Tire thick fog continued till two o’clock in the afternoon
of the next day, when it cleared"away a little, and we made
fail to the fouthv/ard, wind ft,ill- at N. W. a gentle gale. We
had not run long to the fouthward before we fell in with
themain field of ice extending from S. S. W. to E. We now
bore away to Eaft along the edge of it; but at night hauled
ofF North, with the wind at W.'N. W. a gentle gale, attended
with fnow.
At four in the morning on the 17 th, flood again to the
fouth; but was again obliged to bear up on account of the
ice, along-the fide of which we fleered betwixt E. and S. S.
W. hauling into every bay or opening, in hopes of finding
a paflage to the South. But we found every where the ice
clofed. We had a gentle gale at N. W. with fhowers of
fnow. At noon we were, by obfervation, in the latitude
of 550 16' South. In the evening the weather was clear
and ferene. In the courfe of this day we faw many whales,
one feal, penguins, fomeof the white birds, another fort of
peterel, which is brown and white, and not much unlike a
pintado; and fome other forts already known. We found
the fkirts of the loofe ice to be more broken than ufual; and
it extended fome diftance beyond the main field, infomuch
that we failed amongft it the moil part of the day; and the
high ice iflands without us were innumerable. Ac eight
o’clock we founded, but found no ground with 250 fathoms
of line. After this we hauled clofe upon a wind to the
northward, as we could fee the field-of ice extend as far as
N. E. But this happened not to be the northern point; for
at eleven o’clock we were obliged to tack to avoid it.
At two o’clock the next morning we flood again to the
northward, with the wind at N. W. by W., thinking to
weather
weather the ice upon this tack; on which we flood but two D Wfe
hours, before we found ourfelves quite imbayed, being then -—
in latitude 55° 8', longitude 240 3'. The wind veering more
to the North, we tacked and flood to the weftward under all
the fail we could carry, having a frefh breeze and clear
weather, which jaft was of fbort duration. For at fix o’clock it'
became hazy, and foon after there was thick fog ; the wind
veered to the N. E., frefhened, and brought with it fnow
and fleet, which froze on the rigging as it fell. We were
now enabled to get clear of the field of ice ; but at the fame
time we were carried in amongft the ice iflands, in a manner
equally dangerous, and which with much difficulty we
kept clear of.
Dangerous as it is to fail among thefe floating rocks (if ,
I may be allowed to call them fo) in a thick fog; this, however,
is preferable to being entangled with immenfe fields
of ice under the fame circumftances. The great danger to
be apprehended in this latter cafe, is the getting faft in the
ice; a fituation which would be exceedingly alarming. I
had two men on board that had been in the Greenland
trade; the one of them in a fttip that lay nine weeks, and
the other in one that lay fix weeks, faft in this kind of ice ;
which they called packed ice. What they call field ice is
thicker; and the whole field, be it ever fo large, confifts of
one piece. Whereas this which I call field ice, from its immenfe
extent, confifts of many pieces of various fizes both
in thicknefs and furface, from 30 or 40 feet fquare, to 3 or
4; packed clofe together; and in places heaped one upon
another. This, I am of opinion, would be found too hard
for a fhip’s fide, that is not properly armed againft it. How
long it may have lain, or will lie here, is a point not eafily
E 2 determined.