June 1829. 



SNOWY SOUND-^BAD NIGHTS. 



" 3d. We began at daylight, and worked, from point to 

 point, up the sound, thinking it a channel. Two good ancho- 

 rages were found on the west side, but none on the east, except 

 a trifling cove between the little island and the land, which 

 would only shelter a small vessel. The night was passed on 

 an island five miles within the sound. It rained hard for 

 an hour before we landed, and all the night afterwards. Our 

 rest was not the most satisfactory, as the ground was wet and 

 swampy. 



" Two of the boat'*s crew got into a hole under a tree 

 thinking they should be warm ; but in the middle of the night 

 they complained of not being able to get up, and of being half 

 frozen. 



" 4th. The rain ceased at times this morning, but the wind 

 continued. After going to the top of an island, we pulled and 

 sailed onwards, not having a doubt of soon getting into Whale 

 Sound. At noon, the passage appeared suspiciously small ; 

 yet I could not doubt the fine large opening laid down in our 

 old charts, and proceeded until the shore made a sudden turn, 

 when, to my astonishment, I saw a high black cliff stopping 

 farther progress. After a hearty growl, we turned back, and 

 landed to look for a sleeping place. Not a spot could we find 

 that was not wet like a sponge ; but night was closing in, and 

 obliged us to stay where we were. It was bitterly cold, all of 

 us were wet through, the ground was a mere swamp, we could 

 not get a fire to burn, and the frost was sharp. 



" After daylight on the 5th, we succeeded in making a 

 large fire, and spent two hours drying our clothes and warming 

 ourselves. In order to lighten the boat, no one carried more 

 clothes, since leaving the cutter, than those he wore, except one 

 shirt. We hastened back towards Charles Island, passing some 

 very remarkable glaciers, one of which looked like an enormous 

 frozen river, covering the whole side of a mountain. Many 

 portions were of a transparent blue colour, which, contrasted 

 with the snowy whiteness of others, and with the dark shadows 

 of bare rocky places, had a very striking effect. At noon, we 

 passed out of the sound, and steered for Charles Island, with a 



