1875 RETURN TO PAYER HARBOUR. 01 



The wind having now freshened from the N.E., 

 and the flood-tide preventing the ice drifting to the 

 southward, there was every probability that the pack 

 would close together and endanger our reaching the 

 shore. Accordingly I pushed on through the snow 

 and mist rather blindly, but was rewarded by suddenly 

 finding that we were back at the entrance of Payer 

 Harbour, and before noon, as I thought at the time, 

 we had bidden a long good-bye to the main pack. 

 During the afternoon a strong north-westerly wind 

 and ebb-tide, which carried the ice and icebergs 

 quickly to the southward, completely imprisoned us ; 

 but we had the satisfaction of knowing that a large 

 water-space was forming farther to the north, ready for 

 our use by-and-by. 



The north-westerly wind continued throughout 

 August 1, and combined with the ebb-tide brought the 

 ice so fast to the southward that at 9 a.m., there was 

 no longer any water in sight in the middle of the 

 strait from our look-out hill. The only pool left was 

 in the bay immediately south of us, which was kept 

 open by the slight westing in the wind. To the north- 

 ward, between our position and Bache Island, not a 

 single pool of water was to be seen. For a short 

 time, during the strength of the flood or north-running 

 tide, both the surface-ice and the icebergs were carried 

 to the northward against the wind, which was blow- 

 ing with a force of 2 to 5 ; but from its having less 

 effect on the deeply immersed icebergs, they were 

 moving slower than the pack. 



At 11 a.m., in a heavy squall, the 'Alert's' ice- 

 anchors slipped out of their beds in the ice- foot, and 



