whenever he could do so, without waiting for the Hecla, should
that ship be still detained; and to look out for any opening in
the ice to the southward which might seem likely to favour the
object I had in view, waiting for me to join him should any such
opening occur.

The breeze died away in the course of the night, just as the ice
was beginning to separate and to drift away from the shore; and,
being succeeded by 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