HAVING, as has been seen, provided for all the contingencies of our journey as well as circumstances permitted, we moved slowly down the ice-foot away from the brig. The companions we were leaving waved us a silent adieu. A strong resolution gave firmness to our step, but our way was too dark and perilous for lightness of heart. At ten miles distance we should reach a cape near which we expected to find open water, where we could exchange the heavy work of dragging the sledges for the pleasanter sailing in the boat. This we reached early the second day. But here we experienced our first keen disappointment. As far as the eye could reach was only ice. Before us, a thousand miles away, was Upernavik, at which we aimed, the first refuge of a civilized character in that direction. As we gazed at this intervening frozen wilderness it did indeed seem afar off. Yet every man stood firm through fourteen hours of toil before we encamped, facing a strong wind and occasional gusts of snow. After this the shelter of our tent, and a supper of cold pork and bread with hot coffee, made us almost forget the wind, which began to roar like a tempest. We looked out in the morning, after a good night's rest, hoping to see the broken floe fleeing before the gale, giving us our coveted open sea. But no change had taken place. We had no resort but to weary sledging. We carried forward our freight in small parcels, a mile on our journey, finally bringing up the boat. We took from under a cliff of the cape the boat "Forlorn Hope," which Dr. Kane had deposited there. It was damaged by the falling of a stone upon it from a considerable height. Petersen's skillful mending made it only a tolerable affair. Thus wearied and baffled in our efforts at progress, we returned early to our tent, and slept soundly until three o'clock in the morning, when we were aroused by shouting without. It came from three Esquimo, a boy eighteen years old, and two women. The boy we had before seen, but the women were strangers. They were filthy and ragged--in fact scarcely clothed at all. The matted hair of the women was tied with a piece of leather on the top of the head; the boy's hair was cut square across his eyebrows. One of the women carried a baby about six months old. It was thrust naked, feet foremost, into the hood of her jumper, and hung from the back of her neck. It peered innocently out of its hiding-place, like a little chicken from the brooding wing of its mother. They shivered with cold, and asked for fire and food, which we readily gave them, and they were soon off down the coast in good spirits.