1854.] INSECURITY. 143 



at noon and made ship signal to close ; she joined at 

 4.30 P.M., when all sail was made for south end of By am 

 Martin; in this direction most water was seen. The 

 direction of the wind our guide ; we were brought up 

 about six ; it was impossible to retrace our steps ; we 

 stih 1 struggled on, using every means to get into the 

 numerous patches of water about us, at intervals going 

 two or three knots, and bringing up until eleven P.M., 

 when the stuff packed so heavily on us that both vessels 

 became fixed. At midnight we had a very heavy squall 

 from the northward, which continued to blow furiously 

 until morning. Land was supposed to have been seen 

 on both beams. We now went driving, fixed in this 

 young sludge ice, nearly in the direction of every wind 

 that blew; still I had hopes that a westerly wind would 

 break it up. Innumerable pools of water to be seen all 

 round us, yet, with all the means at my disposal, I could 

 not even slew the ship's head round to the northward ; 

 powder only increased our difficulties, filling up every 

 space we cut with saws, by detaching the young ice 

 doubled under us some feet below our keel. We con- 

 tinued driving in this way until the 12th of November, 

 pretty quietly except at the spring tides, when we had 

 a little crushing up round us, driving over young floe 

 (very unpleasant, certainly), with much row and noise, 

 but little danger ; we were fully prepared for the worst, 

 sledges lashed, parties told off under their officers, with 

 everything on deck ready for flitting. 



" What a disappointment to a man's hopes, after break- 

 ing out so well and so easily ! To get down the Strait 

 I certainly thought easy, but there is nothing certain in 



