52 OLD WHALING DAYS. 



mittens, which . are very slippery, it is supposed he had 

 missed his hold, and that a projecting piece of the plank 

 had struck him on the head. His face was under water 

 when he floated close by. I threw him an oar, and called 

 him by name, but he never once lifted his head. A boat 

 was speedily lowered, and although a high sea was running, 

 they pulled in the direction he was last seen, but had to 

 return without him. It was a great risk for the men in the 

 boat, but that was not thought of at the time. This cast a 

 deep gloom upon the whole crew, as poor McKenzie was a 

 thorough seaman, and beloved by us all. The follow- 

 ing day was beautifully clear and frosty. The wind had 

 changed from S.W. to N.W., so we proceeded towards 

 Holsteinberg, a large Danish settlement upon the east side, 

 and shortly after came to anchor for repairs. 



The next day the exploring steam ship Pheonix, Captain 

 Inglefield, came into the harbour. He ascertained our 

 condition and sent his carpenters on board to help us to 

 repair the damage. He also wished to know if there was 

 any danger of the other vessels, but our captain thought 

 not. If there had been, he would have left his carpenters 

 and steamed across the Straits to aid them. Captain 

 Inglefield sent us some preserved meat and vegetables 

 during the time the repairs were going on. We got 

 watered, boats stowed, and everything prepared for our 

 homeward passage. In three days all was completed. 

 The Pheonix towed us out of the harbour, and sixty miles 

 to sea, leaving us with three cheers. Now this was another 

 good action done by one of our noble naval officers. They 

 are not only gentlemen, but thorough seamen. In the 

 course of three weeks we anchored in Stromness, discharged 

 our men, and the following day got under weigh, and in due 

 time arrived home. We found all well, which was a great 

 relief to my mind after such a voyage as we had 

 experienced. 



