^8 JOURNAL. 



July. men, and were with difficulty prevented from ftaving 

 ' or overfetting her; but a boat from the Carcafs 



joining ours, they difperfed. One of that fhip's 

 boats had before been attacked in the fame manner 

 off Moffen Ifland. From Dr. Irving, who went on 

 this party, I had the following account of the low 

 ifland. 



" We found feveral large fir trees lying on the fhore, 

 " fixteen or eighteen feet above the level of the fea: fome 

 ** of thefe trees were feventy feet long, and had been torn 

 ** up by the roots ; others cut down by the axe, and 

 ** notched for twelve-feet lengths : this timber was no 

 ** ways decayed, or the ftrokes of the hatchet in the leaft 

 " effaced. There were likewife fome pipe-flaves, and wood 

 ** fafliioned for ufe. The beach was formed of old timber, 

 *' fand, and whale-bones. 



** The ifland is about feven miles long, flat, and 

 ** formed chiefly of ftones from eighteen to thirty inches 

 " over, many of them hexagons, and commodioufly 

 " placed for walking on : the middle of the ifland is 

 *' covered with mofs, fcurvy grafs, forrel, and a few 

 " ranunculufes then in flower. Two rein-deer were 

 " feeding on the mofs ; one we killed, and found it fat, 

 " and of high flavour. We faw a light grey-coloured 

 " fox ; and a creature fomewhat larger than a weafel, 

 " with fliort ears, long tail, and ikin fpotted white and 

 " black. The ifland abounds with fmall fnipes, flmilar 

 ** to the jack-fnipe in England, The Ducks were nov/ 

 3 *^ hatching 



