AUG. 1778.] THE SEA-HORSE, OR WALRUS. foggy weather they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before we could. see it. We never found the whole herd asleep, some being always upon the watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would wake those next to them, and the alarm being thus gradually communicated, the whole herd would be awake presently. But they were seldom in a hurry to get away till after they had been once fired at. Then they would tumble one over the other into the sea in the utmost confusion; and if we did not at the first discharge kill those we fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded. They did not appear to us to be that dangerous animal some authors have described, not even when attacked. They are rather more so to appearance than in reality. Vast numbers of them would follow and come close up to the boats; but the flash of a musket in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one at them, would send them down in an instant. The female will defend the young one to the very last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water or upon the ice. Nor will the young one quit the dam though she be dead; so that if you kill one you are sure of the other. The dam, when in the water, holds the young one between her fore-fins. Why they should be called sea-horses is hard to say, unless the word be a corruption of the Russian name morse," for they have not the least resemblance of a horse. This is without doubt the same animal that is found in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and there called sea-cow. It is certainly more like a cow than a horse, but this likeness consists in nothing but the snout. In short, it is an animal like a seal, but incomparably larger. The dimensions and weight of one, which was none of the largest, were as follows: 66 0 7 Weight of the carcase, without Lb. 854 414 205 I could not find out what these animals feed upon. There was nothing in the maws of those we killed. It is worth observing that for some days before this date we had frequently seen flocks of ducks flying to the southward. They were of two sorts, the one much larger than the other. The largest were of a brown colour; and of the small sort either the duck or drake was black and white, and the other brown. Some said they saw geese also. Does not this indicate that there must be land to the north where these birds find shelter in the proper season, to breed, and whence they were now returning to a warmer climate? By the time we had got our seahorses on board, we were in a manner surrounded with the ice, and had no way left to clear it but by standing to the southward; which was done till 3 o'clock next morning, with a gentle breeze westerly, and for the most part thick, foggy weather. The soundings were from twelve to fifteen fathoms. We then tacked and stood to the north till 10 o'clock, when, the wind veering to the northward, we directed our course to the WSW. and W. At two in the afternoon we fell in with the main ice, along the edge of which we kept; being partly directed by the roaring of the sea-horses, for we had a very thick fog. Thus we continued sailing till near midnight, when we got | in amongst the loose ice, and heard the surge of the sea upon the main ice. The fog being very thick, and the wind easterly, I now hauled to the southward; and at 10 o'clock the next morning, the fog clearing away, we saw the continent of America, extending from S. by E. to E. by S.; and at noon from SW. half S. to E., the nearest part five leagues distant. At this time we were in the Latitude of 69° 32′ and in the Longitude of 195° 48′; and as the main ice was at no great distance from us, it is evident that it now covered a part of the sea which but a few days before had been clear, and that it extended farther to the south than where we first fell in with it. It must not be understood that I supposed any part of this ice which we had seen to be fixed; on the contrary, I am well assured that the whole was a movable mass. Having but little wind, in the afternoon I sent the master in a boat to try if there was any current; but he found none. I continued to steer in for the American land until 8 o'clock, in order to get a nearer view of it, and to look for a harbour; but seeing nothing like one, I stood again to the north, with a light breeze westerly. At this time the coast extended from SW. to E.; the nearest part four or five leagues distant. The southern extreme seemed to form a point, which was named Cape Lisburne. It lies in the Latitude of 69° 5' and in the Longitude of 194° 42', and appeared to be pretty high land, even down to the sea. But there may be low land under it which we might not see, being not less than ten leagues from it. Everywhere else, as we advanced northward, we had found a low coast from which the land rises to a middle height. The coast now before us was without snow, except in one or two places, and had a greenish hue; but we could not perceive any wood upon it. On the 22d the wind was southerly, and the weather mostly foggy, with some intervals of sunshine. At eight in the evening it fell calm, which con tinued till midnight, when we heard the surge of the sea against the ice, and had several loose pieces about us. A light breeze now sprang up at NE, and as the fog was very thick, I steered to the southward to clear the ice. At 8 o'clock next morning the fog dispersed, and I hauled to the westward. For finding that I could not get to the north near the coast on account of the ice, I resolved to try what could be done at a distance from it; and as the wind seemed to be settled at N. I thought it a good opportunity. As we advanced to the W., the water deepened gradually to twenty-eight fathoms, which was the most we had. With the northerly wind the air was raw, sharp, and cold; and we had fogs, sunshine, showers of snow and sleet, by turns. At ten in the morning of the 26th we fell in with the ice. At noon, it extended from NW. to E. by N., and appeared to be thick and compact. At this time we were by observation in the Latitude of 69° 36′, and in the Longitude of 184°, so that it now appeared we had no better prospect of getting to the north here than nearer the shore. I continued to stand to the westward till five in the afternoon, when we were in a manner embayed by the ice, which appeared high, and