PACIFIC AND BEERING's STRAIT. 453 



On the 22& the aurora borealis was seen in the C xn. P 

 W. N. W. ; from which quarter it passed rapidly to v - 

 the N. E., and formed a splendid arch emitting vivid ills 

 and brilliantly coloured coruscations. 



On the 25th the wind, which had blown strong 

 from the northward the day before, changed to the 

 southward, and had such an effect upon the tide 

 that it ebbed twenty hours without intermission. 



In another excursion which I made along the 

 north side of the sound, I landed at a cape which 

 had been named after the ship, and had the satisfac- 

 tion of examining an ice formation of a similar na- 

 ture to that in Escholtz Bay, only more extensive, 

 and having a contrary aspect. The ice here, instead 

 of merely forming a shield to the cliff, was imbed- 

 ded in the indentations along its edge, filling them 

 up nearly even with the front. A quantity of fallen 

 earth was accumulated at the base of the cliff, which 

 uniting with the earthy spaces intervening between 

 the beds of ice, might lead a person to imagine that 

 the ice formed the cliff, and supported a soil two or 

 three feet thick, part of which appeared to have 

 been precipitated over the brow. But on examin- 

 ing it above, the ice w T as found to be detached from 

 the cliff at the back of it ; and in a few instances so 

 much so, that there were deep chasms between the 

 two. These chasms are no doubt widened by the 

 tendency the ice must have towards the edge of 

 the cliff; and T have no doubt the beds of ice are 

 occasionally loosened, and fall upon the beach, 

 where, if they are not carried away by the sea, they 

 become covered with the earthy materials from 

 above, and perhaps remain some time immured. In 

 some places the cliff was undermined, and the sur- 

 face in general was very rugged ; but it was evident 



