ETAH TO CAPE SHERIDAN 43 



surface level and granular, and the pools of water upon 

 it covered with ice strong enough to support a man's 

 weight. 



As soon as the lines were secured I walked ashore 

 and climbed to the summit of Cape Brevoort. The 

 crest of the northward-facing cliffs commanded the 

 entire northern approaches to Robeson Channel, from 

 Repulse Harbour across to Cape Rawson and south- 

 ward along the Grinnell Land coast to Lady Franklin 

 Bay. The Greenland coast south of Sumner was 

 hidden by the cliifs of that cape. The ice all along 

 the Grinnell Land coast, and in the centre of the 

 channel, and to the northward as far as I could see, 

 was densely packed. The water in which we had 

 come north still remained open and the Roosevelt 

 could have worked her way close to the shore along 

 the Greenland coast to Repulse Harbour and possibly 

 to Cape Bryant, had my objective point been in that 

 direction. No indication of lead or crack across the 

 channel was to be seen. While on the summit a school 

 of narwhal came sporting down the shore close to the 

 ice-foot below us. 



In Newman Bay we remained five days mending 

 the rudder, replacing the tiller chains with wire cables, 

 and crossing to the south side of the bay, where I took on 

 board the Polaris boat left here b}^ Chester and Tyson of 

 Hall's party in 187 1, at Boat Camp. Then as the 

 northern ice filled into the bay, we were gradually 

 crowded out of our shelter behind Boat Camp delta, 

 and tide by tide forced out to Cape Sumner, sometimes 

 grazing the shore as we dodged a floe. During this 

 time the Bay filled completely with ice and the entire 



