A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History; of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and; Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the; Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History; of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and; Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the; Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In this dangerous situation we saw them at noon, about three miles from us,
bearing N.W., a fresh gale from the S.E. driving more ice to the N.W., and
increasing the body that lay between us. Our latitude, by account, was 69 deg.
8', the longitude 187 deg. and the depth of water twenty-eight fathoms. To add
to the gloomy apprehensions which began to force themselves on us, at half
past four in the afternoon, the weather becoming thick and hazy, we lost
sight of the Discovery; but that we might be in a situation to afford her
every assistance in our power, we kept standing on close by the edge of the
ice. At six, the wind happily coming round to the north, gave us some hopes
that the ice might drift away and release her; and in that case, as it was
uncertain in what condition she might come out, We kept firing a gun every
half hour, in order to prevent a separation. Our apprehensions for her
safety did not cease till nine, when we heard her guns in answer to ours;
and soon after being hailed by her, were informed that upon the change of
wind the ice began to separate; and that setting all their sails, they
forced a passage through it. We learned farther, that whilst they were
encompassed by it, they found the ship drift with the main body to the
N.E., at the rate of half a mile an hour. We were sorry to find that the
Discovery had rubbed off a great deal of the sheathing from her bows, and
was become very leaky, from the strokes she had received when she fell upon
the edge of the ice.
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