CHAP.VI.]] FEAST OF LOONS. 349 



fell during the night, but the weather cleared up 

 on the 2d ; and shortly after 8 h a. m. the lanes, or 

 rather the one close to the ship, opened so much, 

 that some of the officers went out in the dingy, 

 while others made a long circuitous walk. The 

 party altogether shot upwards of thirty loons, 

 which being first skinned, and allowed to steep 

 for two days in salt and w^ater, were then dressed 

 like jugged hare, and with red wine sauce and 

 currant jelly, were esteemed by us as nearly equal 

 in flavour. At all events we found them a 

 grateful change from the preserved meats and 

 other cured stock in our possession. At noon 

 the lane began to get narrower, but in the course 

 of three hours I had watched no insignificant 

 quantity of detached pieces of ice stream 

 without noise from the main body, and drift 

 rapidly to the north-east as far as the lane would 

 allow. This was encouraging, as betokening 

 the facility with which a general separation 

 would take place, whenever the barrier farther 

 down the straits should ease off sufficiently to 

 allow of it. Salisbury Island bore directly 

 ahead, and the Labrador Coast was merely in 

 sight. The temperature varied from 22° + to 

 42° + . The ice became more slack, and began 

 to assume a promising look to the eastward. 

 Numerous parties were tempted by the novelty to 

 try their skill in shooting, and as the cheerfulness 



