168 HUNTERS AND HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



Navigation in Hamilton Channel was easy. 

 We passed the cairn, which appeared well placed 

 and very conspicuous In Young Sound the 

 fog had turned to tain. We were able to 

 obtain occasional glimpses of the cliffs and 

 glaciers of McKlintock Island, which facilitated 

 our progress. There was a large quantity of 

 floating, wind-smashed ice off Leigh Smith 

 Island, but it was not very thick and did not 

 greatly hinder us. When finally we found 

 ourselves in the open sea, everyone was surprised. 

 Coasting the ice front of Leigh Smith Island, we 

 found that the fog had lifted sufficiently to permit 

 us to admire that land, so imposingly desolate. 



Both the ice and the snow appeared that 

 morning more vividly red and yellow than on 

 the former occasion ; from time to time huge 

 seracs fell more than a hundred feet down the 

 face of the glaciers into the sea with a noise like 

 the report of a cannon. Fascinated by the 

 sight, we passed rather too close to a glacier, 

 sailing between it and a stranded iceberg. The 

 sailor in the bows taking soundings suddenly 

 warned us of the peril we ran. We retreated 

 without loss of time. These colossal icebergs, 

 stranded as they often are in almost a hundred 

 feet of water, prove excellent guides as to the 

 sea bottom, and the ship that always keeps them 



