The station was abandoned on 9th August, the weather conditions on the 8th not being favourable. The dogs were left behind, and several barrels of seal-blubber, pork, beef, and bread were opened, so that they might maintain life for several months in case the party might be compelled to return to Conger. Three tons of coal remained, and a sufficient quantity of provisions to have supplied scant army rations for one year, with the exception of flour, sugar, vegetables, milk, and butter. The entire collection of natural history specimens and the original records of the expedition were left at Conger. Cape Baird was reached on 10th August. Here the caches were taken up, and then the launch, with three boats in tow, was steered down Kennedy Channel. The whole party of twenty-five were then in good health, and little could they dream of the horrors they were to undergo. On the 12th August, Sergeant Cross, the engineer, was found to be under the influence of liquor. He had allowed the launch to ground on the falling tide. On this date Carl Ritter Bay was reached, and the cache made by Greely on his way north was taken up. On the 13th their progress was arrested by an enormous floeberg, 60 feet in height above the water, which had grounded 1 mile from the shore, and between it and the shore was an unbroken floe. A later examination of the floeberg discovered that it had split and formed a narrow cleft about 12 feet wide and over 100 yards long. Into this narrow passage, with walls of ice about 60 feet high on either side, the boats were steered, and the dangerous run was made without accident. On the 15th August, Cross was again intoxicated, and Greely found it necessary to put Private Frederick permanently in charge of the engine. On the 21st August the boats were caught between the moving pack and an ice-foot 10 feet high, and rather severely nipped. The English cache at Cape Collinson, consisting of 240 rations of meat, salt, pepper, onion-powder and fuel, and 120 rations of bread, was taken up on 22nd August. Cape Hawks was reached on 26th August. Here it was found that the record left on the northward journey had been untouched. This proved that no vessel had reached this point either in 1882 or 1883, and Greely began to see that the position of his party was critical. He calculated that on this date he had still sixty days’ provisions, except sugar. The English dépôt left here was also found. The bread was very mouldy, but all that was eatable was taken, and the barrels were broken up for steaming purposes. Cape Hawks was left on the afternoon of 26th August, and on the same day they became beset. The temperature was now low, and young ice formed rapidly. The Eskimo killed a seal on 1st September, and another on the 2nd.