Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Volume I Part 5

direction, we landed at seven A.M., near the southeast part of the island. The wind was fresh from the westward, and the tents were pitched near the beach, under the lee of the high part of the island.

We rested till six P.M., and then set off across the ice for a point to the E.S.E. The snow had now become so soft after the heat of the day, that, loaded as we were, we often sunk nearly up to the knees, which made travelling very laborious, and we were, therefore, not sorry to get on sh.o.r.e by half past eight, having walked, by our account, three miles and a half.

The spot on which we encamped appeared so favourable for obtaining specimens of the different animals which frequent this island, that I determined to remain here one day for the purpose of sporting and examining its natural productions.

The sportsmen went out early in the morning, and soon after met with a musk-ox feeding on a spot of luxuriant pasture-ground, covered with the dung of these animals as well as of deer. They fired at him from a considerable distance without wounding him, and he set off at a very quick pace over the hills. The musk-ox has the appearance of a very ill-proportioned little animal, its hair being so long as to make its feet appear only two or three inches in length; they seem, indeed, to be treading upon it at every step, and the individual in question actually did so in some instances, as the hair was found in several of the foot-tracks.

When disturbed and hunted, they frequently tore up the ground with their horns, and turned round occasionally to look at their pursuers, but they never attempted to attack any of them. Our gentlemen also met with a herd of twelve deer, three only of which had horns, and they were much the largest of the herd, and constantly drove the others away when they attempted to stop. The birds seen by our people were many brent-geese and ptarmigans, several golden plovers, one or two "boatswains," and abundance of snow-buntings. One or two mice were caught; like several others we had seen, these were turning brown about the belly and head, and the back was of a dark gray colour. In every part of the island over which we travelled, the holes and tracks of these little animals were occasionally seen; one of them, which Sergeant Martin ran after, finding no hole near and that he could not escape, set himself against a stone, as if endeavouring to defend himself, and bit the sergeant's finger when he took hold of him.

On a point of land at the distance of three quarters of a mile to the W.b.S. of the tents, and within a hundred yards of the sea, the remains of six Esquimaux huts were discovered; they consisted of rude circles, about six feet in diameter, constructed irregularly of stones of all sizes and shapes, and raised to the height of two feet from the ground: they were paved with large slabs of white schistose sandstone, which is here abundant; the moss had spread over this floor, and appeared to be the growth of three or four years. In each of the huts, on one side, was a small separate compartment forming a recess, projecting outward, which had probably been their store-room; and at a few feet from one of the huts was a smaller circle of stones, which had composed the fireplace, the mark of fire being still perceptible upon them.

The day was fine and clear, with a moderate wind from the westward till four P.M., when it died away, and was shortly after succeeded by a breeze from the southward, with a fall of snow. We now travelled due south, with the intention of getting sight of the Table Hills, and returning by that route to the s.h.i.+ps, as there appeared to be nothing more within our reach of sufficient interest to detain us any longer from them. At eight P.M., finding that the people's clothes were becoming wet through by the sleet which fell, we halted and pitched the tents.

Early on the morning of the 14th the wind veered to the westward, and the weather became gradually more clear; we therefore continued our journey to the southward, and came in sight of the Table Hills bearing S.E. of us, and at eight A.M. pitched the tents on some dry ground on the bank of a ravine. We moved on towards the Table Hills at five P.M., and crossed several ravines without much water in them, running generally to the northeastward. We halted between the Table Hills at ten o'clock, having travelled eight miles over very swampy ground, and with the snow up to our knees in some of the hollows.

As soon as the observations were completed, we set off for Winter Harbour, and having pa.s.sed over much rich and wet ground, abounding with sorrel, which now began to put forth its leaves with more vigour, arrived on board at seven P.M., having been met, and welcomed most heartily, by almost every officer and man belonging to the s.h.i.+ps; and it was no small satisfaction to me to hear it remarked, that the whole of our travelling party appeared in more robust health than when we left them.

CHAPTER IX.

Occurrences at Winter Harbour in the early Part of June.--Gradual Dissolution of the Ice upon the Sea and of the Snow upon the Land.--Decease and Burial of William Scott.--Equipment of the s.h.i.+ps completed.--Temperate Weather during the Month of July.--Breaking up of the Ice near the s.h.i.+ps.--Move to the lower Part of the Harbour.--Separation of the Ice at the Entrance.--Prepare to Sail.--Abstract of Observations made in Winter Harbour.

