542 WINTER QUARTERS. 



drift ice, but as the season advanced became perfectly 

 clear. Its shores are in many places faced with lofty 

 granite cliffs, and some of the adjacent hills rise 1600 

 feet ; the tides are very strong, running six or seven 

 knots at the springs. On the 6th of September, we 

 passed through Bellot Strait without obstruction, and 

 secured the ship to fixed ice across its western out- 

 let. From here, until the 27th, when I deemed it neces- 

 sary to retreat into winter quarters, we constantly 

 watched the movements of the ice in the western sea or 

 channel. In mid-channel it was broken up and drifting 

 about ; gradually the proportion of water increased, 

 until at length the ice which intervened was reduced to 

 three or four miles in width. But this was firmly held 

 fast by numerous islets, and withstood the violence of 

 the autumn gales. It was tantalizing beyond descrip- 

 tion thus to watch from day to day the free water, which 

 we could not reach, and which washed the rocky shore 

 a few miles to the southward of us. 



" Our wintering position was at the east entrance of 

 Bellot Strait, in a snug harbor, which I have named 

 Port Kennedy, after my predecessor in these waters, 

 the commander of one of Lady Franklin's former search- 

 ing expeditions. Although vegetation was tolerably 

 abundant, and our two Esquimaux hunters, Mr. Peter- 

 sen, and several sportsmen, were constantly on the 

 alert, the resources of the country during eleven and a 

 half months only yielded us eight reindeer, two bears, 

 eighteen seal, and a few water-fowl and ptarmigan. 73 



During the winter, which was unusually cold and 

 stormy, the following arrangements were made for car- 

 rying out the intended plan of search. To Lieut. Hob- 

 son was allotted the search of the western shore of 

 Boothia to the magnetic pole, and from Gateshead Isl- 

 and westward to Wynuiatt's furthest. Capt. Allen 



