For a few days after their return the doctor had his hands full, but under his skilful treatment the patients recovered rapidly, and the work of exploration was immediately resumed. The first to leave the ship was Dr Hayes, who was sent off with a sledge and a team of dogs to explore the country north and east of Inglefield’s Cape Sabine. The dogs gave him some little trouble, as their harness was constantly breaking, and the only material at hand for repairing it consisted of his own sealskin breeches, large portions of which he was obliged to sacrifice for the good of the cause. However, he prosecuted his explorations as far as Dobbin Bay before turning back to the ship. Though he had gained a great deal of valuable knowledge concerning the coast-line on either side of Smith Sound, Kane was still uncertain whether he was in a channel leading into a polar sea or in a _cul-de-sac_. From his observations of the tides and the drift of the ice he was inclined to take the former view, and, in the hope of setting all doubts upon the subject at rest, he decided to send out another party, with dogs, which was to be subsisted as far as the Great Glacier by provisions carried by a foot party in advance. Unfortunately scurvy is not a disease which is thrown off easily, and, when the time for making up these parties arrived, only five men were found to be in reasonably good health. He did the best that he possibly could in the circumstances. He told off Morton, M’Gary, and three men to take provisions to the Great Glacier, where they were to be joined by Hans Christian, the hunter of the party, with dogs. Morton and Hans were then to cross the strait and advance along the distant coast as far as they could. The two explorers attacked their part of the task with immense ardour, and eventually succeeded in penetrating as far as Cape Constitution. They returned to the ship with marvellous tales of open seas and waves dashing against the cliffs, which rejoiced Kane’s heart exceedingly, for they not only supported his theories, but they also gave colour to the popular fallacy that an ice-free ocean existed in the direction of the Pole. Unfortunately, however, it subsequently transpired that Morton and Hans were quite mistaken. There is, of course, no reason to suppose that their stories were mere flights of imagination, composed for the express benefit of their commander. Other explorers have made similar illusory discoveries, and have chronicled them in perfectly good faith. No doubt Morton and Hans honestly believed that they saw an open polar sea off Cape Constitution; the fact remains, however, that they saw nothing of the kind.