left to enable them to advance for a further period
of five days; Captain Ommanney generously allowing me, his junior, to
take the search up in a westerly direction, whilst he went down the
channel to the southward, which after all ended in a blind bay. I went
some fifty miles farther, and, finding the coast trend to the south,
endeavoured to march in a westerly direction across the floe. The
sledge was light, with only ten days' provision, and the men were well
inured to their work; but I saw, that from the severe strains that were
brought on the fastenings of the sledge, that wood, iron, and lashings
would not long stand it; and as every foot we advanced, progress became
more laborious, and risk greater, I desisted in the attempt; for,
situated as we were, nigh three hundred miles from our ship, the
breaking down of the sledge would have entailed fearful misery, if not
destruction, to my party. Turning southward, we again closed the land,
when another severe storm, on the 21st of May, obliged us to take
shelter in our tent, and remain there until it was time to return.

[Headnote: _CONCLUSION OF JOURNEY._]

The journey homeward was light work: the sledges were now half emptied;
the weather had become mild, being only a little below freezing-point;
we knew the ground, and could make short cuts, and by forced marches we
succeeded in making two days' journey in one, thereby giving ourselves
a double quantity of food to consume. Lost flesh was quickly recovered;
and the two sledges, again rejoining, reached by the night of the 4th
of June a depot formed at Snow-blind Bay.

Here we met Lieutenant Mecham. He informed us that neither by our
parties, or those of Penny's, had intelligence of Franklin been brought
back by the supporting sledges. There was, however, hope yet: the long
parties had not yet come in; and Captain Penny had been stopped by
_water_--_open water_--early in May. He had again gone out with a boat;
and all attention was directed to Wellington Channel, for every one
felt that on no other route was there a chance of Franklin being heard
of. Lastly, great fears were entertained lest our long parties should
not beat those of the "Lady Franklin" and "Sophia" in time and
distance; a piece of _esprit-de-corps_ highly commendable, no doubt,
but which, I blush to say, I took no interest in, having gone to the
Arctic regions for other motives and purposes than to run races for a
Newmarket cup, or to be backed aga