stone above the snow. The mystery was soon explained. Tracks of four hunted musk oxen were found a couple of miles off. No doubt the wolves had driven them from some southern feeding-ground. They travelled so rapidly that our hunting party despatched after them failed even to catch sight of them. The discovery that there was some game in the country was a very cheering one. If it was not a land flowing with milk and honey, it was at any rate not so bad as it might be, and we went back to our sledging preparations with a hope that we should fall in with either the wolves or the oxen during our travels. The weather was now sufficiently settled to warrant the departure of the main travelling parties. It was arranged that they should consist of two separate divisions of eight-men sledges. Lieutenant Aldrich, with the sledge “Challenger,” would explore the shore to the north-west in search of land trending northward. He would be supported by Lieutenant Giffard’s sledge, the “Poppie,” which would travel with the “Challenger” to a distant point, re-provision her there, return to Floeberg Beach, and then carry out depôts of food and fuel for the “Challenger’s” homeward journey. The northern division, under the command of Captain Markham, would consist of his sledge, the “Marco Polo,” and Lieutenant Parr’s, the “Victoria,” supported by the “Alexandra,” commanded by Mr. White, and the writer’s own sledge, the “Bulldog.” In addition to these, a four-man sledge led by Briant, a petty officer of H.M.S. “Discovery,” would help us forward for three or four days. The routes of both detachments lay together as far as Cape Joseph Henry. At that point the northern parties would replenish their stores from the supporting sledges and from the large depôt of pemmican placed there in the autumn, then, leaving the land, endeavour to force a passage due northward over the floes. Meantime, a depôt for their return would be carried out by the “Bulldog,” and left at some suitable spot at Cape Joseph Henry. Owing to the impossibility of depositing autumn or, indeed, any other depôts, sledge-travelling _away from a coast_ has never yet been carried to any distance. We looked upon this attempt in the light of a more than doubtful experiment. It nevertheless promised a higher northern latitude than the coast-line route. When we compared notes amongst ourselves after we had started, one or two thought that N. lat. 86° might be attainable, but the majority drew the line at 85°. [Illustration: CAMP OF SLEDGE PARTY.]