34 SPITSBERGEN 



his appointment to the Belter ophon, whose signal 

 officer he was during the battle of Trafalgar. 



They were instructed to proceed to the North Pole, 

 thence to continue on to Bering Strait direct, or by the 

 best route they could find, to make their way to the 

 Sandwich Islands or New Albion, and thence to come 

 back through Bering Strait eastward, keeping in sight 

 and approaching the coast of America whenever the 

 position of the ice permitted them so to do. A nice 

 little programme. But they started too early in a bad 

 season ; they did not get so far north as Phipps ; they 

 made accurate surveys and other observations ; in 

 exploration they did little ; and they had many adven- 

 tures. 



As they ranged along the western side of Spitsbergen 

 the weather was severe. The snow fell in heavy 

 showers, and several tons' weight of ice accumulated 

 about the sides of the Trent, and formed a complete 

 casing to the planks, which received an additional layer 

 at each plunge of the vessel. So great, indeed, was 

 the accumulation about the bows, that they were 

 obliged to cut it away repeatedly with axes to relieve 

 the bowsprit from the enormous weight that was 

 attached to it : and the ropes were so thickly covered 

 with ice that it was necessary to beat them with large 

 sticks to keep them in a state of readiness. In the 

 gale the ships parted company, but they met again at 

 the rendezvous in Magdalena Bay. 



Later on, off Cloven Cliff, there was a walrus fight 

 begun by the seamen and continued by the walruses 

 when they found themselves more at home in the 

 water than on the ice. They rose in numbers about 



