TROUBLES OF EXPLORER 159 



island a little to the north of the berg and close to the land. Plenty of 

 open water. We lost no time in launching the boats, getting the provisions 

 in and pulling around the berg, when we saw the Polaris. She had steam up, 

 and succeeded in getting a harbon She got under the lee of an island and 

 came down with her sails set — jib, foresail, mainsail and staysail. She must 

 have seen us, as the island was four or five miles off. We expected her to 

 save us, as there was plenty of open water, beset with ice, which I think she 

 couW have gotten through. In the evening we started with the boats for 

 shore. Had we reached it, we could have walked on board in one hour, 

 but the ice set in so fast when near the shore that we could not pull through 

 it. We had a narrow escape in jumping from piece to piece, with the painter 

 in hand, until we reached the floe. We dragged the boat two or three hundred 

 yards, to a high place, where we thought she would be secure until morning, 

 and made for our provisions, which were on a distant part of the floe. We 

 were too much worn out with hunger and fatigue to bring her along to-night, 

 and it is nearly dark. We cannot see our other boat or our provisions ; the 

 snow-drift has covered our late tracks." 



There was talk that Captain Buddington, of the Polaris, wilfully deserted 

 the party ; but Harron says : 



"I don't think Captain Buddington meant to abandon us; he either thought 

 we could easily get ashore, or else he could not get through the ice ; I don't 

 think he would do anything of the kind; standing on the ship, you would 

 naturally think we could get ashore; it may have looked to him that we were 

 right under the lee of the shore; it is very likely that he thought we could 

 get ashore, and that he didn't understand our signals." 



Further on Herron tells of numberless positions. His account reads : 



"Thursday, Nov. 28. — Thanksgiving to-day; we have had a feast — four 

 pint cans of mock turtle soup, six pint cans of green corn, made into scouch. 

 Afternoon, three ounces of bread and the last of our chocolate — our days' feast. 

 All well." 



The next day, the 29th, they did not fare so well; they had to be content 

 with boiled seal-skin; but the thickness of the hair bafiled the masticatory 

 powers of some of them. 



Further extracts from the same source show the straits they were re- 

 duced to : 



"December 2. — No open water has been seen for several days ; cannot catch 

 anything. Land has been seen for several days; cannot determine what shore 



