Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/342

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seemed ambitious of doing the work in the shortest possible space of time.
 * complished the task in less than one, and everybody

The traveling to-day has been very fair for the dog-sledges, but very bad for the boat. It runs easily enough on the smooth surface, but dragging its long length over a snow-drift even four feet deep, or, worse still, over hummocks even half as high, is a troublesome task; and we have crossed many strips of rough ice to-day which could not be passed until we had broken a track. In consequence of this we were obliged to leave some of the load behind, especially as I wished to reach Cairn Point before camping. Knorr and Jensen had already cached one of their cargoes of March at Cape Hatherton, and this was left with it. It will cost us a day's labor to bring it up.

The difficulties in transporting the boat among the hummocks, and the very light load which either the men or dogs can carry over the broken ice, as shown by this day's experience, convince me that the boat and cargo can hardly be transported to the west coast at one journey; and I have therefore concluded to leave the boat here for the present, at least until the track is further explored, and set out with the two dog-sledges and a foot party dragging the other sledge, laden with such stores as they can carry, for a depot on Grinnell Land. I can at any time send the party back for the boat; and if it should turn out that the boat cannot be got across the Sound, then I shall, in any event, have a depot of supplies for my explorations over the ice with the dog-sledges, before the thaw of June and July shall have put an end to that species of traveling.