Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/489



HOMEWARD BOUND.—ENTERING MELVILLE BAY.—ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR.—MEETING THE PACK.—MAKING THE "SOUTH WATER."—REACHING UPERNAVIK.—THE NEWS.—TO GOODHAVEN.—LIBERALITY OF THE DANISH GOVERNMENT AND THE GREENLAND OFFICIALS.—DRIVEN OUT OF BAFFIN BAY BY A GALE.—CRIPPLED BY THE STORM AND FORCED TO TAKE SHELTER IN HALIFAX.—HOSPITABLE RECEPTION.—ARRIVAL IN BOSTON.—REALIZE THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY.—THE DETERMINATION.—CONCLUSION.

My story is soon ended. Having completed the exploration of Whale Sound, we tripped our anchor and stood southward. The heavens were bright and the air soft with a summer warmth; and as we glided down the waveless waters, all sparkling with icebergs, watching the scene of our adventures slowly sinking away behind us under the crimson trail of the midnight sun, it seemed truly as if smooth seas and gentle winds had come to invite us home.

But this repose of the elements was of short duration. A dark curtain rose after a while above the retreating hills, and sent us a parting salute, in the shape of a storm of snow and wind, so that we were soon obliged to gather in some of our canvas, and keep a sharp look-out.

My purpose was to reach the "West Water," by making a course toward Pond's Bay, then round the "middle ice" to the southward, and make an easterly course for the Greenland coast.

The atmosphere cleared up at length, but the wind held on fiercely. Being from the north-northeast, it seemed to me then to favor an easterly rather than a