To this end one hundred and twenty-five miles of the Greenland coast was traced to the north and east; the largest of the three depots was located on an island in latitude 70° 12´ 6´´, and longitude 65° 25´. By the 20th of November, the darkness made field work impossible, and for one hundred and twenty days the little band of Arctic explorers endured the weariness and bitter cold of the long night. “On the 17th of January,” writes Dr. Kane, “our thermometers stood at forty-nine degrees below zero; and on the 20th the range of those at the observatory was at -64° to -67°. The temperature on the floes was always somewhat higher than at the island; the difference being due, as I suppose, to the heat conducted from the sea-water, which was at a temperature of +29°; the suspended instruments being affected by radiation. “On the 5th of February, our thermometers began to show unexampled temperature. They ranged from 60° to 75° below zero, and one very reliable instrument stood upon the taffrail of our brig at -65°. The reduced mean of our best spirit-standards gave -67°, or 99° below the freezing-point of water. “At these temperatures chloric ether became solid, and carefully prepared chloroform exhibited a granular pellicle on its surface. Spirit of naphtha froze at -54°, and oil of wintergreen was in a flocculent state at -56°, and solid at -63° and -65°. “The exhalations from the surface of the body invested the exposed or partially clad parts with a wreath of vapor. The air had a perceptible pungency upon inspiration, but I could not perceive the painful sensation which has been spoken of by some Siberian travellers. When breathed for any length of time, it imparted a sensation of dryness to the air-passages. I noticed that, as it were involuntarily, we all breathed guardedly, with compressed lips.” The depressing influence of such low temperatures affected both man and beast. The poor dogs suffered keenly, and many of them died of affections of the brain, which began with the same symptoms of fits, lunacy, and lockjaw. The loss of fifty-seven of these brave animals seriously affected Dr. Kane’s plans. The crew were greatly depleted by scurvy and almost unfit for the arduous work planned for the early spring. “An Arctic night and an Arctic day,” remarks Dr. Kane, “age a man more rapidly and harshly than a year anywhere else in the world.” Early in March a sledging party was organized to ascertain whether it were practicable to force a way over the crowded bergs and mountainous ice to the north. An advance corps was sent out to place a depot of provisions at a suitable distance from the brig. [Sidenote: _WINTER QUARTERS IN RENSSELÄER HARBOUR_] March 20, Dr. Kane writes as follows:—