STOUT-BUILT BOATS . 315 
and after much laborious travelling, were fortunate, 
considering the fog, in hitting upon a floe which proved 
the longest we had yet crossed, being three miles from 
south to north, though alternately rugged and flat. 
From this we launched into a lane of water half a 
mile long from east to west, but which only gave us a 
hundred and fifty yards of northing. We had then 
several other small pools to cross, and on one occasion 
were obliged to cut a place for hauling up the 
boats, the margin consisting of a tier of high and 
continuous hummocks. In hauling one of the boats 
over a ‘ tongue * of ice, where she only floated in 
part, her bottom-boards were raised by the pressure 
against the ice below, but so strong and elastic was 
their construction that she did not suffer the slightest 
external injury. We frequently, during fogs, saw a 
broad white fog-bow opposite the sun; but one which 
appeared to-night was strongly tinged with the pris¬ 
matic colours. 
“ The floe on which we stopped to dine at one A.M., 
on the 16 th, was not more than four feet thick, and its 
extent half a mile square ; and on this we had the 
rare advantage of carrying all our loads at one 
journey. At half-past six the fog cleared away, and 
gave us beautiful weather for drying our clothes, and 
once more the cheerful sight of the blue sky. We 
