[5] THE ICELAND COD FISHERIES. 376 



After the vessel had been cleaned and thoroughly overhauled, which 

 should never be neglected with vessels which do not have a copper bot- 

 tom, the Alma left Thiugeyre on May 9, after a stay of two days, and 

 sailed for Brede Bay, where, during the remaining part of May, the 

 fisheries were continued, but not with any great success, as severe north- 

 east storms raged nearly all the time. The anxiously expected south- 

 west wind, which is said to be favorable for the fisheries, did not blow 

 ofteu, and only towards the end of July it blew a gale from that direc- 

 tion. It was probably the ice, which with small intervals lies in dense 

 masses along the Korthland coast until August, that kept the southwest 

 wind in check. Many circumstances favor the opinion that the fish 

 remain under the ice as long as it lies on the banks, for the ice aftbrds 

 tbem not only shelter but also light, and finally food, which is carried 

 with it from the polar regions. As soon as the ice left the shore several 

 good catches were made on the North Cape Banks. Thus the H. J. 

 Baago from Svendborg, Denmark, secured 1,400 codfish in a single 

 haul. 



In June we had calm weather nearly all the time, and southerly 

 winds prevailed. As the fisheries along the west coast down to Brede 

 Bay had so far been very productive we tried our luck north of the 

 Isafiord, and gradually approached the North Cape, where, on June 10, 

 we came near the ice, which, at a distance of 1^ Danish miles, about 7 

 English miles, surrounded the North Cape in an immense semicircle from 

 Hselarvigbjerget as far as the Skagestrands Bay, only separated in the 

 middle by a narrow channel. As it was, therefore, impossible to get out 

 to the fishing-grounds, and as the ice was constantly approaching the 

 land, we took a westerly course and stopped at the Koger Bank, where 

 some days previous we had made some good catches. A good fishing- 

 place here is between theEiturhuk and Straumnaes, and between Koger 

 and Husgavlen, where we caught 100 codfish, most of them weighing 50 

 pounds each and measuring between 4 and 5 feet in length. 



On June 12 in the afternoon we noticed several large masses of ice 

 which were drifting towards the shore about half a mile to the leeward. 

 The wind was east. As it had been calm during the preceding days, 

 1 thought that they were merely isolated masses of ice which had acci- 

 dentally drifted in this direction, but when I went up to the foretop I 

 saw, to my astonishment, that the ice had surrounded us and lay in a 

 vast semicircle towards the west, touching the shore at one point and 

 stretching out to sea as far as the eye could reach. We saw several 

 fishing-vessels manage to get through, and as fortunatel.y a fresh 

 breeze sprang up from the east, we embraced the favorable opportunity 

 and slipped out in time. We first sailed in the direction of Straumnses, 

 and after having reached the edge of the ice we succeeded, after about 

 an hour's sailing, in passing between some enormous masses of ice 

 which presented a strange appearance, having all sorts of fantastic 

 shapes, some resembling porticoes resting on long rows of pillars, 



