Difficulties of the Passage. 101 



cated. Off the Duck Islands were several large 

 bergs aground, between two of which, whose sum- 

 mits towered far above our mast-heads, we steered, 

 beholding with admiration their wonderful structure. 

 One was most beautifully adorned on the side nearest 

 us with an ornamental fringe of icicles, pendent 

 from its "overhanging brow. Wilcox Head, which 

 may be regarded as the south extreme of Melville 

 Bay, was next sighted, and by 7 p.m. we were 

 abreast and in sight of a singularly-shaped hill, 

 called the " Devil's Thumb," appearing like an obe- 

 lisk on the distant land. 



Now our troubles are about to commence, for 

 stretching out from the nearest point of the shore to 

 the northward and westward, as far as the eye can 

 reach, is our great enemy, the dreaded floe ice of 

 Melville Bay. 



Imagining- we saw a "lead," 1 closed only by a. 

 narrow neck of ice, we endeavoured by " butting " 

 and " boring " to break through this obstacle ; 

 but though we tried for a couple of hours, we were 

 unable to advance a single ship's length, and we 

 were compelled to retrace our steps and search for 

 a lead elsewhere. 



To the northward of us, and therefore ahead, we 

 can see the smoke and the top-gallant yards of another 



1 A "lead," as it is termed, is an open stream of watei 

 between the floes, through which a vessel is able to pass. 



