44 UNABLE TO PROCEED. 



would present itself before long, and enable us to 

 advance a considerable distance beyond the posi- 

 tion of the marginal line, which, at that moment, 

 seemed to render our further progress impos- 

 sible. Some of us, indeed, with that ardour 

 which is often attendant upon inexperience, 

 imagined it might at once be separated floe 

 from floe by a press of canvas ; and anxiously 

 looked forward to such an effect being produced, 

 by the changes of the season and other favour- 

 able circumstances, which might justify the expe- 

 riment of dashing amongst it, and putting its 

 irresistibility to the test. It was evident, how- 

 ever, to a practised seaman, that to have entered 

 the pack at that moment would most probably 

 have endangered the safety of the expedition 

 at its very outset ; and Captain Buchan, who 

 had had some experience in this matter, very 

 wisely abstained from so rash an enterprise, and 

 reserved his vessels for a more promising oc- 

 casion. 



Convinced that there was no possibility of 

 effecting anything advantageous at this early 

 stage of the season, and desirous of making the 

 most of the short summer before him, Captain 

 Buchan determined upon passing a few days in 

 Magdalena Bay, in order to survey the port and 

 determine its position. We accordingly anchored 



