n sail quickly to stop the course of the brig; the braces could
not run easily through the choked-up pulleys, and added to the fatigue
of the crew; more than a week was required for them to reach Point
Barrow. The _Forward_ had not made thirty miles in ten days.

Then the wind flew around to the north, and the engine was started
once more. Hatteras still hoped to find an open sea beyond latitude 77
degrees, such as Edward Belcher had seen.

And yet, if he believed in Penny's account, the part of the sea which
he was now crossing ought to have been open; for Penny, having reached
the limit of the ice, saw in a canoe the shores of Queen's Channel at
latitude 77 degrees.

Must he regard their reports as apochryphal, or had an unusually early
winter fallen upon these regions?

August 15th, Mount Percy reared into the mist its peaks covered with
eternal snow; a violent wind was hurling in their teeth a fierce
shower of hail. The next day the sun set for the first time,
terminating at last the long series of days twenty-four hours long.
The men had finally accustomed themselves to this perpetual daylight;
but the animals minded it very little; the Greenland dogs used to go
to sleep at the usual hour, and even Duke lay down at the same hour
every evening, as if the night were dark.

Still, during the nights following August 16th the darkness was never
very marked; the sun, although it had set, still gave light enough by
refraction.

August 19th, after taking a satisfactory observation, Cape Franklin
was seen on the eastern side, and opposite it Cape Lady Franklin; at
what was probably the farthest point reached by this bold explorer,
his fellow-countrymen wanted the name of his devoted wife should be
remembered along with his own, as an emblem of the sympathy which
always united them. The doctor was much moved by this sight in this
distant country.

In accordance with Johnson's advice, he began to accustom himself to
enduring low temperature; he kept almost all the time on deck, braving
the cold, wind, and snow. Although he had grown a little thinner, he
did not suffer from the severity of the climate. Besides, he expected
other dangers, and he rejoiced, almost, as he saw the winter
approaching.

"See," said he one day to Johnson,--"see those flocks of birds flying
south! How they fly and cry adieu!"

"Yes, Dr. Clawbonny," answered Johnson, "something has told them it
was time to go, and they are off."

[Illustra