August 12, Continuing storms

August 12—The storm continued against us all last night, although the wind abated to sudden short squalls by morning. Around 10 we espied some leads of open water and cut a passage out to them to recommence our tedious passage westward, but as we went, the leads became more numerous and wider until, by mid-afternoon we were sailing with some ease in relatively open water. It seems Reid was right and the ice has all been blown farther down the channel. Since the whole channel appeared open, we set course across to the shore of North Somerset which may be a continuation of Boothia. Our speed is still slow as there is much ice around, but the backbreaking work of cutting and hauling is done, at least for now.

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