58 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



we should find some open water there, and in the afternoon we 

 spoke the S.S. Harald Dollar, the smoke of which we had seen 

 all day. The Harald Dollar was a supply ship to the whalers 

 which had now been in the ice with full crews for more than 

 ten months longer than was expected. The ice pilot, Captain 

 Mogs, told us that we were off Wainwright Inlet, maintaining 







TRADING STEAMER IN THE ICE. 



that he had been told so by some natives who had come out to 

 the ship, and as he spoke their language rather well, there was 

 no reason why we should doubt his words. Great was our joy, 

 as we had thought that we were no higher than Icy Cape. 



As the ice was very close to the north and it was almost calm, 

 we bore in to the land to anchor in the shelter of the ground ice. 

 At 9 P.M. we dropped anchor in a little cove, formed of heavy 

 ice which stood hard on the bottom, giving us very good 

 protection. 



Friday, August 3. Another fine day, though we would have 

 preferred to see it blow, particularly from the east, as that 

 might have opened the ice. The outlook was not cheerful. So 

 far as we could see to the north there was nothing but ice, and 

 not a drop of water in sight. Far off we could see the riggings 

 of the Thetis and William Bailis with their hulls below the 



