OFF choker's bay, DEC. 23. 
CHAPTEH XXXI. 
December 21, Saturday, To-day at noon we saw, 
dimly looming up from the redness of the southern 
horizon, a low range of hills ; among them some cones 
of great height, mountains of a character differing from 
the naked table-lands of the northern coast. The land 
on the other side of Croker's Bay, with one high head- 
land, supposed to be Cape Warrender, is in view. 
From all of which it is clear that we are drifting reg- 
ularly on toward Baffin's Bay. 
"An opening occurred last night in the ice to the 
northward. It is not more than a hundred yards from 
us, and it is already seventy wide. It was explored for 
about a mile in a northwest and southeast course. 
Another of the same character is about half a mile to 
the south of us. 
"Our floe has now remained in peace for nearly 
three weeks ; and, with the happy indifference of sail- 
ors' human nature, we are beginning to forget the driv- 
ing ice and the groaning pressures which have perched 
us thus upon a lump of drift. I look, however, to the 
spring-tides for a renewal of the trouble. The ice 
