224, A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
the tents were pitched was found by meridian alti- 
tude to be 75° 05’ 08” N., and longitude by chro- 
nometer 1° 08’ 03” W. of Winter Harbour.* We 
left the island at half-past six, and directed our 
course to the nearest part of the land on the south- 
east side of the gulf, where we arrived at half-past 
eight. 
On reaching the shore we saw two reindeer, 
and some ptarmigans, but we could not, nor indeed 
did we try much to get near them, for the ice 
where we crossed it this morning was so deeply 
covered with snow, that every person appeared to 
be pretty well fatigued by the time we stopped. 
The land on this side of the gulf, we found to be, 
comparatively speaking, low, and less covered with 
snow than on the opposite side. After crossing a 
piece of rising ground near where we landed, we 
entered into a fine open valley leading to the south- 
ward and eastward. In the N. W. side of it there 
was a lagoon, about three quarters of a mile in 
circumference ; it communicated with the gulf by 
a channel about fifty yards in breadth, across which 
we travelled. On the top of a small eminence, 
about thirty feet above the level of the sea, and 
close to the entrance of the lagoon, we found a 
piece of fir wood about two feet long, and at the 
thickest end about the same circumference. We 
also found here the skeleton of a musk-ox, and . 
several reindeer’s horns were seen as we came 
along. ‘There was every appearance indeed of 
this valley being very much frequented by these 
* The variation of the compass on this island was found to 
be 122° 59 37” E. er 
