weather being calm, two hours were occupied in towing the ships to sea, and thus the officers and men were employed at a very laborious work for twenty-six hours, during which time there were, on one occasion, fifteen of them overboard at once; and, indeed, several individuals met with the same accident three times.  It was impossible, however, to regret the necessity of these comparatively trifling exertions, especially as it was now evident that to saw our way out without any canal would have required at least a fortnight of heavy and fatiguing labour.

CHAPTER V.

Sail over towards the Western Coast of Prince Regent’s Inlet.—­Stopped by the Ice.—­Reach the Shore about Cape Seppings.—­Favourable Progress along the Land.—­Fresh and repeated Obstructions from Ice.—­Both Ships driven on Shore.—­Fury seriously damaged.—­Unsuccessful Search for a Harbour for heaving her down to repair.

July 20.—­On standing out to sea, we sailed, with a light southerly wind, towards the western shore of Prince Regent’s Inlet, which it was my first wish to gain, on account of the evident advantage to be derived from coasting the southern part of that portion of land called in the chart “North Somerset,” as far as it might lead to the westward; which, from our former knowledge, we had reason to suppose it would do as far at least as the longitude of 95 deg., in the parallel of about 72-3/4 deg.  After sailing about eight miles, we were stopped by a body of close ice lying between us and a space of open water beyond.  We were shortly after enveloped in one of the thick fogs which had, for several weeks past, been observed almost daily hanging over some part of the sea in the offing, though we had scarcely experienced any in Port Bowen until the water became open at the mouth of the harbour.

On the clearing up of the fog on the 21st, we could perceive no opening of the ice leading towards the western land, nor any appearance of the smallest channel to the southward along the eastern shore.  I was determined, therefore, to try at once a little farther to the northward, the present state of the ice appearing completely to accord with that observed in 1819, its breadth increasing as we advanced from Prince Leopold’s Islands to the southward.

Light winds detained us very much, but, being at length favoured by a breeze, we carried all sail to the northwest, the ice very gradually leading us towards the Leopold Isles.  Having arrived off the northernmost on the morning of the 22nd, it was vexatious, however curious, to observe the exact coincidence of the present position of the ice with that which it occupied a little later in the year 1819.  The whole body of it seemed to cling to the western shore, as if held there by some strong attraction, forbidding, for the present, any access to it.  After running all night, with light and variable winds, through loose