SUMMER CKUISE 37 



its north end. This island of limestone is somewhat higher than 

 Coats and Southampton, rising inland in low broad terraces to 

 an elevation of upwards of a hundred feet. Small patches of 

 snow were seen under banks and along the faces of the terraces, 

 but elsewhere the green colour showed that considerable vegeta- 

 tion covered the greater part of its surface. 



Similar lanes of water, between large cakes of ice, afforded 

 an easy passage from Mansfield to Digges islands. A great 

 amount of ice was seen to the southward, apparently completely 

 filling the channel between Mansfield and the mainland. To 

 the northward some open water occurred, but the patches be- 

 came smaller and smaller as Digges was approached, and finally 

 ceased to the eastward of these islands, the southern part of the 

 western end of Hudson strait being completely filled with ice. 



A strong southerly wind had been blowing all day, and it was 

 hoped that it had loosened the ice along the southern shore of 

 the strait. The ship was taken under the land, but without 

 success, so that after butting through the slowly closing ice all 

 night, we were finally tightly beset in the early morning, about 

 three miles from the eastern Digges island. The 21st was 

 foggy, with snow flurries in the morning and showers in the 

 afternoon; the ice remained tight about the ship all day, and 

 she drifted eastward with the ice, passing Cape Wolstenholme, 

 and in the evening being about five miles to the east of Erik 

 cove. At that time considerable open water could be seen about 

 five miles from the ship to the eastward, with a few narrow 

 lanes in the rear, and other small openings to the northward, 

 where the dark sky showed considerable open water beyond our 

 view. 



HUDSON STRAIT. 



Persistent ramming forced the ship through about five miles 

 of ice on the morning of the 22nd, when she was again tightly 



