342 FARTHEST NORTH 



It was a northeasterly wind which had set the ice towards 

 the land, and it was lucky we had got so far, as behind us, 

 to judge by the atmosphere, the sea was much blocked. 

 The mist hung over the land so that we saw little of it. 

 According as we advanced we were able to hold a more 

 southerly course, and, the wind being nearly on the quarter, 

 we set sail about i o'clock, and continued sailing all day 

 till we stopped yesterday evening. Our sail, however, was 

 interrupted once when it was necessary to paddle round 

 an ice-point north of where we are now ; the contrary 

 current was so strong that it was as much as we could do 

 to make way against it, and it was only after considerable 

 exertion that we succeeded in doubling the point. We 

 have seen little of the land we are skirting up to this, 

 on account of the mist; but as far as I can make out 

 it consists of islands. First there was a large island 

 covered with an ice-sheet ; then west of it a smaller one, 

 on which are the two crags of rock which first made us 

 aware of the vicinity of land ; next came a long fjord or 

 sound, with massive shore-ice in it; and then a small, 

 low headland, or rather an island, south of which we are 

 now encamped. This shore-ice lying along the land is 

 very remarkable. It is unusually massive and uneven ; 

 it seems to be composed of huge blocks welded together, 

 which in a great measure, at any rate, must proceed from 

 the ice - sheet. There has also, perhaps, been violent 

 pressure against the land, which has heaved the sea-ice 

 up together with pieces of ice from the calving of the 



