1787. LOWENORX, EGEDE, AND ROTHE. 339 



could perceive a large bay or river which opened 

 out to the northward, and ran in that direction 

 into the country. They approached the land 

 within ten miles. The bav, which mio-ht be four 

 or live miles in breadth, was full of ice-islands. 

 The land was very high, with pointed rocks 

 covered with snow and ice. Through the tele- 

 scope they perceived clefts in the rocks, and they 

 thought they could see moss growing in some 

 places. The coast trended in the direction of 

 N.N.E. and S.S.W. ; but Egede conjectures that 

 at fifteen or sixteen miles more to the southward 

 they might have seen Herjolfsnes, the bay belong- 

 ing to which runs down as far as Statenhoek. 

 There were numbers of seals on the ice-islands, 

 gulls, and various species of sea-birds. Egede 

 coasted on along the land towards the south, and 

 though the air was very clear, they could perceive 

 neither men, houses, nor animals, though they were 

 sufficiently near the land to see them had there 

 been any. On the 21st he still continued to see 

 land ; but the ice drove him from it, and in order 

 that he might not be closed in, he thought it pru- 

 dent to stand out into the open sea. The follow- 

 ing day they had a terrible storm, by which the 

 vessel was much damaged, and on the 22d Sep- 

 tember they regained the port of Havnefiord in 

 Iceland, after being tossed about in all directions 

 for some weeks. 



Here Lieutenant Egede resolved to pass the 



z 2 



