464 AVOYAGETO 



waves railed by the wind, that brings down the bulk of 

 thcfe enormous malles, by grinding one piece againft ano- 

 ther, and by undermining and wafliing away thofe parts 

 that lie expofcd to the furge of the Tea. This was evident, 

 from our obferving, that the upper furface of many pieces 

 had been partly waflied away, while the bafe or under part 

 remained firm for feveral fathoms round that which ap- 

 peared above water, exac^lly like a flioal round an elevated 

 rock. We meafured the depth of water upon one, and 

 found it to be fifteen feet ; fo that the fhips might have 

 failed over it. If I had not meafured this depth, I would 

 not have believed, that there was a fufficient weight of jce 

 above the furface, to have funk the other fo much below 

 it. Thus it may happen, that more ice is deftroyed in one 

 ftormy feafon, than is formed in feveral winters, and an end- 

 lefs accumulation is prevented. But that there is always a 

 remaining {lore, every one who has been upon the fpot will 

 conclude, and none but clofct-ftudying philofophers will 

 difpute. 



A thick fog, which came on while 'I was thus employed 

 with the boats, haflened me aboard, rather fooncr than I 

 could have wifhcd, with one fea-horfe to each fhip. We had 

 killed more, but could not wait to bring them with us. The 

 number of thefe animals, on all the ice that we had feen, 

 is almoil incredible. We fpcnt the night {landing off and 

 on, amongft the drift ice ; and at nine o'clock the next 

 Friday 29. morni'.ig, tlic fog having partly difperfed, boats from each 

 Ihip were fcnt for fca-horfcs. For, by this time, our people 

 began to rcliih them, and thofe we had procured before 

 were all confumed. At noon, our latitude was 69° 17', our 

 longitude 183"; the variation, by the morning azimutlis, 



^5" 