very close in the NW. and NĚ. quarters, with a great deal of loose ice about the edge of the main field. At this time we had baffling light winds, but it soon fixed at S., and increased to a fresh gale, with showers of rain. We got the tack aboard and stretched to the eastward, this being the only direction in which the sea was clear of ice. At four in the morning of the 27th we tacked and stood to the W., and at seven in the evening we were close in with the edge of the ice, which lay ENE and WSW., as far each way as the eve could reach. Having but little wind, I went with the boats to examine the state of the ice. I found it consisting of loose pieces of various extent, and so close together that I could hardly enter the outer edge with a boat; and it was as impossible for the ships to AUG. 1778.] REMARKS ON THE FORMATION OF ICE. enter it as if it had been so many rocks. I took particular notice that it was all pure, transparent ice, except the upper surface, which was a little porous. It appeared to be entirely composed of frozen snow, and to have been all formed at sea. For setting aside the improbability, or rather impossibility, of such huge masses floating out of rivers in which there is hardly water for a boat, none of the productions of the land were found incorporated or fixed in it, which must have unavoidably been the case had it been formed in rivers either great or small. The pieces of ice that formed the outer edge of the field were from forty to fifty yards in extent to four or five; and I judged that the larger pieces reached thirty feet or more under the surface of the water. It also appeared to me very improbable that this ice could have been the production of the preceding winter alone; I should suppose it rather to have been the production of a great many winters. Nor was it less improbable, according to my judgment, that the little that remained of the summer could destroy the tenth part of what now subsisted of this mass; for the sun had already exerted upon it the full influence of its rays. Indeed I am of opinion that the sun contributes very little toward reducing these great masses. For although that luminary is a considerable while above the horizon, it seldom shines out for more than a few hours at a time, and is not seen for several days in succession. It is the wind, or rather the waves raised by the wind, that bring down the bulk of these enormous masses, by grinding one piece against another, and by undermining and washing away those parts that lie exposed to the surge of the sea. This was evident from our observing that the upper surface of many pieces had been partly washed away, while the base or under part remained firm for several fathoms round that which appeared above water, exactly like a shoal round an elevated rock. We measured the depth of water upon one, and found it to be fifteen feet, so 757 that the ships might have sailed over it. If I had not measured this depth I should not have believed that there was a sufficient weight of ice above the surface to have sunk the other so much below it. Thus it may happen that more ice is destroyed in one stormy season than is formed in several winters, and an endless accumulation is prevented. But that there is always a remaining store, every one who has been upon the spot will conclude, and none but closet-studying philosophers will dispute. A thick fog which came on while I was thus employed with the boats hastened me aboard rather sooner than I could have wished, with one sea-horse to each ship. We had killed more, but could not wait to bring them with us. The number of these animals on all the ice that we had seen is almost incredible. We spent the night standing off and on amongst the drift ice; and at 9 o'clock the next morning, the fog having partly dispersed, boats from each ship were sent for seahorses. For by this time our people began to relish them, and those we had procured before were all consumed. At noon our Latitude was 69° 17', our Longitude 183°. At 2 o'clock, having got on board as much marine beef as was thought necessary, and the wind freshening at SSE., we took on board the boats and stretched to the SW. But not being able to weather the ice upon this tack, or to go through it, we made aboard to the E. till 8 o'clock, then resumed our course to the SW., and before midnight were obliged to tack again on account of the ice. Soon after the wind shifted to the NW., blowing a stiff gale, and we stretched to the SW. close hauled. In the morning of the 29th we saw the main ice to the northward, and not long after, land bearing SW. by W. Presently after this more land showed itself, bearing W. It showed itself in two hills like islands, but afterwards the whole appeared connected. As we approached the land, the depth of water decreased very fast, so that at noon, when we tacked, we had only eight fathoms, being three CHAPTER V ̧1 miles from the coast, which extended | toward finding out some place where from S. 30° E. to N. 60 W. This we might supply ourselves with wood last extreme terminated in a bluff and water; and the object uppermost point, being one of the hills above in my thoughts was how I should mentioned. The weather at this time spend the winter so as to make some was very hazy, with drizzling rain, improvements in geography and navibut soon after it cleared, especially to gation, and at the same time be in a the southward, westward, and north- condition to return to the north in ward. This enabled us to have a further search of a passage the ensuing pretty good view of the coast, which summer. in every respect is like the opposite one of America; that is, low land next the sea, with elevated land farther back. It was perfectly destitute of wood, and even snow, but was AFTER having stood off till we got probably covered with a mossy sub- into eighteen fathoms water, I bore stance that gave it a brownish cast. up to the eastward along the coast, In the low ground lying between the which by this time it was pretty cer high land and the sea was a lake ex- tain could only be the continent of tending to the SE. farther than we Asia. As the wind blew fresh, with could see. As we stood off, the a very heavy fall of snow and a thick westernmost of the two hills before mist, it was necessary to proceed with mentioned came open off the bluff great caution. I therefore brought to point in the direction