Arctic Cruise of the U.S. S. Thetis in 1889. 191 
of many on board, faced once more the icy sea that lay before us 
toward Point Barrow and the westward. 
The weather, however, was superb, clear, cold, and sunny, during 
the day, while in the now darkening shades of the evening for the 
first time the moon appeared, silvering most beautifully the chain 
of mountains along the coast and the fantastic shapes of the 
grounded ice. 
On the 17th we began to meet and overtake the whalers, who 
still delayed in the vicinity of Camden bay, waiting for whales. 
Five were passed, some cruising and some fast to the ice-floes. 
After communicating with them and informing them of our prob- 
able movements, we kept on to the westward. The ice-conditions 
were favorable and we made very good headway, making fast to 
an ice-floe, off our old island-friends of the midway group, on the 
evening of the 17th of August. 
The wind is always a subject of constant watchfulness and 
anxiety in this part of the Arctic ; it virtually makes the currents 
and brings down the ice, or sends it off and clears a narrow lane 
along the shore-line. A northerly shift of wind caused a desire 
to push on, and passing on we sighted Return reef again and 
skirted along the long and narrow island which now bears the name 
of the Thetis. Passing the mouth of the Colville we steamed at a 
good rate of speed through Harrison bay and found there the 
wind blowing strong from the west, bringing much ice with it 
and accompanied by a cold fog. The outlook being discourag- 
ing I determined to press on for Point Barrow, not very far dis- 
tant.. The early morning of the 19th of August opened cloudy, 
overcast, and cold, with a gale and snow from the westward, the 
ice increasing in quantity and size. 
There being no protection from the wind this side of Point 
Barrow, I ordered full speed so as to get to the point and beyond 
it before the almost inevitable shift to the northward which would 
bring the ice down and shut us out. The leads between the ice- 
floes became narrower and fewer in number, and but little better 
outlook was found as we edged inshore as far as the shoal water 
would allow us to go. At this time we sighted as many as eight 
polar bears on the ice, but this was no time to hunt “bear.” 
Coming to the end of our lead we rammed through some pack-ice 
into another one, which, however, again led into water too shoal for 
us. Finding from my perch aloft that the ice seemed even heavier 
to the west, I determined to stand back to the eastward into the 
