ters to Proven, a sparse settlement, where they procured some clothing
suitable for the high latitudes.

These settlements, far beyond the Arctic Circle, belong to Denmark,
which exercises a nominal control over them. One of the industries of
Proven is the furnishing of supplies to Arctic explorers. A liberal
quantity of fresh food was secured, beside two native guides and
thirty-two Eskemo dogs. It was near here that McClintock, the explorer,
was frozen in for an entire year; but the weather continued unusually
mild. A mountainous iceberg while drifting slowly with the current
sloughed off so much from one side that its centre of gravity was
displaced and the mountain of ice turned a complete somersault before it
settled to rest.

There is hardly any limit to the time in which provisions can be
preserved in the polar regions. A cache was found among the Gary Islands
which had been left by Sir George Nares years before, and nearly all was
in as good condition as when placed there. One of the strange phenomena
of the Arctic regions is the red snow, mentioned by Sir John Ross, which
was seen by the Greely party. This color is found to be due to myriads
of tiny plants deposited on the crust. That most eminent botanist,
Robert Brown, subjected it to careful examination and pronounced it to
be a unicellular plant of the order _Algae_, and Dr. Greville, of
Edinburgh, gave it its name (_Protococcus nivalis_), by which it is now
known to the scientific world.

The steamer halted at Littleton Island on the 2d of August. A number of
articles were found at "Life-Boat Cove," that had been left by the
Polaris expedition in 1873. A quantity of coal was unloaded here to be
taken aboard on the return.

Steaming up Kennedy Channel, a deposit of provisions was made near
Franklin Island and Carl Ritter Bay. A short distance north, an immense
ice pack stopped the ship which repeatedly tried in vain to butt its way
through. It was compelled to drift with the pack until the 11th of
August, when an opening appeared and the _Proteus_ forced a passage to
Bellot Island, at the entrance to Discovery Harbor.

AT LADY FRANKLIN BAY.

The steamer had now reached Lady Franklin Bay, which was its
destination, and near which Fort Conger, a signal station, was to be
established. The ship was unloaded and a house built, the men living in
tents the meanwhile, and on the 19th of August, the _Proteus_ bade the
explorers good-by and started on her re