gan to construct light sledges from the portable materials the young men carried with them for the purpose. These being completed, four of us set out, each in a separate sledge, carrying water and food for himself and his flanilla.
This mode of travelling was new to me, and proved by much the most delightful I had ever experienced. The animals were, comparatively speaking, fresh, for they had been kept in reserve while we travelled with the expedition. They glided, rather than ran, along the ice, and we made tremendous headway. On more than one occasion I gave vent to my curbed spirits by indulging in prolonged shouts, which contrasted weirdly with the silence of this desolate yet awe-inspiring region that now surrounded us. Our plan was to keep some distance away from the channel, striking it at intervals, and make a more careful survey, if possible, on our return. Once we stepped from our sledges to examine it. Yondozi began to be more thoughtful, for it appeared useless to proceed any farther, as the banks of ice were so close at the top as to be almost touching.
"A vessel could not pass very well through there," he said, pointing ahead.
I agreed with him, and began to think of the
