All the other ships were closer inshore during the evening, while we moved west a little. During the night we moved off up a lead.
June 13th. Friday. We were hard and fast, the Cornwallis, Triune, Esquimaux and Narwhal in sight close inshore. The Arctic and Wolf out with the expedition ships. They were apparently beset. We lay frozen up all day, with not even a duck to shoot. The Sugarloaf, a high mountain on the Greenland coast, showed up well and made a good landmark.
June 14th. Saturday. The day began with a heavy snow storm, but shortly after breakfast it cleared off. The ice opened to the west, so we steamed in that direction, leaving the fleet of older ships apparently fast inshore, and we did not see any of them again for a long time. We made very little headway at first, but found the ice slack after dinner and managed to push through it.
Later a series of good leads opened up and we worked a long way north. When I turned in, the relief ships with the Arctic and Wolf were in sight ahead of us.
We passed a curious pillar of rock called the Devil's Thumb; it was a long way off. Every one took off his hat to it as was the custom.
Steering amongst ice was sometimes very dangerous for the man at the wheel, because the ship going astern was liable to bump her rudder against the ice. This, of course, sent the wheel flying around. We had a man hurt in this way by receiving a blow from the wheel during the afternoon.
June 15th. Sunday. We had good leads all the morning and were never blocked for any length of time. By breakfast time we overtook the Arctic and Wolf with relief ships. Then we all hooked on to a heavy floe in an open pool of water. Very shortly we were off again, but it looked dangerous, so we tied up. The Wolf was the first to be free. She entered a lead and it closed behind her, exactly as it had done with us at the Duck Islands. However, later in the day the pack drew off and we all steamed along the edge of the shore floe, the Thetis bringing up the rear. This was an exciting race, and no one turned in while the water remained open. The Wolf had the lead, the Arctic and Aurora being together. Occasionally some of us would diverge a little, but we were in line pretty well all the time.