10 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



1821. or twelve miles to the westward of us, though still beset in the ice. This 

 J^J^ circumstance appeared the more extraordinary, as the ships had been close 

 together only a few hours before, and shews in a very striking manner 

 the irregularity of the tides in this neighbourhood. In the afternoon an 

 attempt was made to join the Heel a ; but a gale coming on from the south- 

 ward and westward, with the same thick weather as before, we were soon 

 set fast again among heavy masses of floe-ice. The soundings were from 

 one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty-five fathoms, upon a hard 

 rocky bottom, at the distance of about three leagues from the land. Some 

 water brought up, in the course of the day, from one hundred and ninety 

 fathoms, was at the temperature of 32°, that of the surface being 31°, and of 

 the air 33|°. 



Sun. 8. Early on the morning of the 8th, an opportunity offered of getting into a 

 lane of clear water, which here, from the rapidity of the tides, often forms 

 and disappears again with astonishing quickness. On standing towards the 

 Hecla, which was still beset, I was informed by telegraph that she had 

 suffered no material injury, except in the loss of a bower anchor, which was 

 broken off in the shank by a heavy blow from a mass of ice. In the course of 

 this day, however, she narrowly escaped a much more serious disaster, being 

 carried by the ice within two hundred yards of the shore, and close to 

 several rocks lying off it, and nearly swept into a dangerous inlet. In 

 this situation, all that could be done was to endeavour to warp round the 

 large floe piece to which she was attached; but this attempt was completely 

 frustrated by the floe always turning as soon as any strain was thus put upon 

 it. In this perilous situation she remained for several hours, after which, 

 by great exertions, she succeeded in getting out of the ice, and rejoined us 

 in the evening. The weather was beautifully clear during the whole of this 

 day, though the wind was from the southward, and sometimes a point or 

 two to the eastward of south. For the first time, also, since we came 

 off Hudson's Strait, for we had scarcely yet entered it, a large space of 

 water remained open during the whole of the flood-tide, so that we were 

 enabled to advance a league or two farther to the westward than before. 



Mon. 9. Early on the morning of the 9th, however, the ice again closed in upon 

 us, and we remained immoveably beset for a week, during which time, 

 to prevent separation, the ships were made fast to the same floe-piece, 

 and were found to drift from one to four or five miles to the southward 

 daily, and rather to the westward. It was, however, a matter of agreeable 



