﻿290 SLOW PROGRESS. August 



hours and a half later. It commenced on the 

 Mackenzie by the wind changing from north-east 

 to north-west, and the sky did not clear up till nine 

 in the morning of the 24th. At the same date an 

 earthquake occurred in the West India Islands, 

 which did much damage. 



During the night much ice drifted past, and in 

 the morning of the 23 rd the sea as far as our view 

 extended was one dense close pack. By 10 a.m. 

 the wind had moderated considerably, and the 

 rising tide having floated some of the stranded 

 pieces of ice, we were enabled to advance slowly 

 along the shore by moving them aside. In this 

 way every small indentation of the coast-line re- 

 quired to be rounded, and as these were numerous 

 the direct distance made good was small. We en- 

 camped, on the tide falling again, at 2 p.m., on a 

 gravel point lying about ten miles to the westward 

 of Chantry Island. Snow, which fell in the night, 

 did not wholly melt this day, and the distant rising 

 grounds were white. The weather continued very 

 cold ; drift-wood proved to be exceedingly scanty ; 

 and in the night we had high winds and much 

 sleet. The coast-line is more deeply indented in 

 this quarter than the chart * indicates, as chains 

 of low sandy islands which lie across the entrances 

 of the bays hid them from our view on the former 



* In Franklin's second Overland Journey. 



