On the 22nd of September Aldrich was despatched with three men and two dog-sledges, provisioned for fourteen days, as a sort of pioneering expedition; his orders being to proceed, if possible, as far as Cape Joseph Henry, there to erect a cairn and deposit a record with full information regarding the practicability of travelling, that would be of use to the main party which would follow him in a few days. By the 25th the ice had again formed around the ship, and was of sufficient thickness to bear heavy weights. This was the day selected for the departure of the sledging parties. The force consisted of three eight-men sledges, officered by Parr and May, the whole under my command. My sledge was named the "Marco Polo;" Parr's, the "Victoria;" and May's, the "Hercules." My orders were to advance as far to the northward, along the land, as possible, and at our extreme position to establish a large depôt of provisions in readiness for the use of the main exploring parties that would be despatched in that direction during the ensuing spring. Our provisions were all carefully weighed and packed; the maximum weight dragged by each man on leaving the ship was 201 lbs., decreasing at the rate of 3 lbs. per diem due to the consumption of provisions. The slight experience that we obtained during the previous few days' sledging stood us now in good stead; the men who had recently been so employed being regarded as veterans in sledge work by those who were for the first time being initiated into its mysteries. All started in the very best spirits, animated by the same desire to do their utmost, and to achieve, so far as in them lay, success and honour for the expedition. The details connected with the sledging operations must have a chapter to themselves. I make no apology for not entering more fully into the journeys performed by Aldrich and others, as the description of one sledging expedition suffices for all, and I am, of course, best able to describe those in which I was myself personally engaged. FOOTNOTE: [1] All compass bearings referred to are _true_, unless stated to be _magnetic_. CHAPTER XII. AUTUMN TRAVELLING. "When suddenly a grosse fog over spred, With his dull vapour all that desert has, And heaven's cheerfull face enveloped; That all things one, and one as nothing was, And this great universe seemed one confused mass. "Thereat they greatly were dismay'd, ne wist How to direct theyr way in darknes wide; But feared to wander in that wastefull miste, For tombling into mischiefe unespyde: Worse is the danger hidden than descride." SPENSER. There are, I am sure, many among those "who stay at home at ease" who have little or no idea of what sledge travelling in the Arctic Regions is like, and who even fail to realize that it entails hard work of any description.