446 MEETING WITH M'CLURE. 



freshed him, and the party started on again. At last, 

 after many weary days' travel, they got upon the Bay 

 of Mercy. No ship was in sight. Right across the 

 bay went the lieutenant to search for records, when, at 

 two o'clock p. M., one of the men saw something black 

 in the distance. Pirn looked through his glass, and 

 made it out to be a ship. Forthwith the whole party 

 proceeded as fast as possible toward it. Pirn, hurrying 

 along, soon got in advance of the sledge, and walked 

 on alone. 



On the 6th of April, 1853, the little crew of the In- 

 vestigator was in low spirits : one of their comrades 

 had just poisoned himself. All hands were preparing 

 for the separation which was to take place in the follow- 

 ing week, and were looking forward with gloomy fore- 

 bodings to their slender chances of escape, when an 

 event occurred, which we give in M'Clure's own words : 



" While walking near the ship, in conversation with 

 the first lieutenant upon the subject of digging a grave 

 for the man who died yesterday, and discussing how we 

 could cut a grave in the ground whilst it was so hardly 

 frozen (a subject naturally sad and depressing), we per- 

 ceived a figure walking rapidly towards us from the 

 rough ice at the entrance of the bay. From his pace 

 and gestures we both naturally supposed, at first, that 

 he was some one of our party pursued by a bear ; but, 

 as we approached him, doubts arose as to who it could 

 be. lie was certainly unlike any of our men ; but, 

 recollecting that it was possible some one might be try- 

 ing a new travelling-dress preparatory to the departure 

 of our sledges, and certain that no one else was near, 

 we continued to advance. 



" When within about two hundred yards of us, the 

 strange figure threw up his arms, and made gesticula- 



