viii INTRODUCTION. 



were detained four days in collecting dogs and procuring suitable garments of skins 

 and furs to withstand the Arctic winter. Through the kindness of Mr. Hansteen, 

 the governor, they obtained the services of three Esquimaux hunters, and also of a 

 Dane as interpreter. 



Leaving Upernavik, they were beset by an immense number of icebergs, some of 

 them upwards of two hundred feet in height and a mile in length, the motion of 

 which was principally due to the undercurrents, and therefore sometimes contrary to 

 that of the wmd. On the evening of August 21st they arrived at Tessuissak, also a 

 Danish station, of which the geographical position was determined by Mr. Sonntag, 

 where they obtained another supply of dogs. 



From this place, they entered MelviUe Bay on the 23d of August. The wind had 

 prevailed for several days from the eastward, and had apparently driven the ice 

 towards the American side, opening before them a clear broad expanse of water. 

 They did not meet with field ice untU the 25th; through this they were so fortunate 

 as to find an opening, and soon entered the northern water about twenty mUes 

 south of Cape Alexander, the jutting point on the Greenland side of Smith's Straits. 

 This strait was entered on the 27th of August, but their efforts to find a navigable 

 opening were interrupted by a heavy gale, which continued with great force for 

 three days. It was not until after having been twice blown out that they effected 

 a permanent lodgment in the straits on the second of September. 



Failing to find an opening toward the west, they sought one higher up, near 

 Cape Hatherton; but, when off Lyttleton Island, the schooner became so much 

 damaged by collisions with the ice, that they were obliged to seek anchorage. 

 They put to sea again on the 6th, but, failing to make headway, and the tempera- 

 ture having fallen to 12°, they were obliged to seek winter-quarters, which they 

 found in Hartstene Bay, ten miles northeast of Cape Alexander. This was in a 

 harbor to which the name of Port Foulke was given, in honor of one of the promi- 

 nent patrons of the expedition. From subsequent observations this place was found 

 to be ui 78° 17' 39" north latitude, and longitude 73° 00' 00" west of Greenwich, 

 ^twenty miles south of the latitude of Eensselaer Harbor, Dr. Kane's winter-quarters, 

 and distant from it by the coast Ime about fifty-five st. miles. 



In preparation for the Avinter, a house was built on shore to receive the stores, 

 and the hold of the vessel was converted into a single room for the men. The 

 deck was roofed over with boards brought from Boston for the purpose, and with 

 these accommodations the ship's company lived in health and comfort during the 

 winter. Game was found in abundance, the hunters rarely returnmg empty-handed. 

 Reindeer in herds of ten and fifteen were frequently seen. The dogs, thirty in 

 number, according to Esquimaux custom, were only fed every second day, and often 

 devoured an entire reindeer at a single meal. 



Soon after entering into Avinter-quarters an observatory was erected near the 

 vessel, under the direction of Mr. Sonntag. It consisted of a wooden frame eight 

 feet square and seven feet high, covered first with canvas, then with snow, and lined 

 throughout with bear and deer skins. In this observatory the pendulum apparatus 

 was vibrated for nearly a month; and on completing the series of observations 

 with it, the magnetometer was substituted in its place. Near the observatory a 



