368 DISASTROUS SEPARATION. 



and nothing could be seen or heard around but huge 

 masses of ice grinding, tossing, and rearing furiously 

 on every side. To return to the tship under these cir- 

 cumstances was out of the question ; so they made for 

 the shore as fast as possible, dragging the boat along 

 with them. On reaching it, they pulled the boat up and 

 turned it over so as to form a kind of shelter from the 

 night-air, and then prepared to pass the night under it, 

 although little sleep was anticipated ; for, besides the 

 anxiety occasioned by their strange position, their 

 clothes were almost covered with ice, and they had no 

 blankets or coverings of any kind. From his former 

 experience in Arctic scenes, Kennedy knew the danger 

 of falling asleep under such circumstances ; and, notwith- 

 standing the strong desire that he and his men felt to 

 indulge in repose, he only allowed them to rest for an 

 hour at a time, obliging them during the remainder of 

 the night to keep in active motion. 



With the dawn of the following morning the shivering 

 party scrambled to the top of the highest cliff of Cape 

 Seppings, but not a vestige of the vessel was to be seen I 

 The consternation of the poor men, who were thus cast 

 away on this bleak shore, may be imagined. Without 

 provisions, scantily clad, no vessel, and an approaching 

 hyperborean winter, their condition seemed forlorn 

 indeed. One fortunate circumstance, however, cheered 

 them not a little ; and this was the fact that, two years 

 before, Sir James Ross had left a deposit of provisions 

 at Whaler Point, on the other side of the harbor. 

 Should this be found in good condition, there was every 

 reason to hope that they might manage to pass the 

 winter in at least some degree of comfort. Thither, 

 therefore, Kennedy and his four men now directed their 

 steps. A short walk brought them to the spot, where, 

 to their great joy, they found the provisions just as they 



