•779- ably fmooth water, and w ith v e ry favourable weather, by
i the fame w a y we had come in. We were never able to penetrate
farther North than at this time, when our latitude
was 70° 33'; and this was five leagues ihort o f the point to
w h ich we advanced laft feafon. We held on to the South
South Weft, w ith ligh t winds from the North Weft, b y the
edge o f the main ice, w h ich la y on our left hand, and
ftretched between us and the continent o f America. Our
latitude, by obfervation at noon, was 70° n ' , our longitude
196° 1 s 'y and the depth o f water fixteen fathoms- Erom this
circumftance, we ju d g ed that the Icy Cape was now only at
feven o r e ight leagues diftance; but, though the weather
w as in general clear, it was at the fame time ha~zy, in.the horizon
; fo that we could not expect to fee-it.
In the afternoon, we ikw two white bears in the water, to
which w e immediately gave chace in the jo lly boat, and had
the good fortune to k ill them both. T h e larger, which probab
ly was the dam of- the younger, b e in g ihot firll, the other
w ou ld not quit it, though it might e afilyhav e efcaped on the
ice, whilft the men were reloading, but remained fwim m in g
about, till, after being fired upon feveral times, it was ihot
dead.
T h e dimenfions o f the larger were as fo llow ;
Feet. Inches*.
From the fnout to the end o f the tail
From the fnout to the ihouider-bone
Height o f the ffioulder - -
Circumference near the fore-legs
Breadth o f the fore-paw -
W e ig h t o f th e f o u r q u a r te r s
W e ig h t o f th e f o u r q u a r te r s o f th e fm a lle f t
7 2-
- 2 3
> * 4 3
4 . 10
•<Ir3b! IO;
lb.
4 3 6
256
6 On
On comparing - the dimenfions o f this with Lord Mul-
grav e ’s white bear, they were found aimoft exactly the fame, f
except in the circumference, w h e r e .o u r s fell exceedingly
fhort.;
The fe animals afforded us a few excellent meals o f frefh
meat. T h e fleih had indeed a ftrong. fiffiy tafte, but was*
in every refpefts- infinitely, fuperior to that -of the fea-
ho r fe ; which, neverthelefs,. our people w ere-again per-
fuaded, w ith ou t m u ch difficulty, to prefer to -their falted
provifions..
A t fix- in the morning o f the 30th, a th ic k . fo g coming on, Tuefday-«. 1
w e loft fight o f the ice for two ho u r s ; but the weather
clearing, w e .faw the main body again to the South South
Eaft, when w e hauled our wind, which- w a s Eafterly, toward
it, in the expectation o f makin g the American coaft to
the South Eaft, .and w hich w e effected at h a lf paft ten. At
noon, the latitude, by account, was 69° 33', and longitude
I94° 53', and the depth, o f water nineteen fathoms. T he
land extended from South b y Eaft, to South South Weft h a lf
Weft, diftant eight or ten leagu es, being the fame we had -
feen la ft-y e a r ; but it was now much more covered with
fnow than at that t im e ; and, to all appearance,, the ice adhered
to the .fhore. We continued, in the afternoon, failin
g through a fea o f loofe ice, and.Handing toward the land,
as near as the-wind, w hich was Eaft South Eaft, would admit.
At eight, the wind leffening, there came on a th ick .
f o g ; and, on perceiving a rippling in the water, we tried |
the current, w hich we found to fet to the Eaft North Eaft, at
the rate o f a mile an hour, and therefore determined to
fleer, during the night, before the wind, in order to ftem it,
and to oppofe the large fragments o f loofe ice, that were
felting