﻿296 BASIL hall's bay. August, 



We remained all the 30th in an encampment, 

 watching the ice outside, or making excursions 

 across the cape to examine the sea in various direc- 

 tions. Some small lanes of water were visible, 

 and the ice was moved to and fro by the flood and 

 ebb, but no channel was discovered by which we 

 could hope to make any progress towards the 

 Coppermine River. The wind continued in the 

 cast-north-east quarter, and the weather was very 

 chilling. We employed the men in erecting a 

 column of stone near the tents. It was on this 

 cape that Mr. Rae spent a month of the following 

 summer in anxiously watching for an opening in 

 the ice, by which he might cross to Douglass Island 

 and Wollaston Land. The true position of Doug- 

 lass Island is ten miles from Cape Krusenstern. 



At 4 p. M. on the 30th, a sudden movement of 

 the ice having opened a narrow channel, we has- 

 tened to launch and load the boats ; and, pushing 

 them through, succeeded in rounding the Cape. 

 We then ran under sail with a favourable breeze 

 till 11 P.M., when the night being dark we got 

 involved among drift-ice, and not being able to 

 reach the shore dropped anchor off Point Lockyer, 

 and went to sleep in the boats. 



We resumed the voyage at 4 a.m. on the 31st, 

 and, getting inside of fields of ice which covered 

 the sea as far as our view extended, we ran along 

 the coast until we came to an island in Basil Hall's 



