1870 WE LEAVE SMITH SOUND. 177 



CHAPTEE VI. 



WE LEAVE SMITH SOUND — DARK AT MIDNIGHT — GALE OF WIND — BARDEN 

 BAY — ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS — POSSESSION BAY — CROSS BAFFIN'S 

 BAY — TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA — ARRIVE AT DISCO — EGEDESMINDE 



SEVERE GALE — RUDDER HEAD SPRUNG — SIGHT THE ' PANDORA ' 



ARRIVE IN ENGLAND — APPROVAL OF THE LORDS OF THE AD- 

 MIRALTY — LETTER FROM HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN. 



Leaving Cape Isabella during the night of the 9th, 

 we steamed towards the Cary Islands, passing oc- 

 casionally through thin streams of loose ice, with a few 

 icebergs and pieces of floebergs intermixed, but seldom 

 meeting with floes of any size. Those met with did 

 not float more than three feet above water, and showed 

 marks of being much decayed, having long tongue-pieces 

 extending below the surface of the water. 



A southerly wind springing up, we made sail, 

 standing to the south-west. As we made westing, the 

 pieces of ice met with increased in size and quantity, 

 and expecting to find the pack near the coast of 

 Ellesmere Land, I tacked and stood to the south-east 

 under steam and fore-and-aft sails. 



The weather turning misty and threatening, with 

 snow, and the wind preventing our making much 

 progress without the consumption of a large amount of 

 coal, I decided to make the ships fast to an iceberg ; 

 accordingly, with one ship at either end of a long 

 vol. n. N 



