In the first march beyond this igloo we were deflected westward by a lead of practically open water, the thin film of young ice covering it being unsafe even for a dog. A little further on a wide canal of open water deflected us constantly to the northwest and then west until an area of extremely rough ice prevented us from following it farther. Viewed from the top of a high pinnacle this area extended west and northwest on both sides of the canal, as far as could be seen. I could only camp and wait for this canal, which evidently had been widened (though not newly formed) by the storm of the day before, to close up or freeze over. During our first sleep at this camp there was a slight motion of the lead, but not enough to make it practicable. From here I sent back two more Eskimos. Late in the afternoon of the 14th the lead began to close, and hastily packing the sledges we hurried them across over moving fragments of ice. We now found ourselves in a zone of high parallel ridges of rubble ice covered with deep snow. These ridges were caused by successive opening and closing of the lead. When, after some time, we found a practicable pass through this barrier, we emerged upon a series of very small but extremely heavy and rugged old floes; the snow on them still deeper and softer than on the southern side of the lead. At the end of a sixteen-hour day I called a halt, though we were only two or three miles north of the big lead. During the first portion of the next march we passed over fragments of very heavy old floes slowly moving eastward. Frequently we were obliged to wait for the pieces to crush close enough together to let us pass from one to the other. Farther on I was compelled to bear away due east by an impracticable area extending west, northwest, north and northeast as far as could be seen, and just as we had rounded this and were bearing away to the north again, we were brought up by a lead some fifty feet wide. From this on, one day was much like another, sometimes doing a little better sometimes a little worse, but the daily advance, in spite of our best efforts, steadily decreasing. Fog and stormy weather also helped to delay us. I quote from my Journal: _April 21st._—The game is off. My dream of sixteen years is ended. It cleared during the night and we got under way this morning, deep snow. Two small old floes. Then came another region of old rubble and deep snow. A survey from the top of a pinnacle showed this extending north, east and west, as far as could be seen. The two old floes, over which we had just come, are the only ones in sight. It is impracticable and I gave the order to camp. I have made the best fight, I knew. I believe it has been a good one. But I cannot accomplish the impossible.