384 DR. HAYES' TERRIBLE BOAT TRIP 



*'To be at sea in a snug ship with a deck under your feet, the wind roar- 

 ing and the waves breaking about you, is a pleasure, and as the vessel bounds^ 

 forward one scarcely feels that he is not in the most secure place in the world ; 

 but it is quite a different affair in an open boat twenty feet long. 



"As we ran out from the land, we obtained a fine view of Hartstene Bay. 

 The coast which bounds it to the north is high and precipitous, trending a 

 little to the north of east, and terminating in a large glacier, about twelve 

 miles east of Cape Ohlsen. The face of this glacier, dimly traceable in the 

 distance, appeared to be about three miles in extent, sloping backward into an 

 extensive mer de glace. To the south of the glacier the land trends nearly 

 parallel with the north shore for three or four miles, when it falls off to the 

 south, terminating in another glacier larger than the first, which, like it, 

 sweeps back around the base of the mountains into the same glassy sea. From 

 the southern extremity of this glacier the coast runs southwest, presenting 

 an almost straight line of high vertical, jagged rocks, which end in the noble 

 headland for which we were steering. 



"Although closely watching the sheet, while John steered and Bonsall 

 and Godfrey slept, I was yet at leisure to enjoy the magnificent scene which 

 spread itself before me as we approached the cape. A parhelion stood in the 

 sky on my right hand, presenting a perfect image of the sun above, and a 

 faint point of light on either side. On my left lay the beforementioned line 

 of coast, its dark front contrasting grandly with the white sheet of ice a few 

 miles further back, which seemed to be in the act of pouring down into the sea 

 from some great inland reservoir. 



"In a little while, owing to an accident to the rudder, the boat, no longer 

 under its control, broached to. The next wave broke amidships and filled us. 

 The air-chambers, which had hitherto made the boat so crank, now saved us 

 from sinking. The steersman was knocked down from his seat, and before 

 he could regain his oar, and bring the boat into the wind. Sea after sea had 

 broken over us. 



"Finding that they were not absolutely drowned, and that nothing worse 

 could happen than a good ducking, the men returned to their posts, and in 

 a few minutes the sail was reefed and set, and the boat righted. The in- 

 creased load which she now carried sank her lower in the water, and in spite 

 of all our efforts, there remained an unwelcome cargo; for, as fast as we 

 bailed out one portion, another poured in. Discouraged at length by our 

 fruitless efforts to get her free, we gave up the attempt ; and being now sat- 



