177-- ROUND THE WORLD. 47 



At eight o'clock we sounded, but found no ground 

 with 250 fathoms of line. After this we hauled close 

 upon a wind to the northward, as we could see the 

 field of ice extend as far as N. E. But this hap- 

 pened not to be the northern point ; for at eleven 

 o'clock, we were obliged to tack to avoid it. 



At two o'clock the next morning, we stood again 

 to the northward, with the wind at N. W. by W., 

 thinking to weather the ice upon this tack ; on which 

 we stood but two hours, before we found ourselves 

 quite imbayed, being then in latitude 55 8", lon- 

 gitude 24 8'. The wind veering more to the north, 

 we tacked, and stood to the westward under all the 

 sail we could carry, having a fresh breeze and clear 

 weather, which last was of short duration. For at 

 six o'clock, it became hazy, and soon after there was 

 thick fog ; the wind veered to the N. E., freshened, 

 and brought with it snow and sleet, which froze on 

 the rigging as it fell. We were now enabled to get 

 clear of the field of ice ; but at the same time we 

 were carried in amongst the ice islands, in a manner 

 equally dangerous, and which, with much difficuly, 

 we kept clear of. 



Dangerous as it is to sail among these floating 

 rocks (if I may be allowed to call them so) in a 

 thick fog, this, however, is preferable to being en- 

 tangled with immense fields of ice under the same 

 circumstances. The great danger to be apprehended 

 in this latter case, is the getting fast in the ice ; a 

 situation which would be exceedingly alarming. I 

 had two men on board that had been in the Green- 

 land trade ; the one of them in a ship that lay nine 

 weeks, and the other in one that lay six weeks, fast 

 in this kind of ice ; which they called packed ice. 

 What they call field ice is thicker ; and the whole 

 field, be it ever so large, consists of one piece. 

 Whereas this which / call field ice, from its im- 

 mense extent, consists of many pieces of various 

 sizes, both in thickness and surface, from 30 or 40 



