DR. SIMPSON'S REMARKS. 125 



the 3rd, a whaling vessel stood within 6 miles of the shore, tacked, 

 and stood out again, making such progress to windward as a sailing 

 vessel could only do when favoured by a strong weather-current." 



" From Icy Cape to the Seahorse Islands, in addition to drift-wood, 

 there is strewed along the beach a quantity of coal, which, though 

 much water- worn, may, in some of the indentations, be collected in 

 sufficient abundance, and bituminous enough to make an excellent 

 fire for cooking. It is of the sort called candle-coal, and some of 

 the pieces are sound enough to be carved by the natives into lip 

 ornaments." 



" At the Seahorse Islands it is found as fine as small gravel, and, 

 on digging into the beach, is seen to form alternate layers with the 

 sand ; but between Wainwright Inlet and Icy Cape it is gathered 

 in knots of a convenient size for fuel. This may be taken as a 

 farther evidence of the set of the current, as the nearest known 

 point whence the coal is brought is that marked on the chart as 

 Cape Beaufort. The whole extent of the coast from below Icy 

 Cape to Point Barrow is bordered by a beach of gravel, which has 

 likewise a southern origin, and determines the form of the con- 

 tinent, offering as it does an effective barrier to the encroachment 

 of the sea, which would otherwise speedily undermine the earth- 

 cliffs behind. All that can be seen from the seaboard landward is 

 a flat, alluvial plane, seldom exceeding 20 feet in elevation, and 

 containing numerous pools and lagoons of fresh water, but without 

 a tree or bush to relieve the view." 



" The tides are hardly appreciable and very irregular at Kotzebue 

 Sound and Port Clarence ; there the sea usually retains a very low 

 level during the prevalence of northerly, north-easterly, and easterly 

 winds, and the highest levels occur with southerly and south- 

 westerly gales. During a stay of seven days at Icy Cape, with a 

 prevailing gale at east and e.n.e., the same low-water level obtained 

 as much as 4£ feet below the highest surf-mark, the undeniable 

 effects of westerly and south-westerly winds. With the drifted 

 material left on those marks where the shore has a westerly aspect 

 were several varieties of dead shells, identical in species with those 

 previously dredged from the bottom of the sea in deep water, 25 

 to 30 fathoms in the straits and north of them." 



It will be seen by the foregoing abstracts that the navigation of 

 the Arctic Sea between Behring Straits and Point Barrow is com- 

 paratively easy to vessels fitted for ice- navigation. The current of 

 warm water from the Pacific sets continually to the north-east 

 throughout the summer months, and forms a lane between the pack 

 and the land which enabled the Blossom's barge, on August 21st, 



