The Ice Lay So Close That
The Crews Disembarked On It And Effected A Passage By Bearing Against The
Pieces With Their Poles, But In Conducting The Canoes Through The Narrow
Channels Thus Formed The Greatest Care Was Requisite To Prevent The Sharp
Projecting Points From Breaking The Bark.
They fortunately received no
material injury though they were split in two places.
At the distance of three miles we came to the entrance of a deep bay
whose bottom was filled by a body of ice so compact as to preclude the
idea of a passage through it, whilst at the same time the traverse across
its mouth was attended with much danger from the approach of a large
field of ice which was driving down before the wind. The dread of further
detention however prevented us from hesitating, and we had the
satisfaction of landing in an hour and a half on the opposite shore,
where we halted to repair the canoes and to dine. I have named this bay
after my friend Mr. Daniel Moore of Lincoln's Inn, to whose zeal for
science the Expedition was indebted for the use of a most valuable
chronometer. Its shores are picturesque, sloping hills receding from the
beach and closed with verdure bound its bottom and western side, and
lofty cliffs of slate clay with their intervening grassy valleys skirt
its eastern border. Embarking at midnight we pursued our voyage without
interruption, passing between the Stockport and Marcet Islands and the
main, until six A.M. on July 30th when, having rounded Point Kater, we
entered Arctic Sound and were again involved in a stream of ice, but
after considerable delay extricated ourselves and proceeded towards the
bottom of the inlet in search of the mouth of a river which we supposed
it to receive, from the change in the colour of the water.
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