t is always supposed that they were
eaten, but history is silent on this point. The little party had to
drag their own boats over the rough ice. They travelled by night to
save snow-blindness, also that they could enjoy greater warmth during
the hours of sleep by day.

[Illustration: THE BOATS OF PARRY'S EXPEDITION HAULED UP ON THE ICE
FOR THE NIGHT. From a drawing in Parry's _Attempt to Reach the North
Pole_, 1828.]

Parry describes the laborious journey: "Being 'rigged' for
travelling," he says, "we breakfasted upon warm cocoa and biscuit,
and after stowing the things in the boats we set off on our day's journey,
and usually travelled about five and a half hours, then stopped an
hour to dine, and again travelled five or six hours. After this we
halted for the night as we called it, though it was usually early in
the morning, selecting the largest surface of ice we happened to be
near for hauling the boats on. The boats were placed close alongside
each other, and the sails supported by bamboo masts placed over them
as awnings. Every man then put on dry socks and fur boots and went
to supper. Most of the officers and men then smoked their pipes, which
served to dry the awnings. We then concluded our day with prayers and,
having put on our fur dresses, lay down to sleep," alone in the great
ice desert. Progress was slow and very tedious. One day it took them
four hours to cover half a mile. On 1st July they were still labouring
forward; a foot of soft snow on the ground made travelling very
exhausting. Some of the hummocks of ice were as much as twenty-five
feet above sea-level; nothing was to be seen but ice and sky, both
often hidden by dense fog. Still the explorers pushed on, Parry and
Ross leading the way and the men dragging the boat-sledges after. July
12th was a brilliant day, with clear sky overhead--"an absolute
luxury." For another fortnight they persevered, and on 23rd July they
reached their farthest point north. It was a warm, pleasant day, with
the thermometer at thirty-six in the shade; they were a hundred and
seventy-two miles from Spitzbergen, where the _Hecla_ lay at anchor.

"Our ensigns and pendants were displayed during the day, and severely
as we regretted not having been able to hoist the British flag in the
highest latitude to which we had aspired, we shall perhaps be excused
in having felt some little pride in being the bearers of it to a parallel
considerably beyond that mentioned in any oth