84 ICE ACTED ON BY WIND ONLY. Chap. V. 



deavoured to separate them from tlieir guns and 

 from each other, and even used threatening 

 language. 



During December we drifted 67 miles, di- 

 rectly down Baffin's Bay towards the Atlantic, 

 and are now in lat. 74°. Although it is quite 

 impossible to discriminate between the several 

 influences which probably govern our move- 

 ments, or to ascertain how much is due to each 

 of them — such as the relative positions of ice, 

 land, and open water, winds, currents, and 

 earth's rotation — yet it appears in the present 

 instance that the wjnd is almost the sole agent 

 in hastening this vast continent of ice towards 

 the latitudes of its dissolution. We move before 

 the wind in proportion to its strength : we re- 

 main stationary in calm weather. Neither sur- 

 face nor submarine current has been detected ; 

 the large icebergs obey the same influences as 

 the surface ice. We have noticed a slight set 

 to the westward — it is not likely to be produced 

 by current, and may be the result of the earth's 

 motion from west to east. 



Qth. — Many lanes of water. A seal has been 

 seen, the only one for six weeks. Of the old 

 ice which so closely hemmed us in up to the 

 middle of September, there is hardly any within 

 several miles of us except the large floe-piece 



