Aug. 1858. GALE IN LANCASTER SOUND. 143 



little ice had yet been met with. The weather, and fear of 

 ice to leeward, obliged us to heave the vessel to, under 

 main trysail and fore staysail. The squalls were extremely 

 violent and seas unusually high. 



All Sunday, the 8th, the gale continued, although not 

 with such extreme force ; the deep rolling of the ship, and 

 moaning of the half-drowned dogs amidst the pelting sleet 

 and rain, was anything but agreeable. Notwithstanding 

 that I had been up all the previous night, I felt too anxious, 

 to sleep ; the wind blew directly up Barrow Strait, drifting 

 us about two miles an hour. Occasionally we drifted to 

 leeward of masses of ice, reminding us that if any of the 

 dense pack which covered this sea only three weeks ago 

 remained to leeward of us, we must be rapidly setting down 

 upon its weather edge. The only expedient in such a case 

 is to endeavour to run into it — once well within its outer 

 margin, a ship is comparatively safe — the danger lies in the 

 attempt to penetrate ; to escape out of the pack afterwards, 

 is also a doubtful matter. 



In the evening we were glad to see the land, and find 

 ourselves off the north shore near Cape Bullen, for the 

 violent motion of the ship and very weak horizontal magnetic 

 force had rendered our compasses useless. This morning 

 (the 9th) the gale broke, and the sea began to subside 

 rapidly ; by noon it was almost calm, but a thick gloom 

 prevailed, ominous, it might be, of more mischief. All 

 along the land there is ice, but broken up into harmless 

 atoms. We have carried away a maingaff and a jibstay, but 

 have come remarkably well through such a gale with only 

 this damage. 



11th. — Before noon to-day we anchored inside Cape 

 Riley, and immediately commenced preparations for em- . 

 barking coals. I visited Beechey Island house, and found 

 the door open ; it must have been blown in by an easterly 