of NW. It for a few hours in the night. had the appearance of being an island; but it might be joined to the other by low land, though we did not see it; and if so there is a two-fold point, with a bay between them. This point, which is steep and rocky, was named Cape North. Its situation is nearly in the Latitude of 68° 56', and in the Longitude of 180° 51'. The coast beyond it must take a very westerly direction, for we could see no land to the northward of it, though the horizon was there pretty clear. Being desirous of seeing more of the coast to the westward, we tacked again at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, thinking we could weather Cape North; but finding we could not, the wind freshening, a thick fog coming on with much snow, and being fearful of the ice coming down upon us, I gave up the design I had formed of plying to the westward, and stood off shore again. The season was now so far advanced, and the time when the frost is expected to set in so near at hand, that I did not think it consistent with prudence to make any further attempts to find a passage into the Atlantic this year in any direction, so little was the prospect of succeeding. My attention was now directed At daybreak on the 30th we made sail, and steered such a course as I thought would bring us in with the land, being in a great measure guided by the lead; for the weather was as thick as ever, and it snowed incessantly. At ten we got sight of the coast, bearing SW. four miles distant, and presently after, having shoaled the water to seven fathoms, we hauled off. At this time a very low point or spit bore SSW. four miles distant, to the E. of which there appeared to be a narrow channel leading into some water that we saw over the point. Probably the lake before mentioned communicates here with the sea. At noon, the mist dispersing for a short interval, we had a tolerably good view of the coast, which extended from SE. to NW. by W. Some parts appeared higher than others, but in general it was very low, with high land farther up the country. whole was now covered with snow, which had lately fallen, quite down to the sea. I continued to range along the coast at two leagues' distance till ten at night, when we hauled off; but we resumed our course 1 The Chapter X. in Original Edition. SEPT. 1778.] RETURN ALONG COAST OF ASIA. 759 next morning soon after daybreak, | respects the whole country seemed when we got sight of the coast again, naked. At seven in the evening two extending from W. to SE. by S. At points of land, at some distance beeight the eastern part bore S., and yond the eastern head, opened off it proved to be an island, which at noon in the direction of S. 37 E. I was bore SW. half S. four or five miles distant. It is about four or five miles in circuit, of a middling height, with a steep, rocky coast, situated about three leagues from the main, in the Latitude of 67° 45', and distinguished in the chart by the name of Burney's Island. The inland country hereabouts is full of hills, some of which are of a considerable height. The land was covered with snow, except a few spots upon the sea-coast, which still continued low, but less so than farther westward. For the two preceding days the main height of the mercury in the thermometer had been very little above the freezing point, and often below it; so that the water in the vessels upon the deck was frequently covered with a sheet of ice. I continued to steer SSE., nearly in the direction of the coast, till five in the afternoon, when land was seen bearing S. 50° E., which we presently found to be a continuation of the coast, and hauled up for it. Being abreast of the eastern land at ten at night, and in doubts of weathering it, we tacked and made a board to the westward till past one the next morning, when we stood again to the E., and found that it was as much as we could do to keep our distance from the coast; the wind being exceedingly unsettled, varying continually from N. to NE. At half-an-hour past eight, the eastern extreme above mentioned bore S. by E. six or seven miles distant. At the same time a headland appeared in sight bearing E. by S. half S., and soon after we could trace the whole coast lying between them, and a small island at some distance from it. The coast seemed to form several rocky points, connected by a low shore, without the least appearance of a harbour. At some distance from the sea the low land appeared to swell into a number of hills. The highest of these were covered with snow, and in other now well assured of what I had believed before, that this was the country of the Tschutski, or the north-east coast of Asia, and that thus far Behring proceeded in 1728; that is, to this head, which Muller says is called Serdze Kamen, on account of a rock upon it shaped like a heart. But I conceive that Mr Muller's knowledge of the geography of these parts is very imperfect. There are many elevated rocks upon this cape, and possibly some one or other of them may have the shape of a heart. It is a pretty lofty promontory, with a steep rocky cliff facing the sea, and lies in the Latitude of 67° 3', and in the Longitude of 188° 11'. To the eastward of it the coast is high and bold; but to the westward it is low, and trends NNW. and NW. by W., which is nearly its direction all the way to Cape North. The soundings are everywhere the same at the same distance from the shore, which is also the case on the opposite shore of America. The greatest depth we found in ranging along it was twenty-three fathoms. And in the night, or in foggy weather, the soundings are no bad guide in sailing along either of these shores. At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 2d the most advanced land to the SE. bore S. 25° E., and from this point of view had the appearance of being an island. But the thick snow showers which succeeded one another pretty fast, and settled upon the land, hid great part of the coast at this time from our sight. Soon after, the sun, whose face we had not seen for near five days, broke out at intervals between the showers, and in some measure freed the coast from the fog, so that we had a sight of it, and found the whole to be connected. The wind still continued at N., the air was cold, and the mercury in the thermometer never rose above 35° and was sometimes as low as 30°. At noon, the observed Latitude was 66° |