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558 PHIPPs’s JOURNAL.
The fhip’s company were playing on the ice all day. The pilots being much farther
than they had ever been, and the feafon advancing, feemed alarmed at being befet.
The firft of Auguft, the ice preffed in faft; there was not now the {malleft opening ;
the two fhips were within lefs than two lengths of each other, feparated by ice, and
neither having room to turn. ‘The ice, which had been all flat the day before, and
almoft level with the water’s edge, was now in many places forced higher than the
main-yard, by the pieces fqueezing together. Our latitude this day at noon, by the
double altitude, was 80° 37’.
The fecond, thick foggy wet weather, blowing frefh to the weftward; the ice imme-
diately about the fhips rather loofer than the day before, but yet hourly fetting in fo
faft upon us, that there feemed to be no probability of getting the fhips out again with-
out a {trong eaft or north-eaft wind. ‘There was not the {malleft appearance of open
water, except a little towards the weft point of the north-ealt land. ‘The feven iflands
and north-eaft land, with the frozen fea, formed almoft a bafon, leaving but about four
points opening for the ice to drift out, in cafe of a change of wind.
The third, the weather very fine, clear, and calm; we perceived that the fhips had
been driven far to the eaftward; the ice was much clofer than before, and the paflage
by which we had come in from the weltward clofed up, no open water being in fight,
either in that or any other quarter. The pilots having exprefled a with to get if poflible
farther out, the fhips’ companies were fet to work at five in the morning, to cut a pal-
fage through the ice, and warp through the fmall openings to the weftward. We found
the ice very deep, having fawed fometimes through pieces twelve feet thick. This la-
bour was continued the whole day, but without any fuccefs; our utmoft efforts not
having moved the fhips above three hundred yards to the weftward through the ice, at
the fame time that they had been driven (together with the ice itfelf, to which they were
faft) far to the N. E. and eaftward by the current; which had alfo forced the loofe ice
from the weftward between the iflands, where it became packed, and as firm as the
main body.
The fourth, quite calm till evening, when we were flattered with a light air to the
eaftward, which did not laft long, and had no favourable effect. The wind was now
at N. W., with a very thick fog, the fhip driving to the eaftward. The pilots feemed
to apprehend that the ice extended very far to the fouthward and weltward.
The fifth, the probability of getting the fhips out appearing every hour lefs, and
the feafon being already far advanced, fome fpeedy refolution became neceflary as to
the {teps to be taken for the prefervation of the people. As the fituation of the {hips
prevented us from feeing the {tate of the ice to the weftward, by which our future pro-
ceedings mutt in a great meafure be determined, I fent Mr. Walden, one of the mid-
fhipmen, with two pilots, to an ifland about twelve miles off, which I have diftinguifhed
in the charts by the narne of Walden’s Hland, to fee where the open water lay.
The fixth, Mr. Walden and the pilots, who were fent the day before to examine
the ftate of the ice from the ifland, returned this morning with an account, that the ice,
though clofe all about us, was open to the weftward, round the point by which we
came in. They alfo told me, that when upon the ifland they had the wind very frefh
to the eaftward, though where the fhips lay it had been almoit calm all day. This cir-
cumftance confiderably leffened the hopes we had hitherto entertained of the immediate
effect of an eafterly wind in clearing the bay. We had but one alternative; either
patiently to wait the event of the weather upon the fhips, in hopes of getting them out,
or to betake ourfelyes to the boats. ‘Che fhips had driven into fhoal water, saan but
ourteen
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