646 CAPT. ALLAN'S ACCOUNT. 



Capt. Allan, of the whaler, tells the story of the rescue 

 in the following graphic style : 



" We entered Melville Bay (no other ships in company) 

 on the 8th of June, and proceeded north under steam, with 

 occasional stoppages, until the 15th, when a very violent 

 gale from the southwest broke up the land ice, completely 

 blocking the passage in every direction, rendering the 

 navigation slow and uncertain, while very little progress 

 was made, as the winds continued to prevail from the 

 southwest. At length, after great difficulty, the ship 

 reached latitude 75 deg. 38 min. north, longitude 65 deg. 

 35 min. west, Cape York being plainly in sight, bearing 

 northwest (true) about twenty-five miles distant. Here a 

 complete stop was come to, and the vessel was in imminent 

 danger of being crushed by the heavy floes which sur- 

 rounded her. In this position, on the morning of the 23d 

 of June at four A. M., the look-out from the 'crow's nest' 

 reported that a party supposed to be Esquimaux were 

 making their way over the pack-ice toward the ship. At 

 this time they were a long way distant, probably thirteen 

 or fourteen miles, and appeared to move very slowly. By 

 nine A. M. the strangers had advanced a mile or two nearer 

 and came to a halt. We could then just make out that 

 they were not Esquimaux, and could distinguish two boats, 

 each of which displayed a small flag on a pole, but owing 

 to the distance and refraction it was almost impossible to 

 make this out with certainty. However, concluding they 

 had seen us, our ensign was hoisted as a reply signal, and 

 eighteen picked men were sent off to render any assistance 

 required, while the strangers were observed to detach two 

 of their number in the direction of the vessel. When 

 these met our party, the whole proceeded onward to the 

 boats, and a messenger was sent back to inform us of the 

 news. At five p. M. -the entire lot started for the ship, and 

 Borne idea of the difficulty of traveling over such ice may 

 be formed from the fact that it was twelve midnight before 



