to us on the 21st of February; and by 
the 18th of April the carpenter and several others were able to resume 
their duties. 
In view of the contingencies which I had long apprehended, I found 
it necessary to abandon the brig. We had already consumed for fire¬ 
wood her upper spars, bulwarks, deck-sheathing, stanchions, bulk¬ 
heads, hatches, extra strengthening-timbers—in fact, every thing that 
could be taken without destroying her sea-worthiness. The papers 
which I append show the results of the several surveys made at this 
time by my orders. It will be seen from them that we had but a few 
weeks’ supply left of food or fuel; that the path of our intended retreat 
was a solid plain of ice, and that to delay a third winter, while it could 
in no wise promote the search after Sir John Franklin, would prove 
fatal to many of our party. 
Our organization for the escape was matured with the greatest care. 
