SUMMER cruise 67 
weather throughout the morning had been bad, a strong north- 
west breeze bringing down frequent heavy blinding showers of 
snow. These showers became almost continuous, and towards 
noon only momentary glimpses of the land were to be obtained 
at long intervals. The tides here are very swift, and when the 
sky cleared a strong ice-glint was to be seen ahead. It was 
considered dangerous to attempt to enter the ice in such 
weather, with the unknown Mill islands directly in the course; 
we therefore turned back to pass south of Nottingham island. 
This decision proved wise, for next day the whole mouth of Fox 
channel was found completely filled with heavy ice drifted 
south from the northern parts of that channel. The condition 
of the neptune's stem did not warrant any contact with the ice 
that could possibly be avoided. 
The northern side of Salisbury island rises directly from the 
water in granite cliffs to elevations varying from 500 to 1,000 
feet. The surface of the island appears to be very rugged and 
barren. As a rule the shores are without harbours along this 
side, but at both ends there are deep bays protected by rocky 
islands, where safe harbours would be found if the water did 
not prove too deep. In all of the many soundings taken along 
the island, no bottom was obtained at two hundred and twenty 
fathoms; this is consequently the deepest water in Hudson bay 
and strait. Two large icebergs were grounded off the eastern 
end of the island, while a third very large one had penetrated 
to the head of the bay at the northeastern end and was aground 
close under the rocks. As these bergs must have come from 
davis strait, there being no glaciers on the lands fronting on 
Hudson bay, they show a strong current from the eastward 
along the northern side of the strait. 
On the 13th, having rounded Salisbury and Nottingham dur- 
ing the night, ice was met with at nine in the morning, twenty- 
five miles to the westward of the last mentioned island. The 
