88 VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. 



warping, the men move from side to side in the: 

 boats, to break the bay ice, and in sallying, they 

 run from the one side of the vessel to the other,, 

 according to the motion, and the command of the 

 person who takes the lead ; this facilitates the mo- 

 tion of the ship through the ice. The thermome- 

 ter this day stood at 41° in the cabin without' 

 fire. Being exposed to the sun on deck, it got 

 up to 66°, where it remained stationary. On 

 being hung in. the shade,, it fell to the freezing 

 point. 



18th, Continued forcing our way slowly through- 

 bay ice ; almost no wind. In sultry days, and, in* 

 deed, in all weathers, navigators are much harass- 

 ed in those seas by the fogs ; they, however, chiefly: 

 occur towards the latter end of. summer. They 

 are excessively dense, and at a distance are frequent- 

 ly mistaken for land. In winter, when the cold, 

 is intense, a vapour called fog smoke frequently 

 arises from the chinks of the ice, which is so acrid, 

 as to excoriate the face and hands of those who 

 approach it. We this day observed a. fog bank, a 

 little to the north-east, which at first we mistook. 

 for Hackluyt's Headland, from which, however, 

 we were then at a considerable distance. Thft 

 edges of these fog banks are so weil defined, that 