I had the happiness to find, on my return, that the officers and men in both s.h.i.+ps continued to enjoy the same good health as before, with the exception of Scott, who was still the only man in the Hecla's sick-list, and whose complaint seemed such as to baffle every attempt that had been made to produce an amendment. A constant disposition to fainting and a languid sort of despondency had been, for some time past, the only symptoms which had induced Mr. Edwards to continue the antis...o...b..tic treatment; and this it was sometimes absolutely necessary to discontinue for a day or two together, on account of the weak state of his bowels. During my absence he had been much worse than before, notwithstanding the greatest care and attention paid to him; but he was now once more better. He had lived almost entirely on the ptarmigan and ducks, of which a sufficient quant.i.ty had been procured to serve the sick and convalescent in both s.h.i.+ps abundantly, and none had at this time been issued to any officer or man in the expedition.

The equipment of the s.h.i.+ps had gone on satisfactorily during my absence, the Griper being nearly ready for sea, the Hecla not quite so forward, on account of the heavy work with the ballast, of which sixty-five tons had been brought on board, to supply the deficiency of weight in her holds. The survey of the provisions, fuel, and other stores was completed, and the quant.i.ty and condition of them, with the exception of the lemon-juice and vinegar before mentioned, were found to be satisfactory. With respect to vermin, I may here mention, that not a mouse, or rat, or maggot of any kind ever appeared on board, to my knowledge, during this voyage.

A very perceptible change had taken place in the ice of the harbour on its upper surface, it being covered with innumerable pools of water, chiefly brackish, except close in-sh.o.r.e, where the tides had lifted the ice considerably above the level of the sea.

Having observed that the sorrel was now so far advanced in foliage as to be easily gathered in sufficient quant.i.ty for eating, I gave orders that two afternoons in each week should be occupied by all hands in collecting the leaves of this plant; each man being required to bring in, for the present, one ounce, to be served in lieu of lemon-juice, pickles, and dried herbs, which had been hitherto issued. The growth of the sorrel was from this time so quick, and the quant.i.ty of it so great on every part of the ground about the harbour, that we shortly after sent the men out every afternoon for an hour or two; in which time, besides the advantage of a healthy walk, they could, without difficulty, pick nearly a pound each of this valuable antis...o...b..tic, of which they were all extremely fond. Of the good effects produced upon our health by the unlimited use of fresh vegetable substances, thus bountifully supplied by the hand of Nature, even where least to be expected, little doubt can be entertained, as it is well known to be a never-failing specific for s...o...b..tic affections, to which all persons deprived of it for a length of time are probably more or less predisposed.

By the 20th of June, the land in the immediate neighbourhood of the s.h.i.+ps, and especially in low and sheltered situations, was much covered with the handsome purple flower of the _saxifraga oppositifolia_, which was at this time in great perfection, and gave something like cheerfulness and animation to a scene hitherto indescribably dreary in its appearance.

The suddenness with which the changes take place during the short season which may be called summer in this climate, must appear very striking when it is remembered that, for a part of the first week in June, we were under the necessity of thawing artificially the snow which we made use of for water during the early part of our journey to the northward; that, during the second week, the ground was in most parts so wet and swampy that we could with difficulty travel; and that, had we not returned before the end of the third week, we should probably have been prevented doing so for some time, by the impossibility of crossing the ravines without great danger of being carried away by the torrents, an accident that happened to our hunting parties on one or two occasions in endeavouring to return with their game to the s.h.i.+ps.

On the 22d, at four P.M., a thermometer, in the shade on board the Hecla, stood at 51, being the highest temperature we had yet registered this season.

On the 24th we had frequent showers of snow, which occur in this climate more or less at all times of the year; at this season, however, when the earth is warm, it seldom or never lies on the ground for a whole day together.

Lieutenant Beechey, on his return from a hunting excursion at midnight on the 26th, reported that the ice along sh.o.r.e in that direction appeared in a more forward state of dissolution than near Winter Harbour, there being almost water enough in some places to allow a boat to pa.s.s, with several large cracks in the ice extending from the land some distance to seaward. The deep had now become much more wild near the tents, and it was therefore necessary to s.h.i.+ft the ground a little. Lieutenant Beechey succeeded in killing one of these animals, by lying down quietly, and imitating the voice of a fawn, when the deer immediately came up to him within gunshot. The horns of the deer killed at this season, as Mr. Fisher remarks, were "covered with a soft skin having a downy pile or hair upon it; the horns themselves were soft, and at the tips flexible and easily broken." The foxes, of which they saw several, "had a black spot or patch on each side of the hind-quarters or hams."

