Hudson's Strait and Bay. 261 



Gorgons, and Hydras and Chimeras dire." 

 In the sharp contest wit li flic ice, which was without doubt unusu- 

 ally heavy last season, our ship was very badly damaged. Her iron 

 stem-plate was wrenched completely off, the chafing plates on her bows 

 were partially pulled out and the timbers underneath somewhat dam- 

 aged. Under these conditions, and as there was little prospect of 

 getting into Hudson's Strait for some time, Captain Gordon wisely de- 

 cided to put about and to run down to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and 

 repair the ship. 



This was accordingly done, and we did not return to the entrance to 

 Hudson's Strait until August 3. On the morning of this day, we 

 were off Cape Chudleigh, after having steamed through heavy ice all 

 the night before. On this morning we were still in the ice, although 

 there was open water near the land. Before reaching it, however, the 

 tide changed, and the tidal current of six knots per hour ran the ice 

 together against the ship, and carried ice, ship, and everything floating 



Iu the afternoon, a heavy fog shut down, and at ten p. m. the engines 

 were stopped and we lay to for the night. 



On the following day, at about three p. m., after another struggle with 

 the ice and tidal currents, we rounded Cape Chudleigh and dropped 

 anchor in the harbor of Port Burwell, where one of the stations was 

 established the previous year. We were obliged to walk ashore, about 

 an eighth of a mile, over the ice, as the latter had run closely together 

 soon after we had dropped anchor. 



Mr. Burwell, the officer in charge of the station, and his two men 

 were found to be quite well. They reported that they had had no 

 sickness during the year, and that they had not suffered unduly from 

 the cold, although the thermometer had indicated during the winter 

 a temperature at times 40° below zero. 



On some winter days the wind blew with fearful violence. One day 

 the anemometer registered a speed of eighty-four miles per hour, when 

 the instrument was blown down. Subsequently, the wind appeared 

 to increase in velocity. It slightly raised the frame house several 

 times. The inmates feared it would be blown over altogether and 

 they put out the fire in the stove for fear of disaster. One of the sta- 

 tion-men and an Eskimo started out of doors for some purpose, Avhen 

 the wind suddenly caught them, threw them off their feet, and hurled 



