VOYAGE OF THE 'ECLIPSE.' 125 



to devote at least two months to the object of their voyage 

 before the commencement of the winter's frost, and the 

 increasing severity of the weather should compel them to 

 retreat to the southwards. 



While crossing the Spitzbergen water we found it con- 

 tinually grass-green in colour from the ice-edge in long. 12'' W. 

 lat. 73° 3' N. to long. 2° E. lat. 75° 30' N., a distance of 

 some 220 miles ; thereafter its colour was not uniform, being 

 either green, dark brown, or blue. Surface-life seemed equally 

 abundant all the way. On the 10th, a minute Medusa, just 

 visible to the naked eye, was most abundant ; and on the 

 15th Limacina arctica was very numerous. B. sibbaldii was 

 seen daily, in numbers ; but no other cetaceans were observed. 

 On the 12th, in lat. 74° 38' N., long. 4° 36' W., we passed a solitary 

 piece of ice, which, however, reminded us that the margin of the 

 Greenland West Ice, now in this latitude 270 miles to the west- 

 ward, was in this longitude on the 1st of May, showing that it had 

 retreated westward at the rate of four miles daily since then. 



Passing some forty miles to the southward of Cape Look-out 

 on the 15th we continued to steer eastwards ; the day following, 

 however, we had to alter our course to the southward somewhat, 

 clear of ice. A large "berg," fully 100 ft. high, was passed on 

 the 17th. The same day a young Ground Seal, P. harhata, was 

 noticed. Continuing to work our way to the eastward we 

 experienced a succession of strong southerly gales, which, with a 

 nasty short sea and very thick and almost continuous fog, made 

 our work of tracing the edge of the ice somewhat hazardous, as 

 well as disagreeable. On such occasions the thermometer is of 

 the greatest service, and from its readings the proximity of ice 

 may be very accurately estimated. Soundings were taken every 

 two hours; the water in the Barentz Sea being very shallow, we 

 got bottom generally from thirty to eighty fathoms. B, sibbaldii 

 was seen once or twice on the 18th, also many Kittiwakes and a 

 few Arctic Terns. We were favoured with a few hours of clear 

 weather on the 18th : the ice to the northward was a close and 

 impenetrable pack, as hard and tight as a season of continued 

 southerly gales could well have made it ; the water very blue 

 and clear, with an almost total absence of life of any kind. On 

 the evening of the 19th a great many Saddle Seals were seen 

 going eastwards along the ice-edge. Kittiwakes were very 



