CHAP. VI.] INCREASE OF WATER. 36? 



ice. Little transpired throughout the night, 

 but on June 17th the wind veered to the N.W., 

 and the ice began to open out all round, ex- 

 posing by noon considerably more water than 

 had yet been seen. A fog soon rose from it, 

 which so completely darkened the sky that we 

 neither saw land nor got observations, and were 

 consequently ignorant whether we were drifting 

 down the Straits or not. The ship appeared to 

 have risen bodily up one inch during the twenty- 

 four hours ; but this of course was attributable 

 to the thawing of the ice on the surface. A 

 small fish was found in the mouth of a gull 

 (boatswain), and more ducks and geese flew 

 towards the north. By 4 h p. m. the ice was 

 again cemented, and subsequently Charles Island 

 was seen, the position indicating that we had 

 been set a short distance to the south and east. 

 Dark patches of sky created by the vapour from 

 open water appeared all round the horizon, 

 except towards the main land, in the direction 

 of which were some extensive floes of a remark- 

 ably even surface. One or two, of minor 

 dimensions, could be just descried to the east- 

 ward ; and as a conclusive proof that there was 

 something more than a mere opening and 

 shutting in of the ice by the action of successive 

 tides, several pieces of broken and discoloured 

 mounds, quite new to us, were swept near and 



