13 
Sketched by B. M'Cormick, B.N. 
Mount Providence, Baring Bay. Bearing West (Magnetic). 
that our crippled rudder was entirely swept away, and we had great difficulty in 
steering with an oar a boat so deep in such a sea ; and had to get one out on 
each quarter to keep her head to the sea and prevent her broaching to, when 
nothing could have saved her from foundering instanter. 
The shores all round this bay presented a perfectly flat surface, level with the 
floe, — which still, though broken up, filled the upper part of it, — and extending to a 
considerable distance inland, bounded by a slightly undulating ridge of hills in the 
horizon, averaging, perhaps, a hundred and fifty feet in height. But one point in 
these inhospitable shores seemed to offer the faintest hope of a place of shelter. 
This was a black mount on the south side, of somewhat conical form, having a trun- 
cated summit, with shingle ridges in front ; and from its marked and conspicuous 
appearance amid the wide surrounding waste of snow, had particularly attracted 
my attention, from our first opening the bay, as it appeared to me the only spot 
accessible for ice. It was flanked on the west by an inlet, still covered by the 
winter's floe. On this spot I had from the first centred all my hopes of finding 
a harbour of refuge. Putting the boat, therefore, right before the wind, I ran 
for it through a turbulent ground swell, over a long extent of several miles of 
shoal water of a dirty green colour, showing the fragments of rock and pebbles 
at the bottom on nearing the shore, when two points for beaching the boat 
offered ; one on the port bow, forming a curious natural basin of quadrangular 
shape, enclosed on all sides by a narrow ledge of black rocks and shingle, 
excepting in front, where an opening was left just large enough to admit the 
boat. Into this, being the nearest, my boat's crew were very anxious to take her 
thoroughly worn put as they were by a day of unceasing toil and danger, amid 
which their cool and manly conduct was beyond all praise. And on losing the 
rudder and tiller, with which I always myself steered the boat, the ice quarter- 
master especially proved himself an expert hand at the steer oar at a moment 
when we were obliged to have one out on each quarter to keep the boat's head 
to the heavy cross sea that was running, to prevent her from broaching-to. I 
objected, however, to the little land-locked harbour for the boat, on the ground 
of the chance of being entrapped within it by a change of wind bringing the ice 
down upon it, and thus preventing us from so readily getting out again ; and also 
from the low, boggy ground, exposed on all sides to the weather, being 
unfavourable for pitching the tent. I, therefore, stood on for the Black Mount, 
ahead, and was fortunate enough to find at its base a sloping beach for hauling 
up the boat between some grounded hummocks of ice, backed by a shingle 
ridge, dry and free from snow, on which we pitched the tent at 8 p.m., sheltered 
by another ridge still higher, above which rose the Black Mount. I ascended 
this eminence, whilst the boat's crew were lighting the fire and getting supper 
ready. From its summit I saAV the ice closely packed all round the bay by tlie 
wind now blowing up it, and that this was the only spot where a boat could 
possibly have found a place of shelter along the whole line of coast, from tlic 
bay we left this morning, to as far as the eye could reach beyond us to the nortli- 
J3 3 
« 
