130 AFLOAT, AND PUSH AHEAD. Chap. VIII, 



. To-day we are steaming along after the three 

 vessels which passed us last evening and dis- 

 appeared round Cape Shackleton during the 

 night. The contrast between our prospects 

 yesterday and to-day fills one with delight, — to 

 be afloat and advancing unobstructedly once 

 more is indeed charming. 



ll^A. — On the afternoon of the 8th we joined 

 the steamers ' Tay,' Captain Deuchars ; ' Chase,' 

 Captain Gravill, sen. ; and ' Diana', Gravill, 

 jun. After repeated ice-detentions, we have 

 reached Duck Island. Captain Deuchars says 

 there is every prospect of an early north pas- 

 sage ; we have had several conversations about 

 the Pond's Bay natives, and their reports of 

 ships, wrecks, and Europeans. There appears 

 to be not only great difficulty, but also uncer- 

 tainty, in arriving at their meaning ; to form 

 an idea of the time elapsed since an event, or 

 the distance to the spot where it occurred, is a 

 still harder task. I look forward to our visit at 

 Pond's Bay with greatly increased interest. 



In August, 1855, when Captain Deuchars 

 was crossing through the middle ice, in latitude 

 70°, he found part of a steamer's topmast em- 

 bedded in heavy ice ; he also saw the moulded 

 form of a ship's side, and thinks the latter 

 must have sunk ; the portion of the topmast 



