90 RETREAT FROM THE PACK. 



A snow-storm came to add to this danger ; but still 

 we kept on at the cold and risky work of " warping " 

 with capstan and windlass, whale-line and hawser, 

 sometimes making and sometimes losing, and often 

 pretty severely nipped. 



At length we were once more completely " be- 

 set." The young ice was making rapidly, and I was 

 forced reluctantly to admit that the navigable season 

 was over. To stay longer in the pack was now to in- 

 sure of being frozen up there for the winter, and ac- 

 cordingly, after having exhausted two more days of 

 fruitless labor, we made what haste we could to get 

 back again into clear water. This was not, however, 

 an affair to be quickly accomplished. He who navi- 

 gates these polar seas must learn patience. 



Our purpose was, however, in the end safely accom- 

 plished, and, a breeze springing up, we put back into 

 Hartstene Bay ; and, steering for a cluster of ragged- 

 looking islands which lay near the coast at its head, 

 we came upon a snug Httle harbor behind them, and 

 dropped our anchors. Next morning I had the 

 schooner hauled further in-shore, and moored her to 

 the rocks. 



Meanwhile the crew were working with anxious 

 uncertainty; and when I finally announced my in- 

 tention to winter in that place they received the intel- 

 ligence with evident satisfaction. Their exposure had 

 been great, and they needed rest ; but, notwithstand- 

 ing this, had there been the least prospect of service- 

 able result following any further attempt to cross the 

 Sound, they would, with their customary energy and 

 cheerfulness, have rejoiced in continuing the struggle. 

 But they saw, as their faces clearly told, even before I 

 was willing to own it, that the season was over. I re- 



