46 cook's second voyage dec. 



rigging were all hung with icicles. The fog was so 

 thick, at times, that we could not see the length of 

 the ship ; and we had much difficulty to avoid the 

 many islands of ice that surrounded us. About noon, 

 having but little wind, we hoisted out a boat to try 

 the current, which we found set S. E. near J of a 

 mile an hour. At the same time, a thermometer, 

 which in the open air was at 32, in the surface of 

 the sea was at 30 ; and, after being immerged 100 

 fathoms deep for about 15 or 20 minutes, came up at 

 34, which is only 2 above freezing. Our latitude 

 at this time was 55 8'. 



The thick fog continued till two o'clock in the 

 afternoon of the next day, when it cleared away a 

 little, and we made sail to the southward, wind still 

 at N. W., a gentle gale. We had not run long to 

 the southward before we fell in with the main field of 

 ice, extending from S. S. W. to E. We now bore 

 away to east along the edge of it ; but at night 

 hauled off north, with the wind at W. N. W., a gentle 

 gale attended with snow. 



At four in the morning on the 17th, stood again to 

 the south ; but was again obliged to bear up on ac- 

 count of the ice, along the side of which we steered 

 betwixt E. and S. S. W., hauling into every bay or 

 opening, in hopes of finding a passage to the south. 

 But we found every where the ice closed. We had 

 a gentle gale at N. W. with showers of snow. At 

 noon we were, by observation, in the latitude of 55 

 16' south. In the evening, the weather was clear and 

 serene. In the course of this day, we saw many 

 whales, one seal, penguins, some of the white birds, 

 another sort of peterel, which is brown and white, 

 and not much unlike a pintado ; and some other sorts 

 . already known. We found the skirts of the loose 

 ice to be more broken than usual ; and it extended 

 some distance beyond the main field, insomuch that 

 we sailed amongst it the most part of the day ; and 

 the high ice islands without us were innumerable. 



