SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 



251 



a close-reefed sail, hoisted about three feet 

 up the main-mast, and proved themselves 

 to be very buoyant. Their small size, 

 however, and the nature of their construc- 

 tion, necessarily adapted for the navigation 

 of shallow rivers, unfitting them for with- 

 standing the sea then running, we were in 

 imminent danger of foundering. I therefore 

 resolved on making for the shore, as the 

 only means of saving the party, although I 

 was aware, that, in so doing, I incurred the 

 hazard of staving the boats, there being 

 few places on this part of the coast where 

 there was sufficient beach under the broken 

 cliffs. The wind blowing along the land, 

 we could not venture on exposing the boat's 

 side to the sea by hauling directly in, but, 

 edging away with the wind in that quarter, 

 we most providentially took the ground in 

 a favourable spot. The boats were in- 

 stantly filled with the surf, but they were 

 unloaded and dragged up without having 

 sustained any material damage. Impressed 

 with a sense of gratitude for the signal de- 

 liverance we had experienced on this and 



