216 Fishing along the Floe. 



have been hard at work taking sights and angles, 

 both from the ship and on shore, which will enable 

 me to make a fair plan of the harbour. I suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining soundings from the ship in 

 190 fathoms soft muddy bottom, temperature 29*5°, 

 surface 34°, air 37° ; and also collected several bo- 

 tanical and geological specimens. 



Tuesday, July 22nd. — An unpleasant, damp, 

 foggy day, at times so thick as to render it im- 

 possible to distinguish the end of the bowsprit. 

 This thick weather is a great drawback as regards 

 taking sights, the fogs, especially at this time of the 

 year and next month, being so prevalent as to make 

 a clear day quite an exception. 



We left Elwyn Inlet about ten, and soon after- 

 wards the captain put his head into my cabin with 

 the welcome intelligence that the " Tay " was in 

 sight, and the dingy was despatched for our letters 

 and newspapers. We are now fishing along the 

 floe across Admiralty Inlet, but keeping well over 

 to the west side. Occasionally, when the fog is 

 not so dense, we catch sight of the " Erik," " Tay/' 

 and "JSarwhal/' all the ships keeping close together, 

 and in what they call the thick water, in which fish 

 are only to be seen. We have seen one or two 

 whales during the day, and have lowered our boats 

 after them, but without success. The mate, how- 

 ever, got fast to a narwhal, which although a 

 female had a horn three feet in length. According- 

 to the accounts given in the English papers by the 



