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Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 03 by Samuel de Champlain
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northeast. We approached nearer for the sake of a better observation, and
found that it was Canseau. This led us to bear off to the north for Cape
Breton Island; but we had scarcely sailed two leagues when we encountered
an ice bank on the northeast. Night coming on, we were obliged to put out
to sea until the next day, when we sailed northeast, and encountered more
ice, bearing east, east-southeast from us, along which we coasted heading
northeast and north for more than fifteen leagues. At last we were obliged
to sail towards the west, greatly to our regret, inasmuch as we could find
no passage, and should be obliged to withdraw and sail back on our track.
Unfortunately for us we were overtaken by a calm, so that it seemed as if
the swell of the sea would throw us upon the ice bank just mentioned, and
we got ready to launch our little boat, to use in case of necessity. If we
had taken refuge on the above-mentioned ice it would only have been to
languish and die in misery. While we were deliberating whether to launch
our boat, a fresh breeze arose to our great delight, and thus we escaped
from the ice. After we had sailed two leagues, night came on, with a very
thick fog, causing us to haul down our sail, as we could not see, and as
there were several large pieces of ice in our way, which we were afraid of
striking. Thus we remained the entire night until the next day, which was
the twenty-ninth, when the fog increased to such an extent that we could
scarcely see the length of the vessel. There was also very little wind. Yet
we did not fail to set sail, in order to avoid the ice. But, although
expecting to extricate ourselves, we found ourselves so involved in it that
we could not tell on which side to tack. We were accordingly again
compelled to lower sail, and drift until the ice should allow us to make
sail. We made a hundred tacks on one side and the other, several times
fearing that we were lost. The most self-possessed would have lost all
judgment in such a juncture; even the greatest navigator in the world. What
alarmed us still more was the short distance we could see, and the fact
that the night was coming on, and that we could not make a shift of a
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