348 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 



navik, they were boarded by natives for the first time. 

 They were out in government whale-boats, hunting for 

 ducks and seals. These hardy children of the Arctic 

 Circle were not shy, for through the Danes, the English 

 whalers, and government expeditions, they had become 

 acquainted with men of other latitudes. 



When the expedition reached Melville Bay, which, 

 on account of its fearful character, is also called the 

 Devil's Nip, the voyagers began to witness more of the 

 grandeur and perils of Arctic scenes. Icebergs of all 

 dimensions came bearing down from the polar seas like 

 vast squadrons, and the roar of their rending came 

 over the waters like the booming of the heavy broad- 

 sides of contending navies. They also encountered 

 immense floes, with only narrow channels between ; 

 and at times their situation was exceedingly perilous. 



On one occasion, after heaving through fields of ice 

 for five consecutive weeks, two immense floes, between 

 which they were making their way, gradually approached 

 each other ; and for several hours they expected their 

 tiny vessels - -tiny when compared with the mighty 

 objects around them would be crushed. An immense 

 calf of ice, six or eight feet thick, slid under the Rescue, 

 lifting her almost " high and dry, 7 ' and careening her 

 partially upon her beam ends. By means of ice-anchors 

 (large iron hooks) they kept her from capsizing. In 

 this position they remained about sixty hours, when, 

 with saws and axes, they succeeded in relieving her. 

 The ice now opened a little, and they finally warped 

 through into clear water. While they were thus con 

 fined, polar bears came around them in abundance, 

 greedy for prey, and the seamen indulged a little in the 

 perilous sports of the chase. 



The open sea continued but a short time, when they 

 again became entangled among bergs, floes, and hum 