On the 29th, one of the men, in returning on board from the daily occupation of gathering sorrel, found in a hole upon the ice a small fish, which appeared to be of the whiting species; and, on going to examine the place where it was picked up, Mr. Edwards and myself found two others exactly similar. As there was as yet no communication between the sea and the upper surface of the ice sufficiently large to admit these fish, it became a matter of question in what manner they had got into the situation in which we found them. It appeared most likely that they were frozen on the surface of the water at the beginning of winter, when the frost first commenced, and perhaps, therefore, had been floating there dead. We remarked that, whenever any hard substance is laid upon the ice in small quant.i.ties, it soon makes a deep hole for itself, by the heat it absorbs and radiates, by which the ice around it is melted. There were at this time upon the ice innumerable holes of this kind, some forming small, and others large pools of water; and in every one of these, without exception, some extraneous substance, such as seaweed, sand, and not unfrequently a number of small putrid shrimps were found. In one of these holes the fish alluded to were found. It was curious to see how directly contrary was the effect produced upon the ice by a quant.i.ty of straw which was put out upon it in the early part of May, and which, by preventing the access of warmth, had now become raised above the general surface more than two feet; affording a strong practical example of the principle on which straw is made use of in ice-houses, and, what was at that time of more importance to us, a proof, how much the upper surface of the ice had been insensibly wasted by dissolution.

Lieutenant Hoppner returned on the evening of the 29th from his hunting excursion to the southwest, bringing with him some game, and, what was to us much more acceptable, the welcome information that the ice had been observed in motion in the offing on the 22d.

This circ.u.mstance was first observed by Messrs. Skene and Fife, who were of Lieutenant Hoppner's party, and who were awakened by a loud grinding noise, which, as they had soon the satisfaction to find, was occasioned by the heavy field-ice setting rapidly to the eastward, at the distance of five miles from the land, and apparently at the rate of a mile an hour. The wind was at this time moderate, but on the preceding day it had blown a fresh northerly gale.

For some days past Scott had been gradually growing worse, and on the evening of the 29th he was so far exhausted that Mr. Edwards did not expect him to survive through the night. At two A.M. on the 30th I was informed by that gentleman that Scott was dying; and, before I could get my clothes on, he had breathed his last, without any apparent pain.

On Sunday, the 2d of July, after divine service had been performed, the body of the deceased was committed to the earth, on a level piece of ground about a hundred yards from the beach; with every solemnity which the occasion demanded, and the circ.u.mstances of our situation would permit. The ensigns and pendants were lowered half-mast during the procession, and the remains of our unfortunate s.h.i.+pmate were attended to the grave by every officer and man in both s.h.i.+ps. A neat tombstone was afterward placed at the head of the grave by Mr. Fisher, who carved upon it the name of the deceased, with the other usual information.

The dissolution of the ice of the harbour went on so rapidly in the early part of July, that we were greatly surprised, on the 6th, in finding that, in several of the pools of water on its upper surface, holes were washed quite through to the sea beneath.

On examining several of these, we found that the average thickness of the ice in the upper part of the harbour, where the s.h.i.+ps were lying, did not exceed two feet, which was much less than we had any idea of. Towards the mouth of the harbour, however, where the water was deeper, no such holes made their appearance for some days after this. It must here be remarked, that in all cases we found the ice to be first thawed and broken up in the shoalest water, in consequence, I suppose, of the greater facility with which the ground, at a small depth below the surface of the sea, absorbed and radiated the heat of the sun's rays; and as it is in such situations that water generally freezes the first, this circ.u.mstance seems a remarkable instance of the provision of nature for maintaining such a balance in the quant.i.ty of ice annually formed and dissolved, as shall prevent any undue or extraordinary acc.u.mulation of it in any part of the Polar regions of the earth.

On unhanging the rudders, and hauling them up on the ice for examination, we found them a good deal shaken and grazed by the blows they had received during the time the s.h.i.+ps were beset at the entrance of Davis's Strait. We found, also, that the rudder-cases in both s.h.i.+ps had been fitted too small, occasioning considerable difficulty in getting the rudders down when working, a circ.u.mstance by no means disadvantageous (perhaps, indeed, rather the contrary) on ordinary service at sea, but which should be carefully avoided in s.h.i.+ps intended for the navigation among ice, as it is frequently necessary to uns.h.i.+p the rudder at a short notice, in order to preserve it from injury, as our future experience was soon to teach us. This fault was, however, soon remedied, and the rudders again hung in readiness for sea.

