Sept. 1858. STEAM THROUGH BELLOT STRAIT, 201 



north upon the east coast as the Agnew Eiver ; 

 and we know that upon the west, at the mag- 

 netic pole, their abandoned snow huts were 

 occupied in June by Sir James Ross. 



19^^. — Yesterday we steamed once more 

 through Bellot Strait, and took up our former 

 position at the ice-edge, off its western entrance ; 

 the ice, hemmed in by islets, has not moved. 



From the summit of Cape Bird I had a very 

 extensive view this morning ; there is now 

 much water in the offing, only separated from 

 us by the belt of islet-girt ice scarcely four miles 

 in width ! My conviction is that a strong east 

 wind would remove this remaining barrier ; it 

 is not yet too late. The water runs parallel to 

 this coast, and is four or five miles broad ; 

 beyond it there is ice, but it appears to be all 

 broken up. 



Yesterday Young went upon a dog-sledge to 

 the nearest south-western island, distant 7 or 8 

 miles. He reports the intervening ice cracked 

 and weak in some places, but practicable for 

 loaded sledges ; the far side of the island is 

 washed by a clear sea, and a bear which he shot 

 plunged into it, and, drifting away, was lost. 

 Young is in favour of carrying out the dep6t 

 provisions to or beyond this island by boat ; but 

 as the temperature fell to 1 8° last night, and new 



