NINE MONTHS IN THE ARCTIC. 181 



an incrustation like one of the strata of the 

 earth's surface, we were frequently startled at the 

 deep and prolonged sounds, or rumblings, falling 

 upon our ears like peals of thunder, or discharges 

 of cannon from this sea of solid ice ; and then 

 their varied echoes and reverberations would roll 

 away in the distance, forming a most sublime 

 finale to the music of an arctic winter. 



These icequakes, as we might properly call 

 them, at the north, may be placed in the same 

 chapter with earthquakes, exhibiting on a scale 

 of astonishing magnitude and inconceivable en- 

 ergy the throes of nature. 



Fogs began to prevail, and so dense that we 

 could discover an object only a very short dis- 

 tance from us ; and besides, so saturating that 

 they were equivalent to rain. 



In the months of October and November, 

 various species of birds and sea fowl, with the 

 exception of the crow, which is a permanent fix- 

 ture in all climates and regions, migrate to the 

 south. In the months of April, May, and June, 

 they return again in immense numbers, beyond 

 all calculation. The air seemed to be alive with 

 the feathered tribe. 



The last part of April and the first of May, 

 the snow began to waste away, and objects which 

 had for months been concealed were now made 

 visible. 



