At two o’clock on the morning of the 4th we continued our journey to the northward, over the same snowy and level plain as before, than which it is impossible to conceive anything more dreary and uninteresting.  It frequently happened that, for an hour together, not a single spot of uncovered ground could be seen.  The breeze freshened up to a gale from the S.S.E. as we proceeded, and the men, as if determined not to forget that they were sailors, set a large blanket upon the cart as a sail, which, upon the present level ground, was found to be of material assistance.  The snow was deep and rather soft, which made the travelling heavy; and as the wind produced a good deal of snowdrift, most of the bare patches of ground became covered up, so that, when our time for halting had arrived, not a piece of ground could be seen on which to pitch the tents.  Captain Sabine and myself went forward to look out for a spot, and at length were fortunate to meet with one, on which there was just room for our little encampment.  It was with some difficulty, by building a wall with stones and our knapsacks, that we prevented its being covered with snow before the party came up, which they did at half past seven A.M., having travelled ten miles in a N.W.b.N. direction.

By the time we had secured the tents the wind blew hard, with a continued fall, as well as drift of snow, so that we could not but consider ourselves fortunate in having met with a spot of ground in good time.  Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, we found the tents afford us very comfortable and sufficient shelter, the cart being tilted up to windward of them, so as to break up some measure the violence of the wind; and, when wrapped up, or, rather, enclosed in our blanket bags, we were generally quite warm enough to enjoy the most sound and refreshing repose.

It continued to blow and snow till seven P.M., when the wind having veered to the S.W., and become more moderate, we struck the tents; and having now placed the men’s knapsacks on the cart, to enable them to drag with greater facility, we proceeded on our journey to the northward.  We passed a narrow but deep ravine lying across our course, in some parts of which the snow reached nearly to a level with the banks, forming a kind of bridges or causeways, on one of which we crossed without difficulty.  The men had hoisted one sail upon the cart at first setting off; but the wind being now, as they expressed it, “on the larboard quarter,” a second blanket was rigged as a mainsail, to their great amusement as well as relief.

After crossing a second ravine, on the north side of which the ground rose considerably, we entered upon another snowy plain, where there was nothing to be seen in any direction but snow and sky.  To make it the more dreary, a thick fog came on as the night advanced; and as this prevented our taking any mark more than fifty or a hundred yards ahead, we had to place the compass, by which we were now entirely travelling, upon the ground every five minutes; and as it traversed with great sluggishness, we made a very crooked and uncertain course.  For more than two hours we did not pass a single spot of uncovered ground, nor even a stone projecting above the snow.