r’.-i: r
i .
ill 3
J!F''
■ m
.y
i
82
vessel, and scarcely that. According to our calculation,
we Avere uoav abreast of the Ferroe
Islands, but considerably to the northAvard of them.
ToAvards the evening of the 23rd the rain fell
heavily, and seemed to drive aAvay the fog, or at
least to clear it off a little.
On the 24th we were anxiously looking out for
land. The Aviiid was foul, and we stood toAvards
the northward, in the hope of making some of the
high land, which at times Ave thought Ave could get
a glimpse of; but the atmosphere Avas still so
far from being clear that Ave considered it doubtful.
According to a Chart of Iceland, published
by Arrow smith in 1808, when compared with our
reckoning, Ave had yet full fifty miles to run before
Ave should fall in Avith the coast, on that parallel of
latitude on Avhich Ave Avere sailing; but, as laid
doAvn by a Danish survey of the coast, we were
close upon it, and the question was, in the present
state of the weather,—and a most important one to
us,—whether to trust to the Fnglish or the D a nish
chart, or to neither, but be guided by our
reckoning. Our mate, who had a tolerable good
observation, put the most implicit confidence in the
chronometer, and amused us by observing, that the
charts might very possibly be both Avrong, but that
it was utterly impossible for his chronometer to be
wrong, Avhich had served us so well hithe rto; and
as it accorded very nearly with the Danish chart,
we resolved to lay aside Arrowsmith’s altogether.
h-J
as tending only to mislead, and to go by the Danish
one*, and the chronometer.
The result was, that Ave soon proved the accuracy
of the Danish chart by its perfect agreement
with our mate’s chronometer; for on the 25th we
found ourselves close upon tlie point of land steered
for—much closer, indeed, than we had any desire
to be. By our latitude and the chronometer, we
could have no doubt that it Avas the south-eastern
point of Ingolfs Hoofde, the very spot where it is
supposed that worthy adventurer, in the ninth century,
first made the land, and where, according to
the religious or superstitious notions of those days,
he threw his door-posts, the usual penates, which
he had carried with him from Norway, into the
sea, in order th a t by watching where they would
first reach the shore, he should be able to discover
the fortunate spot where his destiny called upon
him to fix his future abode. He, however, soon
parted from his floating household gods, and landed
at the point Avhich hears his name ; while, as was
discovered some time after, by one of his people in
* The longitude of the eastern extremity of Iceland—
B y Arrowsmith is 16° O'' w.
B y Danish survey 13 30 w.
Error 2 30, or 67 miles,
a most dangerous error to ships making it from the eastward. The
Danish chart, though on a small scale, was most likely to be
correct, having been laid down by professional men, and published
so late as the year 1826.
11, !
'■3 / SB