40 MELVILLE BAT. Chap. III. 



dry snow. This evening we again made fast, 

 the floes having closed together, cutting o£f 

 advance and retreat. A wintry night, much 

 wind and snow. 



V^ih. — Continued strong S.E. winds, pressing 

 the ice closely together, dark sky and snow ; 

 everything wears a wintry and threatening 

 aspect ; we are closely hemmed in, and have 

 our rudder and screw unshipped. This recom- 

 mencement of S.E. winds and rapid ebhing of 

 the small remaining portion of summer makes 

 me more anxious about the future than the pre- 

 sent. Yesterday the weather improved, and by 

 working for thirteen hours we got the ship out 

 of her small ice-creek into a larger space of 

 water, and in so doing advanced a mile and a 

 half. It is now calm, but the ice still drifts, as 

 we would wish it, to the N.W. Yesterday we 

 were within 12 miles of the position of the 

 'Enterprise' upon the same day in 1848, and 

 under very similar conditions of weather and 

 ice also. 



20^A. — No favourable ice-drift : this detention 

 has become most painful. The ' Enterprise ' 

 reached the open water upon this day in 1848, 

 within 50 miles of our present position ; unfor- 

 tunately, our prospects are not so cheering. 

 There is no relative motion in the floes of ice. 



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