On the 14th a boat pa.s.sed, for the first time, between the s.h.i.+ps and the sh.o.r.e, in consequence of the junction of a number of the pools and holes in the ice; and on the following day the same kind of communication was practicable between the s.h.i.+ps. It now became necessary, therefore, to provide against the possibility of the s.h.i.+ps being forced on sh.o.r.e by the total disruption of the ice between them and the beach, and the pressure of that without, by letting go a bower-anchor underfoot, which was accordingly done as soon as there was a hole in the ice under the bows of each sufficiently large to allow the anchors to pa.s.s through. We had now been quite ready for sea for some days; and a regular and anxious look-out was kept from the crow's-nest for any alteration in the state of the ice which might favour our departure from Winter Harbour, in which it now became more than probable that we were destined to be detained thus inactively for a part of each month in the whole year, as we had readied it in the latter part of September, and were likely to be prevented leaving it till after the commencement of August.

From six A.M. till six P.M. on the 17th, the thermometer stood generally from 55 to 60; the latter temperature being the highest which appears in the Hecla's Meteorological Journal during this summer. It will readily be conceived how pleasant such a temperature must have been to our feelings after the severe winter which immediately preceded it. The month of July is, indeed, the only one which can be called at all comfortable in the climate of Melville Island.

On the 20th, there being a strong breeze from the N.N.E., with fog and rain, all favourable to the dispersion of the ice, that part of it which was immediately around the Hecla, and from which she had been artificially detached so long before, at length separated into pieces and floated away, carrying with it the collection of ashes and other rubbish which had been acc.u.mulating for the last ten months: so that the s.h.i.+p was now once more fairly riding at anchor, but with the ice still occupying the whole of the centre of the harbour, and within a few yards of her bows: the Griper had been set free in a similar manner a few days before. But it was only in that part of the harbour where the s.h.i.+ps were lying that the ice had yet separated in this manner at so great a distance from the sh.o.r.e; a circ.u.mstance probably occasioned by the greater radiation of heat from the s.h.i.+ps, and from the materials of various kinds which we had occasion to deposite upon the ice during the time of our equipment.

Lieutenant Liddon accompanied me in a boat down the west sh.o.r.e of the harbour to the southern point of the entrance, in order to sound along the edge of the ice, where we found from seven to fifteen feet water; the ice about the entrance appeared still very solid and compact, and not a single hole was at this time noticed through any of the pools upon its surface except one, which was made by a seal, and which discovered the thickness of the ice to be there between two and three feet.

There was a fresh breeze from the northeastward, with fine clear weather, on the 22d, which made the Hecla swing round into twenty feet water astern; and the ice, being now moveable in the harbour, came home towards the sh.o.r.e with this wind, but not so much as to put any considerable strain on the cable of either s.h.i.+p; and the holding-ground being excellent, there was nothing to apprehend for their security.

A fresh gale, which blew from the northward on the morning of the 23d, caused a great alteration in the appearance of the ice near the s.h.i.+ps, but none whatever in that in the offing or at the mouth of the harbour, except that the sh.o.r.es were there more enc.u.mbered than before, owing to the quant.i.ty of pieces which were separated and driven down from the northward, so that our small boat could not succeed in getting along the sh.o.r.e.

On the 24th the sails were bent, in readiness for starting at a moment's notice, though it must be confessed that the motive for doing so was to make some show of moving rather than any expectation which I dared to entertain of soon escaping from our long and tedious confinement; for it was impossible to conceal from the men the painful fact that, in eight or nine weeks from this period, the navigable season must unavoidably come to a conclusion.

