454 Thirty Years 
Zz 
42'W.. Being now abreast of Mount Conybeare, 
Lieutenant Back and I were on the point of setting 
out to visit its summit, when we were stopped by a 
very dense fog that accompanied a fresh breeze from 
the N.W.; followed by heavy rain. The weather 
continued bad, until ten the following morning ; the 
ice near the beach was broken into smaller pieces, but 
as yet too closely packed for our proceeding. The 
water being brackish in front of the reef, we despatch- 
ed two men to bring some from the pools at a distance 
inland, which was found to have the same taste ; 
from this circumstance, as well as from the piles of 
drift wood, thrown up far from the coast, one may in- 
fer that the sea occasionally washes over this low 
shore. The ice broken off from large masses, and per- 
mitted to drain before it was melted, did not furnish 
us with better water. A couple of pin-tailed ducks 
were shot, the only pair seen; the black kind were 
more numerous, but were not fired at, as they are 
fishing ducks, and, therefore, not good to eat.. We 
also saw a few geese and swans. . 
Fic9y The atmosphere was calm, and perfectly clear, 
on the morning of the 21st ; and as there was not any 
change in the position of the ice, I visited Mount: 
Conybeare, accompanied by Duncan and Stewart. 
Though its distance was not more than twelve miles 
from the coast, the journey proved to be very fatigu- 
