314 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, the advanced state of the season would render extremely fatiguing. At 
eight we ascended a hill, but saw not the slightest chance of an opening, 
Narrative the ice to the southward being quite compact as far as the eye could 
Barge. reach, and varying in its height from twelve to two feet above the level 
of the sea. At midnight the weather was cold, dark, and foggy, and 
seemed to indicate a S. W. gale. 
Friday, 25th Aug. At four this morning the current appeared to 
resume something of its former rapidity, causing the ice to move to the 
northward, and leaving small openings. This gave us faint hopes of a 
release; but the wind springing up as we had anticipated soon ex- 
tinguished them. After breakfast we again visited the hill, but with 
no better success than before. The tide returning or ebbing from the 
river brought back with it a quantity of the ice, almost every piece of 
which drifted athwart the boat ; so that we determined on getting her 
afloat, and shifting her to a better berth, where we should be ready to 
avail ourselves of the smallest prospect of getting clear. Flaving laid 
out an anchor astern, we with much difficulty got her through the 
sandbank that had formed itself round us ; and finding that at her 
own length farther out a channel was left for the ice to drive either out 
or into the river, we secured her to a large berg that had grounded and 
afforded us much shelter. Towards noon a number of natives visited 
us, and were presented with tobacco, &c. Among them was the old man 
spoken of the day before ; who, on receiving his present, offered up 
what we concluded to be a prayer, at the same time blowing wdth his 
mouth, as if imploring an east wind and the dispersion of the ice. — In 
the afternoon the wind had increased to a gale. W e went to the hill, 
and there observed the line of ice within the horizon, and the sea 
breaking very heavily outside : we saw also a number of large bergs 
drifting down. At four, fresh gales, with heavy squalls — the ice around 
us became closely wedged, the pieces being forced one over another, 
forming a solid mass. The body of ice in the offing was still drifting 
to the northward. This day Mr. Elson determined, if we should be 
compelled to quit the boat, to take every thing out of her except the 
gun, to remove her into the deepest part of the river, and there sink 
her, so as to prevent the natives from destroying or breaking her up to 
