Jan. 1858. ICE ACTED ON BY WIND ONLY. 67 



of their interpreter Petersen. 1 At first the Esquimaux assisted 

 them ; latterly they were quite unable to do so, and became 

 anxious to get rid of their visitors. Observing how weakened 

 they had become, the Esquimaux endeavoured to separate 

 them from their guns and from each other, and even used 

 threatening language. It is a pity that these facts are not 

 more fully and generally known, as they bear directly upon 

 two questions very important to arctic explorers : — Can white 

 men find subsistence wherever Esquimaux do ? And, Can 

 white men adopt the habits of wild Esquimaux in so far as to 

 become domesticated amongst them ? Even when seeking to 

 escape from starvation, this small party could not accomplish 

 either the one or the other ; nor has any instance of 

 their ever having been accomplished come to my knowledge. 

 During December we drifted 67 miles, directly down 

 Baffin's Bay towards the Atlantic, and are now in lat. 74°. 

 Although it is quite impossible to discriminate between the 

 several influences which probably govern our movements, or 

 to ascertain how much is due to each of them — such as the 

 relative positions of ice, land, and open water, the influence 

 of the winds, currents, and earth's rotation — yet it appears 

 in the present instance that the wind is almost the sole agent 

 in hastening this vast continent of ice towards the latitudes of 

 its dissolution. We move before the wind in proportion to 

 its strength \ we remain stationary in calm weather. Neither 

 surface nor submarine current has been detected ; the large 

 icebergs obey the same influences as the surface ice. We 

 have noticed a slight set to the westward — it is not likely 

 to be produced by current, unless it is the northerly current 

 along the Greenland shore which thus wedges us off to the 

 westward, and may be the result of the earth's motion from 

 west to east. 



1 Since the above was written, Dr. I. I. Hayes, one of the party, has 

 published a most interesting account of their journey. 



F 2 



