Freminville's Voyage to the North Pole. 83 



us, was a situation truly alarming ; we tacked about in every 

 direction in quest of an outlet ; one only was visible ; but the 

 floating fragments that blocked it up made the attempt to be, 

 at first, considered as impracticable. At length our comman- 

 dant, finding the icy-basin that shut us in was condensing and 

 accumulating, decided that we had no time to lose, or hesitate 

 between the certainty of being quickly locked in the ice and 

 a solitary chance of escape. We made all sail then to get 

 through this perilous streight ; and, after running the risk a 

 hundred times of being dashed against the floating shoals that 

 were thickening around us, we were fortunate enough to clear 

 the passage with the loss only of some sheets of our copper, 

 that were carried away by icy morsels we had to bear up 

 against. 



May 31st, we discovered the land of Spitzberg; at a very 

 great distance we could trace the South Cape, which stood 

 N.N.E. as also Hope Island, which lies a little more to the 

 east, at a short distance. A solid plain of impenetrable ice 

 prevented our getting near it, and, being oblig*d to stretch 

 along it in a run to the north-west, we soon lost sight of that 

 dreary shore. 



June 3d, a deep inlet was visible in the middle of the im- 

 mense islets of ice that we were coasting along ; we entered 

 into it, and had a toilsome passage of about twelve hours ; but 

 it was so blocked up, that we were obliged at last to return. 

 A heavy gale from the 8. W. bringing vast masses of icy frag- 

 ments into contact, threatened to close in upon us, and it was 

 not without prodigious exertions that we got at length into 

 the open sea. 



We now began to lose all hopes of reaching Spitzberg, 

 which was one part of our destination. Some days before we 

 had captured some whale-ships, the captains of which assured 

 us that they had been engaged in the same fruitless attempt, 

 and that the ice had rendered all approach impracticable. 



Our ships' companies were very much worn down with in- 

 cessant fatigue, in a painful navigation, that called for constant 

 watching and active exertion. The scurvy was preying upon 

 us, and some of our best seamen had fallen victims to it ; our 

 water and wood grew scanty ; the want of wood prevented us 

 from getting at water with the melted ice. We tried, but in 

 vain, to procure heat enough for this purpose, by resorting to 

 different methods in all the warmest parts of the ship. 



The perplexities of such a situation called for a speedy 

 change of measures ; our chief, however, to shelter himself 

 from every imputation of neglect, would make one more ef- 



M2 



