SUMMER cruise 37 
its north end. This island of limestone is somewhat higher than 
Coats and Southampton, rising inland in low broad terraces to 
an elevation of upwards of a hundred feet. Small patches of 
snow were seen under banks and along the faces of the terraces, 
but elsewhere the green colour showed that considerable vegeta- 
tion covered the greater part of its surface. 
Similar lanes of water, between large cakes of ice, afforded 
an easy passage from Mansfield to Digges islands. A great 
amount of ice was seen to the southward, apparently completely 
filling the channel between Mansfield and the mainland. To 
the northward some open water occurred, but the patches be- 
came smaller and smaller as Digges was approached, and finally 
ceased to the eastward of these islands, the southern part of the 
western end of Hudson strait being completely filled with ice. 
A strong southerly wind had been blowing all day, and it was 
hoped that it had loosened the ice along the southern shore of 
the strait. The ship was taken under the land, but without 
success, so that after butting through the slowly closing ice all 
night, we were finally tightly beset in the early morning, about 
three miles from the eastern Digges island. The 21st was 
foggy, with snow flurries in the morning and showers in the 
afternoon; the ice remained tight about the ship all day, and 
she drifted eastward with the ice, passing Cape wolstenholme, 
and in the evening being about five miles to the east of Erik 
cove. At that time considerable open water could be seen about 
five miles from the ship to the eastward, with a few narrow 
lanes in the rear, and other small openings to the northward, 
Where the dark sky showed considerable open water beyond our 
view. 
HUDSON strait. 
Persistent ramming forced the ship through about five miles 
of ice on the morning of the 22nd, when she was again tightly 
