382 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
object they appeared to have a proper name, which they repeated 
to us several times with considerable animation. 
On the evening of July 22nd we left Upernivik. Steering 
northwards along the Greenland coast, during a dense fog, we 
grounded for a short time on the Island of Kangitok ; this gave us 
an opportunity to land. Eider Duck’s nests were very numerous on 
the island, but evidently they had been recently robbed, for I did 
not find one containing eggs. Others of our party were more 
fortunate, and killed females of both species from off the nests; 
but owing to their inability, at this period of the voyage, to 
recognise the difference between the females, the eggs were not 
satisfactorily identified,—rather to my regret, as well authenticated 
eggs of Somateria spectabilis are not common in collections. 
In order to cross Melville Bay, the bugbear of Arctic voyagers 
in the days of sailing vessels, two courses are possible: one is to 
keep moving along the land-ice, and, in the event of the pack 
moving in shore and endangering the ship, cutting docks into the 
fixed ice, and thus obtaining shelter; the other, to strike boldly 
into the “ Middle Ice,” trusting to the winds and other favourable 
circumstances to open up navigable lanes of water. The latter 
plan was adopted by Captain Nares; and, aided by very propitious 
circumstances, thirty-four hours after entering the pack we had left 
the “ Middle Ice” behind us, and emerged into the “ North Water” 
of Baffin Bay. Though eminently successful in this instance, 
considerable risk is involved by attempting a passage through the 
“ Middle Ice ;” and the fate of M‘Clintock and his companions, in 
the ‘ Fox,’—who, entrapped in Melville Bay, drifted to the south- 
ward with the floating ice,—will be remembered by many of my 
readers. Their dreary and dangerous imprisonment lasted from 
August till the end of April in the following year, during which 
time they drifted south nearly twelve degrees of latitude. Our 
passage, on the contrary, was marked by brilliant weather; the 
immense fields of apparently smooth ice stretched away on every 
side, showing no sign of motion; the intense white was only 
relieved by the lanes of water, which here and there separated the 
floes: it was indeed a perfect picture of calm and repose, almost 
unbroken by the appearance of birds or other animals. By mid- 
day of July 25th we had fairly cleared the pack, and were steering 
for the high land in the vicinity of Cape York. Myriads of Little 
Auks swarmed around us, busily employed fishing for Hnto- 
mostraca, flocks of them diving just in time to avoid the ship’s 
—_— es 
