In the Arctic Regions. 439 
found the ice so closely packed that we could neither y.. 
advance nor effect-a landing. We, therefore, pulled 
to seaward, and turned the boat’s head to the east- 
ward, to trace the outer border of the ice. In this 
situation we were exposed to great danger from the 
sudden change of wind to 8. E., which raised a heavy 
swell, and brought down upon us masses of ice of a 
size that, tossed as they were by the waves, would 
have injured a ship. We could only catch occasional 
glimpses of the land through the fog, and were kept 
in the most anxious suspense, pulling in and out be- 
tween the floating masses of ice, for five hours, before 
we could get near the shore. We landed a little to 
the west of Point Sabine, and only found suffi- 
cient space for the boats and tents between the 
bank and the water. The rain ceased for a short 
time in the evening, and, during this interval, we per- 
ceived, from the top of the bank, that the whole space 
between us and the distant point, as wellas the chan- 
nel by which we had advanced to the westward, were 
now conrpletely blocked ; so that we had good reason 
to congratulate ourselves on having reached the shore 
in safety. 
