Drift Ice and Currents of the North Atlantic. 379 



ing of the 14th, found myself enclosed, and could see no water 

 from mast-head, except one small hole, into which I pressed the 

 ship ; in 23 fathoms water on the Grand Bank. In this dismal 

 situation lay with my sails hauled up, till 21st March, seeing no 

 sea from main top-gallant-mast head. On the 17th went on the 

 ice to take a view of an island of ice which bore from us W. S. 

 W. We set out at 12 o'clock, and travelled one hour and thirty 

 five minutes before we reached it. We found it aground in 25 

 fathoms, the main body passing fast by it, setting S. E. two and 

 a half miles an hour, as I judged. On our return, having been 

 absent three hours, the ice island bore W. N. W., having altered 

 four points. 



On the first day of January, 1844, Captain Burroughs, in the 

 ship Sully, met with an iceberg in the Atlantic, in latitude 45°, 

 longitude 48°. This is earlier in the winter than any other case 

 which we have met with. Captain B. states that he had met 

 with ice near this position on the first of February, on a former 

 voyage. 



In September, 1822, Captain Couthouy saw an iceberg aground 

 on the eastern edge of the Grand Bank, in latitude 43° 18', lon- 

 gitude 48° 30'. Sounding three miles inside of it, the depth was 

 found to be 105 fathoms. In the month of August, 1827, the 

 same observer, while crossing the Banks in latitude 46° 30', lon- 

 gitude 48° W., passed within less than a mile of a large iceberg 

 which was stranded in between 80 and 90 fathoms water. He 

 was so near as to perceive, distinctly, large fragments of rock and 

 quantities of earthy matter imbedded in the sides of the iceberg, 

 and to see, from the fore yards, that the water for at least a quarter 

 of a mile round it was full of mud, stirred up from the bottom by 

 the violent rolling and crushing of the mass. 



On the 27th of April, 1829, Captain Couthouy passed, in lati- 

 tude 36° 10' N., longitude 39° W., [probably south of the Gulf 

 Stream,] an iceberg, estimated to be a quarter of a mile long, and 

 from 80 to 100 feet high. It was much wasted in its upper por- 

 tion, which was worn and broken into the most fanciful shapes. 

 In 1831, at daylight of the 17th of August, latitude 36° 20' N., 

 longitude 67° 45' W., upon the southern edge of the Gulf Stream, 

 he fell in with several small icebergs, in such proximity to each 

 other as to leave little doubt of their being fragments of a large 

 one, which, weakened by the high temperature of the surround- 



