382 VOYAGE TO THE 



to the northward until four o'clock in the morning 

 of the 18th, when the fog, as is usual in the neigh- 

 ^826.*' bourhood of the ice, cleared away, and Ave saw the 

 main body in latitude 71° 07' N. nearly in the same 

 position we had left it some days before. It was 

 loose at the edge, but close within, and consisted of 

 heavy floes. We tacked near it, and found it trend- 

 ing from E. to S. W. (mag.) There were no living 

 things near it, except a few tern and kitti wakes ; 

 which was rather remarkable, as the edge of the ice 

 is usually frequented by herds of amphibious ani- 

 mals. As we receded from the ice, the fog again 

 thickened, and latterly turned to small snow. The 

 temperature was about the freezing point. At noon 

 the sun broke through, and we found ourselves in 

 latitude 70° 18' N., and by the soundings about 

 twelve miles from the land, which was not seen. 

 By this we discovered that instead of gaining twenty 

 miles to the eastward, we had lost four : by which it 

 was evident that a current had been running S. 58° 

 W. a mile an hour ; off this place, however, it was 

 found upon trial to run S. 60° W. only half a mile 

 per hour. The fog afterwards came on very thick, 

 and remained so during the day. 



Finding this inconvenience from the current off 

 Icy Cape, I steered to the westward to ascertain 

 how near the ice approached the coast in that direc- 

 tion, and on the 20th, I stood in for the land about 

 midway between Cape Beaufort and Icy Cape, to 

 verify some points of the survey. About this time 

 immense flocks of ducks, consisting entirely of 

 young ones and females, were seen migrating to the 

 southward. The young birds could not fly; and 

 not having the instinct to avoid the ship in time, 



