ENTERING THE TACK 83 



coated with ice. The clogs are perishing with cold 

 and wet. Three of them have already died. 



September 1st, 8 o'clock, P. M. 



We have once more been driven out of the Sound. 

 The gale set in again with great violence, and in the 

 act of wearing the schooner, to avoid an iceberg, the 

 fore-gaff parted in the middle ; and, unable to carry 

 any thing but a close-reefed staysail, we were forced 

 again to seek shelter behind our old protector, Cape 

 Alexander. McCormick is patching up the wreck and 

 preparing for another struggle. 



The next two days were filled with dangerous ad- 

 venture. The broken spar being repaired, we had 

 another fight for the Sound, and got again inside. The 

 pack still lay where it was before, and again headed us 

 off. There was a good deal of open water between 

 Littleton Island and Cape Hatherton, and apparently 

 to the northwest of that cape ; but there was much 

 heavy ice off the island, with tortuous leads separating 

 the floes. I determined, however, to enter the pack 

 and try to reach the open water above. Taking the 

 first fair opening, we made a northwest course for 

 about ten miles, when, finding that we were unable to 

 penetrate any further in that direction, we tacked 

 ship, hoping to reach the clear water that lay above 

 the island. 



We were now fairly in the fight. The current was 

 found to be setting strongly against us, and it was soon 

 discovered that the ice was coming rapidly down the 

 Sound, and that the leads were already slowly closing 

 up. We worked vigorously, crowding on all the sail 

 we could ; but we did not make our point, and soon 



