RESOLUTION ISLAND. 



5 



Without any occurrence worthy of notice we 

 arrived in Davis's Straits on the 19th of July, 

 where Greenland ships are sometimes met with, 

 returning from the whale fishery, but we saw 

 not a single whaler in this solitary part of the 

 ocean. The Mallemuk, found in great numbers 

 off Greenland, and the " Larus crepidatus," or 

 black toed gull, frequently visited us ; and for 

 nearly a whole day, a large shoal of the " Del- 

 phinus deduetor," or leading whale, was ob- 

 served following the ship. The captain ordered 

 the harpoons and lances to be in readiness in 

 case we fell in with the great Greenland whale, 

 but nothing was seen of this monster of the 

 deep. 



In approaching Hudson's straits, we first saw 

 one of those beautiful features in the scenery of 

 the North, an Iceberg, which being driven with 

 vast masses of ice off Cape Farewell, South 

 Greenland, are soon destroyed by means of 

 the solar heat, and tempestuous force of the sea. 

 The thermometer was at 27° on the night of 

 the 22nd, with ice in the boat ; and in the after- 

 noon we saw an iceblink, a beautiful effulgence 

 or reflection of light over the floating ice, to the 

 extent of forty or fifty miles. The next day 

 we passed Resolution Island, Lat. 61° 25', Long. 

 65° 2' and all was desolate and inhospitable in 



