154

SAILS REPAIRED.

[CH. VI.

"The first day of our anchoring here, the ice had drove so much towards us, that we could plainly distinguish it from off our deck, having had the wind blowing from the northward and eastward. All the fishing ships in the eastern harbour, in consequence of it, had put to sea, many of whom passed close to the Sound we were in.

"On the 15th, the third day after our arrival here, many large pieces of ice passed the Sound, the current and wind helping each other to carry them along the shore.

“There was a tide here, but 'twas so irregular in its time, and direction, and height, that we could determine little or nothing about it. We were obliged here to unbend many of our sails, particularly the mainsail, to mend them, having been torn and otherwise damaged since we

were out.

"On the 16th we had completed our water, and saw more ships in the offing. The wind for the last twenty-four hours had blown hard from the S.W., and had caused the ice to disappear."

CHAPTER VII.

A MIDSHIPMAN'S NARRATIVE-(continued).

"On the evening of the 17th of July, having finished the observations and got the astronomical instruments on board, we weighed and with a light breeze put to sea, together with our consort, and steered N.N.E. till between nine and ten at night, when we got quite near to the ice, which was still very close without appearance of a passage anywhere; we therefore hauled to the eastward, but having run a few leagues, we there also saw the main body quite close in with the land, without a possibility of going between them.

"We now hauled to the westward. All the 18th we had but little wind, scarcely making any way through the water; but on the 19th,

156 SAILING ALONG THE EDGE OF THE ICE. [CHAP. the wind at N.W., N.E., and S.S. E., gave us a fair opportunity of surveying the pack, from which, at eleven o'clock, we were within half pistol-shot distance. A point of the ice running a good way out to the southward, obliged us to stand on the other tack to get round it; we observed it to extend from N. by W., to S. by W.

"At two o'clock, being clear of the point that intercepted our course, we tacked again and stood to the N.W., steering close along the edge of the ice.

"We had run but two leagues in this direction before we found ourselves in amongst some loose pieces which hampered us a little, and made us often tack. We did not see the sun at noon to-day, therefore could not exactly determine the latitude, though we observed Hakluyt's Headland to bear S.W. nine or ten leagues.

“We had reason, from what we had seen, to be certain of their being no hole in the pack into which we could push to the eastward; our business, therefore, was now to try to the

VII.]

AGGRAVATING NAVIGATION.

157

westward, and to do this we had as good an opportunity as could have been wished; a most extraordinary and uncommon one indeed, viz., clear weather for almost three days (some few hours excepted), and a favourable wind!

"During this time there was scarcely half an hour that we had not occasion to alter the course, keeping all the time very close to the edge of the ice, which lay in a very irregular manner in large bights, or bays, so that we could sometimes scarcely see any to the northward, at which time we eagerly pushed on with all the sail we could carry, but were, alas! always stopped in our career before we had run six miles at the most.

"At other times it shelved much away to the southward, so that in steering along that edge we lost the northing we before had gained.

I

"Between 1 and 4 P.M. on the 20th, we had a good deal of loose ice about us, and at 8 o'clock, saw two ships without it, standing in for the land. At 10 we saw the Cloven Cliff bearing S. W. nine or ten leagues off, and sounded

158

AN OCEAN OF ICE.

[CHAP.

with a line of 140 fathoms without getting any

ground.

"At I A.M. a large stream of ice ahead, which we determined to pass as it appeared somewhat loose, made us haul up the foresail and hand the topgallant sails, to prevent the ship going too fast through the water, for the ice being in pretty large pieces would have done us no great good had we run against it. an hour we were again clear and made sail. "We had some sleet and snow to-day, and the thermometer was at 35°.

servation, not seeing the sun.

In

We had no ob

At noon we were under our double reefed topsails, with a fresh wind, steering close along the edge of the main body, which had not the smallest appearance of an opening.

'Nothing but an ocean of ice could be seen to the northward, over which great body, the wind blowing gave us reason to suspect the thermometer did not tell truth!

"Almost all the 21st we had sleet and snow; about the middle of the day the snow was very