I went away in a boat early on the morning of the 25th, in order to sound the harbour in those parts where the ice would admit the boat, with a view to take advantage of the first favourable change which might present itself. The wind having come round to the southward in the afternoon, caused the separation of a large portion of ice on the northern side of that which now occupied the harbour, and the detached pieces drifting down towards us, rendered it necessary to be on our guard, lest the s.h.i.+ps should be forced from their anchorage. On this account, as well as from an anxious and impatient desire to make a move, however trifling, from a spot in which we had now unwillingly, but unavoidably, pa.s.sed nearly ten months, and of which we had long been heartily tired, I directed lines to be run out for the purpose of warping the s.h.i.+ps along the ice in the centre of the harbour, and at half past two P.M. the anchors were weighed. As soon as a strain was put upon the lines, however, we found that the ice to which they were attached came home upon us, instead of the s.h.i.+ps being drawn out to the southward; and we were therefore obliged to have recourse to the kedge-anchors, which we could scarcely find room to drop on account of the closeness of the ice. Having warped a little way out from the sh.o.r.e, into five fathoms and a half, it was found impossible to proceed any farther without a change of wind, and the anchors were therefore dropped till such a change should take place. In the course of the evening all the loose ice drifted past us to the northward, loading that sh.o.r.e of the harbour with innumerable fragments of it, and leaving a considerable s.p.a.ce of clear water along sh.o.r.e to the southward.

On the morning of the 26th it was nearly calm, with continued rain and thick weather; and there being now a s.p.a.ce of clear water for nearly three quarters of a mile to the southward of us, we took advantage of a breeze which sprung up from the northward to weigh, at nine A.M., and run down as far as the ice would permit, and then dropped our anchors in the best berths we could select, close to the edge of it, with the intention of advancing step by step, as it continued to separate by piecemeal. The ice across the entrance of the harbour as far as this spot, and the whole of that in the offing, of which we had here a commanding view from the Hecla's crow's-nest, was still quite continuous and unbroken, with the same appearance of solidity as it had during the middle of winter, except that the pools of water were numerous upon its surface.

The wind being from the S.S.W. during the night of the 30th, served to close the lane of water which had appeared in the offing the preceding day, which we considered a favourable circ.u.mstance, as showing that the external ma.s.s of ice was in motion. In the course of the day, the wind s.h.i.+fting to the W.N.W., we once more discovered a small opening between the old and young floes, and at eleven P.M., the whole body of the ice in the harbour was perceived to be moving slowly out to the southeastward, breaking away, for the first time, at the points which form the entrance of the harbour. This sudden and unexpected change rendering it probable that we should at length be released, I sent to Captain Sabine, who had been desirous of continuing his observations on the pendulum to the last moment, to request that he would have the clocks ready for embarcation at an early hour in the morning.

CHAPTER X.

Leave Winter Harbour.--Flattering Appearance of the Sea to the Westward.--Stopped by the Ice near Cape Hay.--Farther Progress to the Longitude of 113 48' 22.5", being the Westernmost Meridian hitherto reached in the Polar Sea, to the North of America.--Banks's Land discovered.--Increased Extent and Dimensions of the Ice.--Return to the Eastward, to endeavour to penetrate the Ice to the Southward.--Re-enter Barrow's Strait, and Survey its South Coast.--Pa.s.s through Sir James Lancaster's Sound on our Return to England.

The wind still blowing fresh from the northward and westward, the ice continued to drift out slowly from the harbour, till, at eight A.M., August 1st, it had left the whole s.p.a.ce between the s.h.i.+ps and Cape Hearne completely clear, and at eleven o'clock there appeared to be water round the hummocks of ice which lie aground off that point. In the mean time, our boats were employed in embarking the clocks, tents, and observatory, while I sounded the entrance of the harbour in order to complete the survey, which no opportunity had offered of doing before this time. At one P.M., having got everything on board, and the ice appearing to be still leaving the sh.o.r.e, we weighed, and ran out of Winter Harbour, in which we had actually, as had been predicted, pa.s.sed ten whole months, and a part of the two remaining ones, September and August.

In running along sh.o.r.e towards Cape Hearne, generally at the distance of half a mile from the land, we had from ten to sixteen fathoms' water, and rounded the hummocks off the point in six and a half fathoms by three P.M. As we opened the point, it was pleasing to see that the coast to the westward of it was more clear of ice (excepting the loose pieces which lay scattered about in every direction, but which would not very materially have impeded the navigation with a fair wind) than it had been when we first arrived off it, a month later in the foregoing year; the main ice having been blown off by the late westerly and northwesterly winds to the distance of four or five miles from the sh.o.r.e, which, from all we have seen on this part of the coast, appears to be its utmost limit. The navigable channel, with a beating wind between the ice and the land, was here from one to two, or two miles and a half in width; and this seemed, from the masthead, to continue as far as the eye could reach along sh.o.r.e to the westward.

