“A more thorough break-up of a healthy and strong body of men it would be difficult to conceive,” comments Markham. “Not only had the men engaged in the extended party under my command been attacked with scurvy, but also those who had been absent from the ship only for short periods, and some who may be said never to have left the ship at all, or if they did, only for two or three days! The seeds must have been sown during the time, nearly five months, that the sun was absent, and we were in darkness.” The serious condition of the crew of the _Alert_ determined Captain Nares to publicly announce on the 16th of June that immediately upon the return of the other sledge parties he would rejoin the _Discovery_, transfer all the invalids, and send the ship home. The _Alert_ would remain a second winter at Port Foulke, and in the spring sledge parties would endeavour to explore Hayes Sound and the adjacent lands, after which the _Alert_ would return to England. This cheerful news did much to restore the invalids to convalescence, and immediately a change for the better was noticed among all hands. Considerable anxiety was felt, however, for Lieutenant Aldrich’s party. Although his route was along the coast-line, and it was hoped that a supply of hares, geese, and perhaps musk-oxen might occasionally be secured, every one knew that his supply of provisions was all but exhausted, and for the purpose of his relief a party of three men under Lieutenant May left the ship June 18. The intervening time until Sunday, June 25, was one of great concern to all on board; on that day the wanderers were seen struggling through the hummocks some six or seven miles off. A relief party immediately left the ship and brought the men on board. All but two were suffering from scurvy. Only Lieutenant Aldrich and two men were able to walk alongside the ship, and one of these was in a critical condition for many weeks after. They had been absent from the ship eighty-four days, having explored two hundred twenty miles of new coast. Passing Cape Columbia, 83° 07´ N., Lieutenant Aldrich reached his farthest point on the 18th of May, 1876, in 82° 16´ N., 86° W., at Cape Alfred Ernst. It now became the arduous work of the few members of the ship’s company who were in good health to minister to the numerous invalids, prepare the ship for leaving winter quarters as soon as the ice would permit, and make hunting trips in search of fresh meat, so essential to the cure of scurvy patients.