1875 BESET IN HAYES SOUND. 69 



the truth was discovered, the feeling of disappointment 

 at not obtaining fresh provisions considerably lessened 

 the sympathy which would otherwise have been be- 

 stowed on the invalid. 



Gneiss and syenite seemed to be the prevailing 

 rocks along the northern shore of Ellesmere Land ; 

 but at an elevation of 1,500 feet a dense thin-bedded 

 limestone was found capping the rocks. In the Twin 

 Glacier Valley, the stream exposed strata of argilla- 

 ceous limestone and fine-grained sandstone. No fossils 

 were obtained, but the locality is geologically interest- 

 ing, as the point of juncture between the sedimentary 

 and granitic rocks on the western side of Smith 

 Sound. 



During the night of the 5th the ice opened up a 

 lead to the westward, and by 9 a.m., the end of the ebb 

 tide, the passage was quite clear along shore. Having 

 a fine breeze from the S.W., the ships made a stern- 

 board out of our small harbour, and rounding Three 

 Sisters Island, off which was a rocky bank with shallow 

 water, stood along shore to the westward. In hopes 

 of obtaining a steadier breeze I kept close to the edge 

 of the pack, but the wind shortly died away. At 

 2 p.m., we had advanced under steam beyond the eastern 

 group of rocky islets. Finding that the strait took a 

 turn towards the westward, I endeavoured to force our 

 way across it to the northward where a pool of water 

 was to be seen near Point Koldewey, from which we 

 were separated by a quantity of rotten ice. This I 

 attempted to force, but after an hour's ramming, we 

 were brought to a standstill and thoroughly beset by 

 ice in such a decayed condition that it was unsafe to 



s 



