48 cook's second voyage dec. 



feet square to 3 or 4 ; packed close together ; and 

 in places heaped one upon another. This, I am of 

 opinion, would be found too hard for a ship's side, 

 that is not properly armed against it. How long it 

 may have lain, or will lie here, is a point not easily 

 determined. Such ice is found in the Greenland seas 

 all the summer long ; and J think it cannot be colder 

 there in the summer, than it is here. Be this as it 

 may, we certainly had no thaw ; on the contrary, the 

 mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer kept generally 

 below the freezing point, although it was the middle 

 of summer. 



It is a general opinion, that the ice I have been 

 speaking of is formed in bays and rivers. Under 

 this supposition, we were led to believe that land was 

 not far distant ; and that it even lay to the southward 

 behind the ice, which alone hindered us from ap- 

 proaching to it. Therefore, as we had now sailed 

 above 30 leagues along the edge of the ice, without 

 finding a passage to the south, I determined to run 

 30 or 40 leagues to the east, afterwards endeavour to 

 get to the southwards, and, if I met with no land, or 

 other impediment, to get behind the ice, and put the 

 matter out of all manner of dispute. With this 

 view, we kept standing to the N. W. with the wind 

 at N. . and N., thick foggy weather, with sleet and 

 snow, till six in the evening, when the wind veered 

 to N. W. and we tacked and stood to the eastward, 

 meeting with many islands of ice of different mag- 

 nitudes, and some loose pieces : the thermometer 

 from 30 to 34 ; weather very hazy, with sleet and 

 snow, and more sensibly colder than the thermometer 

 seemed to point out, in so much that the whole crew 

 complained. In order to enable them to support this 

 weather the better, I caused the sleeves of their 

 jackets (which were so short as to expose their arms) 

 to be lengthened with baize ; and had a cap made 

 for each man of the same stuff) together with can- 

 vass \ which proved of great service to them. 



