OUR RETURN. 109 



that the latter ship was seen both in going to and 

 returning from Kotzebue Sound in September and 

 October, 1848, to which the dates corresponded; and 

 one vessel was, moreover, said to have been at 

 Iworien, which subsequent information showed to 

 agree with the '' Herald's" doings. At the time we 

 were pretty confident that none of these had anything 

 to do with us ; and, after gaining every scrap possible 

 on the subject, with probably not a few additions to 

 the actual facts, turned to other subjects. We were 

 told that for the next two months the sea would 

 remain frozen, that then lanes and patches of water 

 would occur, and the Straits would be clear of ice 

 in four months' time. 



The appearance of the ice was very curious here, the 

 sea having frequently frozen over on calm nights and 

 broken up with the wind ; the sludge, as it is called, 

 thus formed being driven up with masses of drift ice, 

 had frozen irregularly into lumps and rough surfaces : 

 much of this was soon smoothed over by the deposit 

 of snow, which was rather deceptive to unwary 

 pedestrians. The feet sometimes suffered severely 

 from the sharp upturned points of ice. 



We spent two pleasant days here, visiting the 

 different yarangs and objects of interest. Captain 

 Moore and myself departed on the 29th to return by 



