90 PROGRESS UP 



1824. now became thick with rain, and a heavy sea 

 Sept. quickly arose. The soundings increased until 

 three P.M., from twenty to thirty-one fathoms. 

 A few whales were seen in the afternoon, and 

 it is remarkable that this should be the first 

 time of meeting with them, and also that we 

 should not have seen either a narwhal or a 

 bear, although we had passed through so great 

 a quantity of ice in Hudson's Strait. Having 

 hauled up to north-east at four P.M., and 

 while running five knots before a heavy sea, 

 Mr. Harding saw^ a white space on the water, 

 having all the appearance of a sandy shoal, 

 he instantly kept away, and running on deck I 

 saw it within half a cable's length of our quar- 

 ter, while at the same moment a cast of the 

 lead gave no bottom with forty fathoms. An 

 appearance, as of a line of breakers, Avas also 

 seen close a-head, and some of the people on 

 the forecastle declared they saw the land be- 

 yond them. We wore, and stood off on the 

 starboard tack ; and now having no weather 

 shore to afford us either shelter or anchorage, 

 we found ourselves obliged to continue under 

 sail all night, in this narrow and extremely dan- 

 gerous channel, to the great anxiety of all 

 hands, and sad fatigue of the men, who were 

 employed unceasingly with deep sea and hand 



