74 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August 



Skirting the pack, we were led away from the land 

 to about six miles east of Cape Victoria, but there the 

 edge trended round to the south-east. By retracing our 

 course a few miles I could have entered a water-channel 

 near the shore of Bache Island ; there was also a narrow 

 but very tempting channel about two miles long leading 

 directly towards Cape Hawks, with only six or eight 

 miles of ice, apparently open between it and a large 

 water-space stretching out from the south shore of 

 Grinnell Land. 



It was now 10 pm., the flood-tide was commencing 

 and the weather was calm. The pack, lately opened 

 and driven to the eastward by the westerly wind, was 

 sure, on the subsidence of the pressure, to work its way 

 back again and in all probability would close up the 

 water-channels. The northern sun, shining brightly 

 and casting a dazzling glimmer on ice and water 

 alike, rendered it difficult to distinguish the most open 

 channels ; but with such a prospect of reaching the 

 mainland few could resist the temptation ; so at the 

 risk of being beset, I pushed on towards the north 

 through the pack. But, by the time we had reached 

 the end of the two-mile channel the ice had closed 

 everywhere, our retreat was cut off and w r e were 

 caught in the trap. 



No choice was left me but to secure each ship in a 

 notch or bight in the heaviest floe that I could reach, 

 and wait for a change either favourable or otherwise. 

 No one of the floes was sufficiently large to permit the 

 two ships being docked near each other ; neither did I 

 deem it advisable, surrounded as we were by numerous 

 icebergs, so to imprison the ships. 



