442 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH— 1^48-f>l. 



off from the floe, parting from Mr Sheddon with mutual good wishes. He 

 was evidently thinking of taking his vessel on, but I strongly recommended 

 him to attempt no farther advance — unprovided, as he was, for wintering, 

 in the event of being caught by the ice. 



" The whale-boats pulled up in-shore, while the larger ones, aided by the 

 smooth water and moderate breeze, nearly worked up as fast, when at nine p.m. 

 the wind had hauled so much to the eastward, that they were enabled to 

 take the whale-boats in tow, and make a good lay along the shore. We 

 were now fairly in the channel (which we found varied from three-quarters to 

 half a mile in width, the water being smooth, and the drift-ice very trifling) ; 

 all in good spirits, and — as appearances then went — having a fair prospect of 

 reaching Point Barrow by midnight at the furthest. The sky was beauti- 

 fully clear ; but a heavy wetting dew that then fell made the evening cold 

 and chilly — the thermometer stood at 33^°. The shore was crowded with 

 Eskimos — men, women, and children turning out — singing, dancing, and shout- 

 ing at the top of their voices, and trying every inducement to make us land. 

 They followed us on, their numbers gradually increasing. In a single group 

 I counted forty-six, among whom was one immense fellow, completely top- 

 ping aU the rest, and at the least, I should say, six feet and a half in height. 

 As we were not more than a couple of hundred feet from the shore, we 

 could see plainly, and at times went so close as to be able to make out the 

 differences of sexes, though their dresses are so very similar that it is only 

 by the blue lines on the chin of the women that we could at times distinguish 

 them. 



" At eleven p.m. it was quite calm, and close ahead of us was an im- 

 mense floe stretching directly across the channel, completely barring our 

 farther progress, and upsetting aU hopes of reaching Point Barrow this 

 night, while the fog at the same time closed thickly around us; so we 

 hauled in to the shore, securing by, and under, the lee of a projecting piece 

 of ice. We were hardly fast when a number of natives sat down in our 

 vicinity, and began pestering us with their barter; however, they were 

 friendly, and behaved very well, only obliging us to keep a sharp look-out, 

 for the most trifling article seemed so attractive that they would use their 

 best endeavours to become possessed of it. 



" On Wednesday morning, the 1st (August), the ice had driven off shore 

 a little, and the fog all disappeared, when, partly under sail and partly by 

 tracking, in which the natives readily assisted, we advanced slowly until 

 eleven o'clock, when the channel was so effectually blocked up by the ice 

 from the shore to the main pack, as far north as the eye could stretch, that 

 I saw no possibility of getting on, and I really thought our farther advance 

 was entirely checked, and we might have to return to the vessel quite unsuc- 

 cessful. I was greatly disappointed, for I had hoped to reach Point Barrow, 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



