PENDULUM ISLAND. 279 



might show that Europeans had ever visited the spot. 

 First Lieutenant Payer made preparations for surveying 

 the island ; and Dr. Pansch roamed through it as explorer 

 and naturalist, inspecting the remains of the Esquimaux 

 huts found by Sabine on the tongue of land to the west 

 of our stand-point. 



In the afternoon the weather, which on our arrival had 

 been unfriendly and snowy, became fine and clear, with 

 a perfect calm and a temperature of 41° Fahr. From 

 the plateau of the neighbouring mountains, the baro- 

 metrical height of which was 1040 feet, we had an 

 extensive view over the sea from the north-east round to 

 the south, as well as over the surrounding land, and along 

 the coast to the north. 



The condition of the ice was here first distinctly seen. 

 The straits between Sabine Island and the mainland, and 

 also between the two largest islands, were completely 

 blocked with apparently old land ice. Farther north, 

 between Shannon Island and the mainland, as far as the 

 eye could reach, the ice was firm, and, from its whole 

 position, we might well conclude that there would be no 

 breaking up that year. Along the coast, therefore, we 

 could not advance further north ; the only possible way 

 remaining was by the eastern side of Shannon Island. 

 This island was distinctly seen, and seemed to be quite 

 surrounded with ice ; though to the south side, and also to 

 the east side of Pendulum Island, there was open water, 

 only covered with drift-ice. The pack-ice to the east 

 was very broad, stretching at least twelve nautical 

 miles from the coast, but farther southward it made 

 a considerable curve inward towards the land, and 

 lay so dense that in 74°, and even more south than 



