ne
in one day under any other circumstances; she stopped, retraced her
steps, waiting for a favourable occasion so as not to miss Beechey
Island, using a great deal of coal, as the fires were only moderated
when she had to halt, but were never put out, so that she might be
under pressure day and night. Hatteras knew the extent of his coal
provision as well as Shandon, but as he was certain of getting his
provision renewed at Beechey Island he would not lose a minute for
the sake of economy; he had been much delayed by his forced march
southward, and although he had taken the precaution of leaving England
before the month of April, he did not find himself more advanced than
preceding expeditions had been at the same epoch. On the 30th they
sighted Cape Walker at the north-eastern extremity of Prince of
Wales's Land; it was the extreme point that Kennedy and Bellot
perceived on the 3rd of May, 1852, after an excursion across the whole
of North Somerset. Before that, in 1851, Captain Ommaney, of the
Austin expedition, had the good luck to revictual his detachments
there. This cape is very high, and remarkable for its reddish-brown
colour; from there, when the weather is clear, the view stretches
as far as the entrance to Wellington Channel. Towards evening they
saw Cape Bellot, separated from Cape Walker by McLeon Bay. Cape Bellot
was so named in the presence of the young French officer, for whom
the English expedition gave three cheers. At this spot the coast is
made of yellowish limestone, presenting a very rugged outline; it
is defended by enormous icebergs which the north winds pile up there
in a most imposing way. It was soon lost to sight by the _Forward_
as she opened a passage amongst the ice to get to Beechey Island
through Barrow Strait. Hatteras resolved to go straight on, and, so
as not to be drifted further than the island, scarcely quitted his
post during the following days; he often went to the masthead to look
out for the most advantageous channels. All that pluck, skill, and
genius could do he did while they were crossing the strait. Fortune
did not favour him, for the sea is generally more open at this epoch.
But at last, by dint of sparing neither his steam, his crew, nor
himself, he attained his end.

On the 3rd of July, at 11 o'clock in the morning, the ice-master
signalled land to the north. After taking an observation Hatteras
recognised Beechey Island, that general meeting-place of Arctic
navigato