We found the wind much more westerly after we rounded the point, which made our progress slow and tedious; the more so, as we had every minute to luff for one piece of ice and to bear up for another, by which much ground was unavoidably lost.

After a very few tacks, we had the mortification to perceive that the Griper sailed and worked much worse than before, notwithstanding every endeavour which Lieutenant Liddon had been anxiously making, during her re-equipment, to improve those qualities in which she had been found deficient. She missed stays several times in the course of the evening, with smooth water and a fine working breeze, and by midnight the Hecla had gained eight miles to windward of her, which obliged me to heave to, notwithstanding the increased width of the navigable channel, the weather having become hazy, so as to endanger our parting company.

Soon after noon on the 2d, a breeze sprung up from the S.S.W., which, being rather upon the sh.o.r.e, made it likely that the ice would soon begin to close it; we therefore began to look out for a situation where the s.h.i.+ps might be secured in-sh.o.r.e, behind some of the heavy grounded ice which had so often before afforded us shelter under similar circ.u.mstances. At one o'clock we perceived that a heavy floe had already closed completely in with the land, at a point a little to the westward of us, preventing all hope of farther progress for the present in that direction. A boat was therefore sent to examine the ice in-sh.o.r.e, and a favourable place having been found for our purpose, the s.h.i.+ps were hauled in and secured there, the Griper's bow resting on the beach, in order to allow the Hecla to lie in security without her. This place was so completely sheltered from the access of the main body of the ice, that I began to think seriously of taking advantage of this situation to remove the Griper's crew on board the Hecla, in order to prosecute the voyage in the latter vessel singly, and had consulted the officers upon the subject. The circ.u.mstances, however, which subsequently occurred rendering such a measure inexpedient, because no longer necessary to the accomplishment of the object in view, by which alone it could be justified, I was induced to give it up, adopting the best means in our power to remedy the evil in question.

Shortly after our anchoring the Griper's people heard the growling of a bear among the ice near them, but the animal did not appear; and this was the only instance of our meeting with a bear during our stay at Melville Island, except that which followed one of our men to the s.h.i.+ps soon after our arrival in Winter Harbour. Both crews were sent on sh.o.r.e to pick sorrel, which was here not less abundant than at our old quarters, but it was now almost too old to be palatable, having nearly lost its acidity and juice.

At one A.M. on the 4th, the loose ice was observed to be drifting in upon us, the wind having veered to the eastward of north; and soon after a floe, of not less than five miles in length and a mile and a half across, was found to be approaching the sh.o.r.e at a quick rate. The s.h.i.+ps were immediately hauled as near the sh.o.r.e as possible, and preparation made for uns.h.i.+pping the rudders, if necessary. The floe was brought up, however, by the ma.s.ses of ice aground outside of us, with which it successively came in contact, and the s.h.i.+ps remained in perfect security; the floe, as usual after the first violence is over, moved off again to a little distance from the sh.o.r.e.

At noon the heavy floe at the point near us began to quit the land, and at half past one P.M., there being a narrow pa.s.sage between them, the breadth of which the breeze was constantly increasing, we cast off and stretched to the westward. The channel which opened to us as we proceeded varied in its general breadth from one to two miles; in some places it was not more than half a mile. The wind was variable and squally, but we made great progress, along the land to the S.W.b.W., and the Griper, by keeping up tolerably with the Hecla, in some measure redeemed her character with us. Having arrived off Cape Providence at eleven P.M., the wind became light and baffling, so that we had just got far enough to see that there was a free and open channel beyond the westernmost point visible of Melville Island, when our progress was almost entirely stopped for want of a breeze to enable us to take advantage of it. The anxiety which such a detention occasions in a sea where, without any apparent cause, the ice frequently closes the sh.o.r.e in the most sudden manner, can perhaps only be conceived by those who have experienced it. We remarked, in sailing near the ice this evening, while the wind was blowing a fresh breeze off the land, and therefore directly towards the ice, that it remained constantly calm within three or four hundred yards of the latter; this effect I do not remember to have observed before upon the windward side of any collection of ice, though it invariably happens, in a remarkable degree, to leeward of it. I may here mention, as a striking proof of the accuracy with which astronomical bearings of objects may be taken for marine surveys, that the relative bearing of Capes Providence and Hay, as obtained this evening when the two headlands were opening, differed only one minute from that entered in the surveying-book, and found in the same manner the preceding year.