366 



APPENDIX. 



dom, if ever, had it above 30, even in the sun at 

 mid-day, and I do not think that three times it was 

 found above 35. 



Gales come on very suddenly, and are always 

 attended with snow, sleet, and thick fogs, render- 

 ing it extremely hazardous; for one must be found, 

 when they do come, more or less surrounded with 

 ice-islands. They sometimes last for thirty-six 

 hours. After they set in, you may calculate that 

 they will blow strong for at least half that time. 

 The nearer you are to the land, the more violent 

 they are, though not of such long duration. Fine 

 weather usually precedes them, and we found them 

 to happen, and the weather to be more change- 

 able, near the full and change, although 1 am 

 no believer in the lunar influences upon the wea- 

 ther. 



CURRENTS. During the whole of our stay along 

 the icy coast, we found no perceptible current by 

 the reckoning and current log. During a gale of 

 wind I was induced to'believe that some existed, 

 from the short sea that was formed, thinking there 

 was more than was to be expected. Tides on such 

 an extent of coast there undoubtedly must be, but 

 of little strength, or we should have perceived 

 them. 



In many of the icy bays we were stationary for 

 a sufficient time to perceive them if they had been 

 of any magnitude, and where the current was 

 repeatedly tried. 



The winds have their effect upon the loose drift- 

 ice, or that which is detached from the icy barrier. 

 Owing to a change of wind from south-east to 

 north, with a fresh breeze, the Peacock became 

 embayed, and the ice forced in upon her, which 

 brought about the accident. The northerly winds 

 are always accompanied with a heavy swell, and 

 her escape is attributable to a rare exercise of 

 good seamanship and perseverance. If Captain 

 Hudson's ship had been as strong as adamant it- 

 self, he is of opinion she would have been ground 

 to atoms by a longer exposure; her stem was 

 abraded to within an inch and a half of the wood- 

 ends. 



There are places in which the barrier is within 

 the floe-ice several miles. I enclose you the mean 

 temperature during the summer months. 



You will see there is but little chance of the 

 ice melting or disappearing, as from accounts fre- 

 quently takes place in the Arctic Ocean. Your 

 time, being unlimited, will allow you to wait some 

 days in a situation to make experiments. 



I frequently found myself so closely beset that I 

 thought it next to impossible to escape, and if the 

 wind had not been extremely constant in its direc- 

 tion, I should have been shut up or much injured ; 

 as it was, I escaped with scarcely a scratch, al- 

 though we took some heavy thumps. 



The charts will show you the tracks and state of 

 the ice. It was constructed as I went on, and the 

 ice-islands laid down by carefully-kept diagrams 

 by the officer of the deck during his watch. This 

 I found gave me more confidence in proceeding, 

 and facilities in case of having to return. 



MAGNETIC POLE. I consider we have ap- 

 proached very near to the pole. Our dip was 87 

 30' S., and the compasses on the ice very sluggish ; 

 this was in longitude 147 30" E., and latitude 67 

 4' S. Our variation, as accurately as it could 

 be observed on the ice, we made 12 30' E. It 



was difficult to get a good observation, on account 

 of the sluggishness of our compasses. About one 

 hundred miles to the westward, we crossed the 

 magnetic meridian. 



The pole, without giving you accurate deduc- 

 tions, I think my observations will place in about 

 latitude 70 S., and longitude 140 E. 



On the meridian of 140 E., you will find a small 

 bay, partly formed by ice-islands and rocks, which 

 I have named Piner's Bay, and I think among 

 the rocks you may find a snug little harbour. I 

 was driven out of the bay by a gale of wind ; 

 sounding about one and a half mile from the 

 shore in thirty fathoms. The icebergs being 

 aground, form good shelters ; but I was too much 

 exposed to venture to remain, and my object was 

 to trace the land and the icy barrier, which I 

 have done, as you will see it laid down on my 

 chart. 



We had delightful and clear weather ten days 

 or a fortnight along the coast, with the wind at 

 from south-east to south-south-west; the two latter 

 points particularly. The drift-ice is in large pieces, 

 so large as to give a ship an awkward thump ; but 

 when I found it tolerably open I have run through 

 it to get to clear water, and in hopes of making 

 the land, but our progress was soon stopped by 

 the firm banner, impenetrable, through which 

 there is no passing. 



I am of opinion that there is little movement of 

 the ice during the season. Strong gales may 

 change its position a trifle, but I think not ma- 

 terially. 



The only prospect of nearing the land is through 

 a sea well studded with large icebergs, nearly 

 thirty or forty miles in width; and I generally 

 found that we got nearer to the shore in those 

 places than elsewhere. One thing I must tell you, 

 as respects filling your water : you will sometimes 

 find a pond of delicious water on the top of an old 

 iceberg, frozen over, but on cutting through it 

 you will see a supply sufficient for a navy. It 

 will save you fuel, and discomfort and cold to you, 

 your vessels, and their crews. 



I was very fortunate in the weather the latter 

 part of the time ; and indeed altogether I was 

 scarcely a day without some observation, (except 

 during the gales, of which we had three, occu- 

 pying about eight days,) and generally half a 

 dozen. 



My time for six weeks was passed on deck, 

 and having all daylight, I of course had constant 

 employment, and with the many assistants, I could 

 make rapid progress ; and you will find that no 

 opportunity ought to be lost in this navigation, if 

 one is to do any thing. One's ship is in constant 

 danger, and the Vincennes, a first-class sloop of 

 seven hundred and eighty tons, it requires all the 

 foresight and activity one is possessed of to look- 

 out for her. 



I consider that I have had a most providential es- 

 cape; and if this ship had not been enabled to " do 

 everything but talk," I should not have been where 

 I now am ; but she had inspired me with so much 

 confidence, among the coral reefs last summer, 

 that I could put full faith in her doing her duty. 

 I must refer you to the chart, on which I have 

 noted remarks, variations, &c. 



I should have mentioned, that in 1838 and 1839, 

 I went south in the brig Porpoise, in order to trace 



