--Illness and Decease of John
Reid and William Souter.--Breaking up of the Ice in the
Bay.--Account of Winter Island.--Abstract of Observations made
there.
As there was an increased extent of open water in the offing, and
the weather being now, to all appearance, tolerably settled, I
determined on sending away a travelling party under Captain Lyon.
It consisted of Lieutenant Palmer, five seamen, and three marines,
the whole being victualled for twenty days, and furnished with a
tent, fuel, and every other convenience of which such a journey
would admit. The baggage was placed on light sledges, resembling
those used by Captain Franklin on his late journey to the shores
of the Polar Sea, made out of staves shaved thin, six feet eight
inches long, fourteen inches broad, and turned up before. Being
secured entirely with thongs of hide sunk by grooves into the wood
to keep them from wearing, they were perfectly flexible, so as to
be in no danger of breaking on uneven ground. Each individual of
the party was furnished with one of these, which also served to
sleep and sit upon; the weight dragged by each of the men being
about one hundred and twenty pounds, and that of the officers from
ninety to ninety-five. Each person had also a pair of snow-shoes,
a deerskin jacket and boots for sleeping in, and another pair of
boots of water-tight sealskin.
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