The ice surface was fairly good, though sometimes interrupted by lines of hummocks. Sails were set with the wind aft or on the quarter, the tent poles being used as sheers and as a yard, and the floor-cloths for a sail. Under favourable circumstances this was a great success. Large square kites, invented by Mr Leigh Smith’s father, were partially successful. We travelled at night and slept in the day-time. As soon as the tent was pitched, the floor-cloth was put down, sleeping-bags laid out, and the buffalo robe placed over them. The men took it in turn to be cook of the mess, supper consisting of pemmican, biscuit, and grog. Boots were taken off, feet carefully examined for frost-bites, snow blindness doctored with _vinum opii_ (“open eye” the men called it) and then all got into their bags. Songs and stories followed until all were overcome by sleep. “Is the chronometer wound”? was the form of saying good night. In the evening the agony of having to force our feet into boots frozen as hard as iron had to be undergone. Breakfast consisted of cocoa or tea and biscuit. Everything being packed, the journey began at 6 P.M., the officer falling in to the drag-ropes except when he was wanted to guide the sledge or shoot a bear. There was a short halt for luncheon consisting of hard frozen pork fat, biscuit, and a tot of rum. But it was difficult to drink out of a pannikin without leaving the skin of the lips attached to it. The process called for considerable caution, but I had a piece of blanket on purpose to put over the rim. The time of marching was from 8 to 10 hours. The region to the south was quite unknown except Cape Walker, which can be seen at a great distance. Captain Ommanney, leading the southern division, reached that lofty cliff. Then Mecham explored the island on which it is situated; Lieut. Browne was sent down to the east coast of the newly-discovered land, exactly in the direction of the lost ships if he had only known it; Vesey Hamilton examined Lowther Island; while Captain Ommanney and Sherard Osborn made a long journey down to the west side of the new land which was named after the Prince of Wales. Osborn observed the tremendous ice in what has since been named M’Clintock Channel, and it was clear to him that Franklin could never have passed in that direction. Captain Ommanney travelled round a very extensive bay. The Cape Walker division of sledges did its work thoroughly well.