a wind off the land, which is here very
unusual, Lieutenant Liddon was enabled to sail upon the Griper at
two A.M. on the 15th, in execution of the orders I had given him.
As I soon perceived, however, that she made little or no way, the
wind drawing more to the eastward on that part of the coast, and
as the clear water was increasing along the shore to the westward
much farther than we had yet seen it, I made the signal of recall
to the Griper, with the intention of making another attempt, which
the present favourable appearances seemed to justify, to push
forward without delay in the desired direction. At five A.M.,
therefore, as soon as the snow had cleared away sufficiently to
allow the signal to be distinguished, we cast off and ran along
shore, the wind having by this time veered to the E.b.N., and
blowing in strong puffs out of the ravines as we passed them. We
sailed along, generally at the distance of a hundred or a hundred
and fifty yards from the beach, our soundings being from ten to
seventeen fathoms; and, after running a mile and a half in a
N.W.b.W. direction, once more found the ice offering an
impenetrable obstacle to our progress westward, at a small
projecting point of land just beyond us. We therefore hauled the
ship into a berth which we were at this moment fortunate in
finding abreast of us, and where we were enabled to place the
Hecla within a number of heavy masses of grounded ice, such as do
not often occur on this steep coast, which, compared with the
situation we had lately left, appeared a perfect harbour. In the
mean time, the wind had failed our consort when she was a mile and
a half short of this place; and Lieutenant Liddon, after
endeavouring in vain to warp up to us, was obliged, by the ice
suddenly closing upon him, to place her in-shore, in the first
situation he could find, which proved to be in very deep water, as
well as otherwise so insecure as not to admit a hope of saving the
ship should the ice continue to press upon her.

Mr. Fisher found very good sport in our new station, having
returned in the evening, after a few hours' excursion, with nine
hares; the birds had, of late, almost entirely deserted us, a
flock or two of ptarmigan and snow-buntings, a few glaucous gulls,
a raven, and an owl, being all that had been met with for several
days.

A fog, which had prevailed during the night, cleared away in the
morning of the 16th, and a very fine day succeeded, with a
moderat