1875 DAVIS STRAIT. 13 



leeward nearly as fast as the ship, and so she escaped 

 any real damage. 



Next day we obtained soundings in thirty fathoms 

 on the Torske Bank in latitude 65° N. In the hope of 

 obtaining some fish the ships were stopped. The 

 ' Discovery ' succeeded in catching eight large halibut 

 weighing from 20 to 25 lbs. each ; the * Alert ' was not 

 so successful, failing to get on board those hauled up 

 to the water's edge owing to the want of a boat. The 

 dredge was also lowered, and on its recovery was 

 found more than half full of rounded stones and pebbles, 

 chiefly granites, gneiss, quartz, and, more sparingly, 

 basalts. The swabs attached to the dredge were 

 bristling with sea-urchins and star-fish, and its living 

 contents showed that there is great abundance of 

 animal life in this part of the ocean. 



During the night of the 4th the Arctic circle was 

 crossed ; the sun at midnight being less than a degree 

 below the northern horizon, the evening and morning 

 twilights blended into each other. From this date to 

 September 3, when we had arrived at the position 

 which proved to be our winter quarters, and the sun 

 set to the northward again, we experienced perpetual 

 day. 



During the remainder of the passage to Disco we 

 experienced remarkably fine weather with occasional 

 northerly winds. When sufficiently calm the two ships 

 steamed slowly to the northward at about ten miles' 

 distance from the land, sail being used whenever the 

 wind was strong enough to enable us to make head- 

 way. The dark-coloured lowlands were observed to 

 be generally bare of snow, with here and there a snow- 



