got their harness into a dreadful entanglement in their excitement to get home, but we were afraid to clear them lest they should break away from us, or cause us any delay, as we were both naturally anxious to return with the utmost speed to the ship, and so relieve ourselves of the serious responsibility occasioned by the very precarious state in which our patient was lying. Upon arriving alongside at 6:30 P.M., we were very thankful that Petersen was able to answer us when we informed him he was at home.’ “In conclusion Lieutenant Egerton says:— “‘I regret exceedingly that I have been compelled to return to the ship without having accomplished my journey to H. M. S. _Discovery_; but I trust that what I have done will meet with your approval, and that the course I adopted may be the means of having lessened the very serious and distressing condition of Petersen.’” Poor Petersen never recovered from the effects of his terrible experience. He gradually sank and died peacefully, on the 14th of May. The work of these two brave young officers on this occasion stands out conspicuously amongst the many deeds of daring and devotion with which the annals of Arctic adventure abound. Five days after their return to the ship (20th of March) the same two officers, accompanied by a couple of sailors and a sledge drawn by seven dogs, started once more for the _Discovery_. After five days of a toilsome journey rendered all the more severe by intense cold, they reached the ship and were warmly welcomed by her officers and crew. [Illustration: DISCO ISLAND] The serious sledging work of the expedition was undertaken as early in the season as April 3, in a temperature of 33° below zero. Seven sledges under the command of Markham and Aldrich and manned by a force of fifty-three officers and men started on that day for the long-cherished object of reaching the Pole and of exploring the northern shores of Grinnell Land. “On the second day out,” writes Markham, “the temperature fell to 45° below zero, or 77° below freezing point. The cold then was so intense as to deprive us of sleep, the temperature inside the tent being as low as -25°, the whole period of resting being occupied in attempting to keep the blood in circulation. Several frost-bites were sustained, but they were all attended to in time, and resulted in nothing worse than severe and very uncomfortable blisters.”