142 ' ENTERPRISE,' 1851-52. 



At 6.30 p.m. the current set w. by s. 4 s. 0-6 knot, per hour. 



At 11.0 p.m. „ „ W. by s. 0-4 



At 2.0 a.m. 21st „ „ w. by N. 0-3 „ „ 



On the 24th we stood in towards Cape Brown, getting 5 fathoms 

 water 2 miles from the beach ; on reaching off 34 miles we could 

 trace the pack from E.N E. round by north to s.w. 



On August 25th 1 land was seen to the north, and at noon on the 

 27th, in lat. 71° 27', and long. 120° 3', land was discovered to the 

 eastward. The gulf or strait between the two lands was found to 

 be 25 miles wide, with 90 fathoms in mid-channel. 



At 2 a.m. on the 29th we came in sight of islands, and on land- 

 ing found a boat and depot of provisions which had been de- 

 posited there the previous year by the Investigator. The strait is 

 here 4 or 5 leagues wide, with a depth of 50 and 60 fathoms in mid- 

 channel. 



At 2 p.m. ice was seen on either shore of the channel. At mid- 

 night we worked up to the edge of the pack and could see round 

 both points, but further progress was blocked by floes of ice resting 

 on both shores. Our furthest point reached in that direction was 

 lat. 73° 30' 2 , and long. 114° 35, and to the eastward, 73° 25', and 

 114° 14'. The ice was found to be streaming in on both sides of 

 the strait. In returning to the southward, the current which had 

 aided us in our progress northerly through the straits at an average 

 of 2 knots per hour, now assisted our return, and is therefore caused 

 by the wind. 



On September 3rd Nelson Head was reached ; the cliffs here lise 

 very abruptly from the sea to the height of 800 feet, being streaked 

 red horizontally, which on landing was found to be occasioned by 

 iron ore. At 2+ miles from the shore a depth of 117 fathoms was 

 found. 



On the 7th the packed ice extended from n. by w. to w.s.w., and 

 the open water between it and the land so strewed with floes as to 

 render navigation difficult. A cairn was erected on an islet in lat. 

 72° 52', and long. 125° 24', and we returned to the south, searching 

 the coast as we went along for any harbour fit to winter in without 

 success, until we reached the entrance of Prince of Wales Strait, 

 where a secure position was found in Walker's Bay in lat. 71° 35', 

 long. 117° 35', on September 15th. Bay ice made the first week in 

 October, but the ship was not finally frozen-in until the 21st. The 



1 The Investigator was here on the 14th. 



2 This position is 57 miles from the furthest western point reached by the 

 Ilecla, and is the nearest approach to the accomplishment of the N.w. passage by 

 ships. 



