8 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



For three days the weather was unset- 

 tled, and few observations could be made, 

 except for the dip of the needle, which was 

 ascertained to be 74° 37' 48", on which oc- 

 casion a difference of eight degrees and a 

 half was perceived between the observa- 

 tions, when the face of the instrument was 

 changed from the east to the west, the 

 amount being the greatest when it was 

 placed with the face to the west. But, on 

 the 8th, a westerly wind caused a cloudless 

 sky, which enabled us to place the transit 

 instrument in the meridian, and to ascertain 

 the variation of the compass to be 27° 50' 

 west. The sky becoming cloudy in the 

 afternoon, prevented our obtaining the cor- 

 responding observations to those gained in 

 the morning; and the next day an imper- 

 vious fog obscured the sky until noon. On 

 the evening of this day, we had the gratifi- 

 cation of welcoming our absent companion, 

 Mr. Back. His return to our society was 

 hailed with sincere pleasure by every one, 

 and removed a weight of anxiety from my 

 mind. It appears that he had come down 



