During the last three weeks we had advanced exactly ninety miles, or at the rate of about four and a quarter miles a day. This cannot be considered a rapid rate of travelling, yet to accomplish even this necessitated a constant and vigilant look-out.
Cape Fraser is a bold promontory some thousand feet in height, terminating in a short projecting point of land about two hundred feet above the level of the sea. Above the talus appeared numerous caves in the cliffs, a peculiarity noticed for the first time, and the summit was studded with irregularities that, to an imaginative mind, might be perverted into gigantic beings, animals, or castellated towers. On one of these ridges was a heap of stones supposed to represent the “Twelve Apostles,” and was so marked on the chart; but as we could never distinguish more than half the number at one time from any point of bearing, it was generally supposed on board that they adhered to true man-of-war regulations, and only appeared in their “watch on deck,” half the number belonging of course to the watch below!
At 10 P.M., being again temporarily stopped, the ships were secured in a little harbour called Maury Bay. During our detention in the vicinity of Cape Fraser, we were able to confirm the observations made by Dr. Bessels of the “Polaris,” relative to the meeting of two tides at or about this point. This fact materially strengthens the argument in favour of the insularity of Greenland, for it has been deduced from a series of tidal observations obtained by us that the tide to the northward of Cape Fraser—that is, the tide in Kennedy and Robeson Channels—is undoubtedly the same as the North Atlantic one, and therefore flows along the northern coast of Greenland.
Contrary to what might generally be expected, we did not encounter any very great accumulation of broken up ice in consequence of the meeting of these two tides: not more than would be caused by the fact of the channel decreasing in size to the northward at this point, and therefore offering greater obstruction to the ice whilst drifting northward, but facilitating its general drift, which is to the southward.
From the summit of Cape John Barrow, which forms one extreme of the little bay in which we were secured, we obtained a good view, and one which delighted and gladdened our hearts.
Northwards we could see as far as Cape L. von Buch; between us leads of water, although covered with much loose ice. To the eastward we could plainly distinguish Cape Constitution, with a large sheet of water along its base; but to get to it we should have had to penetrate a large expanse of pack. This pool of water was in all probability similar to one seen by Morton in the same place in 1855, and reported by him as an “open Polar sea,” on which many imaginative theories have been based!
Our return to the ship was not accomplished without much difficulty, in consequence of our little harbour of refuge having filled with drifting ice, during the time we were on shore, which beset our boat. We were therefore compelled to haul and drag it over and through innumerable fragments of ice, reaching the ship wet and fatigued, but delighted with the intelligence we possessed and the prospect of pushing on.
Friday, August 20th.—At one o’clock this morning, being the top of high water, we made another start.
Taking advantage of the different broad lanes of water, we steamed rapidly past Cape Norton Shaw, and opened out Scoresby Bay—a grand harbour that would suit admirably for a ship’s winter quarters, provided animal life existed. From the appearance of the land we imagined that game would be found in large quantities. A perfect cone-shaped hill on the north-west side is a very prominent feature of this bay. Indeed, the entire coast along which we are passing is composed of long ranges of hills more or less coniform, varying from one to two thousand feet in height. The coast line is very imperfectly delineated on our charts, the distance between the various bays and headlands are erroneous, and the positions are wrong; the error always being that they are placed too much to the northward.