“Expedition Doubling Cape Barrow, July 25, 1821” [George
Back]
. . . we had recourse to the paddles and keeping close along the shore
rounded Cape Barrow when our passage was obstructed by ice—and
on attempting to get through it one of the canoes was almost nipped.
This was an interesting moment—enveloped in a dense haze and hurried
forward by a strong gale we could not even distinguish the summits of
the stupendous rocks near us—down whose perpendicular sides streams
of water were descending—which after bounding from crag to crag
emptied themselves into the sea under canopies of bright blue ice—on
the other hand—the perilous situation of the canoes amongst large
floating masses of ice—crushing against each other by the fury
of the waves—and spouting up wide sheets of white spray—was
no less affecting. The weather aided us greatly—and formed a channel
along shore—but it was so excessively thick—that we could
not distinguish even the tops of the hills we were passing immediately
under—that we proceeded in the greatest state of anxiety—between
the rocks and the ice. . . [Back, pp. 150-151.]