Having rested after our dinner till half past two A.M., we set out again to the southwest, making, however, a very crooked course on account of the irregularity of the ground.  In the first quarter of a mile we passed the first running stream which we had seen this season, and this was but a small one, from six to twelve inches deep.  The ground, as well as the pools of water, was frozen hard during the last night, but thawed during the day, which made travelling worse and worse, as the sun acquired power.  We passed a few horns of deer, killed three ptarmigans, and saw a pair of ducks.  The plumage of the cock grouse was still quite white, except near the tip of the tail, where the feathers were of a fine glossy black; but in every hen which we had lately killed, a very perceptible alteration was apparent, even from day to day, and their plumage had now nearly assumed that speckled colour which, from its resemblance to that of the ground, is so admirably adapted to preserve them from being seen at the season of their incubation.  We found it difficult, in general, to get near the hens, which were very wild; but the male birds were at all times stupidly tame.

At half past two A.M. on the 10th we struck the tents, and proceeded to the S.W., the wind having got round to the S.E., with continued snow.  At the distance of two miles we entered upon a level plain three miles wide, which, with the exception of a patch here and there, was entirely covered with snow.  The uncovered parts of this plain were so wet as to be almost impassable for the cart; and we were now as desirous of keeping on the snow as, at the beginning of our journey from Winter Harbour, we had been anxious to avoid it.

The weather continued hazy, with snow occasionally, but our clothes dried in the sun towards noon; soon after which, however, the snow became more thick and constant, so that we could scarcely see a hundred yards around the tents.  We waited for some time in hope of the weather clearing, and then, at a quarter past five, continued our journey; as we were under the necessity, however, of directing our course entirely by compass, which is here a very uncertain and deceitful guide, we made but a slow and tedious progress.  The wind freshened up to a gale from the S.E. soon after we had set out, which made it impossible for us any longer to pursue our journey, and we began to look out for a spot on which the tents could be pitched, so as to afford us a dry flooring, if not shelter, during the gale.  Having crossed three ravines within a mile and a quarter, we at length came to a very deep one, which was nearly perpendicular on each side, with the snow overhanging in some parts, so as to make it dangerous to go near the edge of the bank.  We were at length fortunate in finding a narrow, sloping ridge of snow, leading down to the bottom of the ravine; and having descended this with some difficulty, we found such good shelter as to determine me to halt here for the night, which now became more and more inclement.