Evening star., 1922-10-01

we were off with the flood tide
for the unknown land and seas
to the north of US. One ship
alone, the Charles, had sailed these
waters along the western shores of
Baftin Land. and but short distance,
ever go years ago. under the COM
nrand of Northwest" Fox. bearing
letter from the King of England to the
Emperor of Japan!
The Discovery under Bylot. accom-
panied by William. Bafiin. a skilled
pilot, passed between Cape Dorset and
the Mill Isla nds in 1915. the latter
receiving the name at that time be
cause of the grinding of the ice,
which threatened extreme danger
had not God, who is stronger than
ice or stream" released them from
their peril
Proceeding westward. they discov-
cred Southampton Island, and finally
succeeded in reaching a point of land
termed by them Cape Comfort. His
sudden comfort was soon quailed,
for they tackled and turned the
shippes head homewards. without any
further search"
Parry and Lyon. in the Fury, and
IIecla also sailed westward in 1891,
following their orders to penetrate
to the westward until they reached a
part of the coast. which they felt con-
WINGED to be a part of the continent
of North America. And the Terror.
under Capt. George Bach. r. N, sailed
along this shore for a short distance
i'll 1886. After beating about be-
tween Mill Islands and the North
Shore all night" Nns the narrative.
we found ourselves in the morning.
the 18th (AususO. still to seaward
of the former. and utterly unable to
make head against the current. Near
noon. being then within a mile of
the shore. we could perceive a strong
race, within, which was an eddy
sweeping the ice about in a furious
manner. At the line of its Junction.
with the regular tide there was
fall produced of at least three or four
feet, which hid all but the upper sur
face of the ice near it,
THE same current" and the same
/ strong race" and the same
eddy" are still there. which detained
Bach two days. but the modern
marine engine conquered them all, and
on we went but a few hundred yards
from shore.
After passing the Trinity Islands
of Fox, the coast trended more to the
eastward. To get out of the clutch of
the tremendous tide race I followed
the land closely even inside many Of
the rocks and isla3ds. This you will
remember was one determining fac
tor in the building of the Bow doin
of small size and shallow draft.
Gradually the land assumed low
or level with no harbors. shallow
bays. outstretching reefs and great
stretches of light green water a
most unwelcome sight to the navi
gator. A deep dark blue is his ia
vorite color.
Fully realizing that such coast,
with its shoals. its lack of shelter.
and it's extreme rise and fall of tides
could not be approached without dan
ger of stranding and possible loss of
ship and equipment at the very be-
ginning of our years work, l swung
the Bowdoin away from the land fol-
lowing an exciting experience with
a. bad ledge over which a sixknot
tide was literally boiling.
Small. the mate, was in the crows
nest, where either he or I always
was. and by his agonized "Starboard!
Starboard.' there was not the least
possible doubt about the interpreta-
ron of the order. had never known
him to put quite so much feeling into
his voice before. SiX-foot Goddard
spun the wheel and the Bowdoin
swung on her keel like an cider duck
lodging a battery; another specifica-
tion of her construction, for turns are
short in the ice pack, and must be
executed quickly.
+ X
WE proceeded northward, astonish-
w ed beyond measure at not en-
'countering a single pan of ice along
the Labrador coast and in Hudson
straits, where other ships had strug-
sled for weeks to break through the
solid white barrier.