124 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. An.rsi 



the same sea which gave birth to the heavy ice met 

 with off the coast of America by Collinson and McClure, 

 and which sealed up the ' Investigator ' for ever in the 

 Bay of Mercy, after her memorable and perilous 

 passage along the north-west coast of Banks Land. It 

 was the same description of ice that Parry encountered 

 w T hen attempting to pass to the westward of Melville 

 Island in 1820, and which conquered him and his ex- 

 perienced companions ; that passing down M'Clintock 

 Channel, beset and never afterwards released the 

 1 Erebus ' and ' Terror ' under Franklin and Crozier ; 

 and which streaming along the eastern shore of Green- 

 land destroyed the ' Hansa ' of the last German Arctic 

 Expedition. 



As our only hope of pushing north against the 

 general set of the current through such ice (to say 

 nothing of the extreme hazard of remaining in the 

 pack) consisted in regaining the shore, both boilers 

 were lighted and full steam kept ready in order to take 

 immediate advantage of any opportunity that might 

 arise At 10.30 p.m., the pack, which previously had 

 been drifting in a compact body to the southward, eased 

 a little near the edge of the large and deep-floating 

 floes, in consequence probably of a difference in speed 

 between the surface and undercurrent, but before we 

 were able to clear away a space of water at the stern 

 sufficiently large to enable the rudder to be shipped, 

 the ice closed and obliged us to dismantle again. A 

 second time at 11.30 p.m., just at the top of high- water, 

 the pack showed signs of opening, but after moving 

 the ship half her length ahead, we were again obliged 

 to unship the rudder. 



