422 cook's VOYAGE TO AUG. 



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. Every where 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 sun- 

 shine. At eight in the evening it fell calm, which 

 continued till midnight, when we heard the surge 

 of the sea against the ice, and had several loose 

 pieces about us. A light breeze now sprung up at 

 N. E., and as the fog was very thick, I steered to 

 the southward, to clear the ice. At eight o'clock 

 next morning, the fog dispersed, and I hauled to 

 the westward. For rinding that I could not get to 

 the N. near the coast, on account of the ice, I re- 

 solved 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 N.W. to E. by N., and ap- 

 peared 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 N. here, 

 than nearer the shore. 



1 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 N.W. and N. E. quarters, with a great deal of 

 loose ice about the edge of the main field. At this 



