IN THE ICE. 31 



Heavy rain fell all night, and we tacked be- 1S24. 

 tween the pack and the shore, in from eighty- August. 

 three to forty-three fathoms, keeping in sight 

 of two small grounded bergs, which acted as 

 beacons, past which the tide in the ebb and 

 flood was setting at the rate of a mile and a 

 half. 



At fonr A.M., on the 9th, we obtained a 

 momentary sight of the North Bluff, and set it 

 N.w.b.w. The pack was close up to it, and 

 appeared to be driving rapidly into the open 

 water where we lay, and which was the only 

 clear space in sight. I therefore determined 

 on taking the ice with a light south-east 

 wind, and we made a few miles westing by 

 the evening, when the weather calming we 

 hung on to a floe. As rain had fallen inces- 

 santly during the two last days, and the people 

 had been constantly Avet, advantage was taken 

 of this period of quiet to dry their clothes on 

 the lower deck. 



On the ice by which we hung, were found 

 several pieces of gneiss and granite, some sea 

 weed, and bivalve shells. But we were sur- 

 prised to find in addition to these, a number of 

 oak-leaves, and one leaf of the wortle-berry. 

 This latter discovery would lead me to imagine 

 that the ice had driven from the lower part of 



