il8 ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



first landing in an arctic country, was on 

 Charles' Island or Fair Foreland, at the north-west 

 point. On this ocpasion, I expected to have had 

 time for a particular exploration of the country, as 

 the weather was calm and clear when I went on 

 shore ; but suddenly, a thick fog and breeze of wind 

 commencing, obliged us to put off with haste, and 

 subjected us to great anxiety before we found the 

 ship. As nothing particular was observed, which 

 did not occur on future excursions, it is unnecessa^ 

 ry to give any account of the objects of interest 

 which excited ray attention, I shall only mention, 

 that the number of birds seen in the precipices and 

 rocks adjoining the sea, was immense ; and the 

 noise wlricli they made en (r\v approach was quite 

 deafening. 



In the summer of 1818, I "was several times on 

 shore on the main near 3Iiire Cape *, and landed 



* This belpg a remarkable point, and dangerous to sliip- 

 ping going into King's Bay or Cross J^ay, being surrounded 

 with blind rocks, and yet, as far as I could discover, without 

 a name, I ventured to denominate it Mitre Cape, from an in- 

 sulated rock about 1500 feet in height, which terminates the 

 high land stretching towards the south, being cleft down 

 the middle, and having the forxn of a mitre. For tlie sake of 

 brevity in description, as well as perspicuity, I have also ven- 

 tured to apply names to two or three other remarkable parts 

 of the land, which have hitherto stood in the charts undistin- 

 guished. 



