DRIFTING IN ICE OFF HERALD ISLAND. 121 



out on the ice, from daylight to dark, as much to their 

 satisfaction as to ours ; tO theirs, because they can run 

 around with more freedom ; and to ours, because we 

 can keep the ship clean again. As we set bear-traps 

 every night, we call the dogs on board ship to prevent 

 accident. Though each morning we see the undoubted 

 traces of bears, the traps seem to have been avoided. 



September 10th, Wednesday. — Calm from midnight 

 to noon, with fog, mist, and snow all day. Lowest tem- 

 perature 16°, highest 25°. In the hope of helping the 

 ship to right herself, got two tackles up, one at the fore- 

 mast head, and one at the mainmast head, hooking them 

 to ice-claws and setting them well taut. Broke away 

 the ice around the stern and attempted sawing with 

 ice-saws, but with no other effect than to bend up the 

 saws. The soundings of the past few days have steadily 

 decreased : forty, thirty-six, thirty-five, thirtj'-two and 

 a half fathoms. The whole pack, with ourselves fast 

 in it, is evidently drifting ; but whether the shoaling in 

 soundings indicates an approach to Herald Island or not 

 cannot be proven until we get observations again for 

 position. Not a sign of a lead in any direction, 



Septemher 11th, Thursday. — The ship has not 

 righted any during the night. An examination of the 

 ice around the stern this morning shows that we are 

 between two floes about fifteen feet in thickness. The 

 ice on the port side of the ship has been broken on its 

 upper edges and piled up irregularly fore and aft, while 

 on the starboard side (toward which the ship heels) the 

 surface is smooth and unbroken. The strain brought 

 on the rudder by the nip has " broomed " up the port 

 side of the rudder post and rudder casing, and I am re- 

 luctantly forced to the conclusion that we must unship 

 It. A more severe nip might break the gudgeons or 



