IS SEA-BED BETWEEN ICELAND AND GREENLAND.
all trace of volcanic particles was lost about one-tenth of the distance across, in
long. 25° 07'.
The ascent from the deepest recorded sounding (which was in long. 32° 34')
was equally regular up to a point about fifty miles distant from the east coast of
Greenland. But here a very sudden and remarkable rise was met with—the
depth decreasing from 806 to 227 fathoms in three and a quarter miles; that is,
at a rate of 1050 feet per mile.
The greatest dip on the mid-Atlantic route occurred, as is well known, near
the Irish coast. I t was at the rate of 720 feet per mile. The respective ratios
of these two great dips are, as 1 to 5, and 1 to 6, and represent angles of eleven
and nine degrees.
In attempting to dredge today in 108 fathoms water, whilst a sounding was
going on, my dredge got foul of rock at the bottom and was lost. This is a
serious accident, inasmuch as it was the only apparatus of the kind I was enabled
to procure before leaving England. Had it been made of gold, instead of the
baser metal, the loss could hardly have been more keenly felt at the present
moment.
I have already alluded to the uncertainty of action in Brooke’s sounding-
machines. But the experience derived from some of our recent soundings
suggests doubts in my mind as to whether the results obtained by any of the
methods of sounding hitherto employed can be relied on as affording a correct
estimate of the character of the sea-bed.
On the occasion of the dredge being lost, it was dropped over the stern, whilst
the sounding with the conical cup was being conducted in the usual place,
namely over the bows. The cup came up half full of grey mud, pieces of
granitic and felspathic rook, varying in size from a quarter of an inch to an inch,
and some fragments of a delicate coral From indications present on the pieces
of rock, it was perfectly clear that they were resting on the bottom as gravel or
shingle, and that they were not broken off by the machine from the strata
forming it. On the other hand, it was equally certain that either exposed rocky
strata or very large detached masses of rock constituted the bottom, inasmuch
as the strain caused by the fouling of the dredge was sufficient to snap asunder
the perfectly new deep-sea-line attached to it, and which was capable of bearing
a weight of several hundred pounds.
STORMY WEATHER.
Our first day amongst the ice terminated with a sunset worthy of the majestic
mountain scenery over which it shed its gorgeously-tinted rays. I f the old saw
be correct, we may look out for “ dirty ” weather tomorrow.
July 20.—I t blew hard during the n ig h t; and but for the pack-ice, which
befriended us, we must have had a far more boisterous sea. For the first time
since approaching the Faroe Islands, the endless day has been interrupted by a
couple of hours of twilight, during which a few stars ventured out Uke modest
virgins, and then hastily retreated as if in alarm at their own temerity. During
the day and so long as the air was still, the temperature, although bracing, did
not feel perceptibly lower than that of a fine day in November in our own latitudes.
But as we neared Cape Farewell, the air began to feel bitterly piercing,
the sky was overcast, and we were so closely surrounded by ice that the ship had
to be put considerably to the southward of her course.
We are now well out to sea again, out of sight of land, and with ice all round.
After proceeding to the northward till about 9 A.M., the pack became too dense
to admit of our advancing, and accordingly the ‘ Bulldog ’ is compelled to retrace
her steps until clear water shows itself.
July 22.—The ship is now heading to the north-westward at the entrance to
Davis Straits, in order to get clear of the pack, and is to continue on this
course tiU abreast of Frederickshaab, a Danish settlement on the west coast of
Greenland, about 180 miles fiom Cape Farewell, where a vessel has been
directed to precede her with a supply of coal. The barometer has been steadily
falling during the whole night, and now stands at 29-17. A hea\7 gale
blowing.
The ship “ lying t o ” all night under storm jib and close-reefed
topsail. There is a tremendous sea running, and in it the ‘ Bulldog ’ wallows to
her heart's content. Everything in my cabin adrift, and apparently intent on
mischief. As any endeavour to restore order in such a turmoil would ouly be to
establish a fresh point of “ departure,” I must rest content to let the riot continue
for the present. Writing, under these circumstances, not only demands some
skill in equitation, but has to be done by catching a propitious interval between
each surge—much in the same fashion that the engineer uses the oil-can in those
parts of the machine near which, were his hand to remain an instant too long, it
would be crushed into mincemeat.
D 2