OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 253 



the numerous grounded masses indicated shoal water, alone prevented our 

 casting off and suffering the ships to drive to the north-east ; but the danger 

 of drifting, thus hampered, into shoal water and in a strong tide-way is 

 evident. 



Between three and four A.M. the tide slackened, having run less than 

 four hours to the north-east ; and at five the ice opened, enabling us to cast 

 off, but with so light an air of wind from the south-east as scarcely to allow 

 us to stem the flood. At half-past six the ice again began to close, and the 

 signal was made to secure the ships to the floe. The depth of water, however, 

 which the heavy ice draws giving the tide a much greater hold of it than of the 

 ships, the latter were unable with the present light breeze to get out of its way. 

 In consequence of this the Hecla which, from her situation, had taken the 

 lead, was quickly beset at the distance of one-third of a mile from the land- 

 ice, and drifted several miles back to the south-west, in spite of every en- 

 deavour to reach the floe. The Fury, having just succeeded in running out a 

 line and securing her hawsers to it before the ice came upon her, held on in 

 this situation, and was thus separated from her consort. 



Though we had succeeded in placing the Fury in a considerable indenta- 

 tion of the floe, the ice during the forenoon drove violently into it, and se- 

 veral heavy masses coming in contact with our quarter heeled the ship at 

 times a couple of streaks, forcing some of the pieces also to turn over end and 

 sink under her bilge, but without doing any injury. The first time that this 

 occurred there was great reason to apprehend our being forced from the floe, 

 with all the ship's company absent, they having just been sent to endeavour 

 to save some whale-lines that had been carried away. I afterwards found 

 that many of Captain Lyon's men held been also exposed to this risk for se- 

 veral hours, in the course of their frequent but unavailing endeavours to 

 secure their ship by a hawser to the floe. 



Our latitude observed at noon was 66° 54' 17", and the longitude, by chro- 

 nometers, 81° 44' 50", our soundings being thirty-eight fathoms, on a bottom 

 of sand and small stones. Neither on this nor on any other occasion during 

 our continuance about this parallel of latitude, did we ever dislinguish any 

 appearance of land to the eastward, though the weather was frequently very 

 favourable. 



After eleven A.M. the ice had remained quite stationary during the whole 

 period of the ebb-tide, which seemed not to have power to set it against a 

 light air of north-easterly wind, and the same thing occurred at night. On 



