camp on the ice.
The ice was bad and every man was carrying a long pole to protect him if he broke through. One could drive the pole through the ice anywhere. It was rotten.
There were many cracks in the ice but none large enough to bother us much.
Our party was spread out in an attempt to find good ice, but the same reports came in from all sides, badly candled and quite rotten although still at least 2 foot 6 inches thick.
Roughly 25 miles had been covered in this manner, a direct line towards Resolution, when we came to a large stretch of open water.
