1852.] MOVE UP WELLINGTON CHANNEL. 83 



sea, visible to the horizon, was before us, and, reflected 

 in the heavens beyond, the well-known " water sky" 

 afforded us the cheering hope of passing the Rubicon, 

 the icy barrier of Penny, at Cape Osborne. Every foot 

 advanced raised emotions not to be explained, and the 

 telescope had but little rest, so eagerly did we scan every 

 feature of the surrounding coast-line. 



On the morning of the 1 5th, a small cairn was noticed 

 on a point a little ahead ; I quitted the ship in the gig 

 to examine it ; it was Cape Grinnell, but no record re- 

 mained. White whales were sporting very unconcernedly 

 in the brisk tide which, near the Cape, flowed to the 

 southward, but the ship evidently moved rapidly to the 

 northward ; this, probably, was merely an in-shore eddy 

 current. How the imaginations of the croakers had 

 conjured up the " barrier of ice," I am totally at a loss 

 to conceive, for here not a particle of ice, to be seen from 

 the land, about eighty feet above the level, could warrant 

 an idea of obstruction. 



Passing Cape Osborne about noon, we entered on the 

 chord of Baring Bay, apparently but a slight indenta- 

 tion, and free from ice. Our attention was specially di- 

 rected to this part of the channel, fully expecting to dis- 

 cover some inlet, stream, or lake, which might afford 

 Mr. M'Cormick some chance of discovering "a lead" into 

 Jones's Sound, but in vain ; nor could we find any moun- 

 tain, hill, or elevation, to correspond with the Mount 

 Franklin of De Haven. Before evening, all fears of 

 barriers had vanished, and our course westerly and 

 northerly was still clear from the mast-head. 



About two A.M. on the 16th, we shoaled our water to 



G 2 



