580 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



respectively, manned by thirty -eight men, all told, and 

 strengthened for Arctic duty beyond all precedent, were pre- 

 pared for the service. They were placed under the command 

 of Lieutenant De Haven, — Dr. E. K. Kane, of the Navy, being 



DR. KANE. 



appointed surgeon and naturalist to the squadron. They sailed 

 from New York on the 23d of May, and in less than a month 

 descried the gaunt coast of Greenland at the moment when the 

 distinction between day and night began to be lost. The 

 Danish inhabitants of the settlement at Lievely made them 

 such presents of furs as their own scanty wardrobes permitted. 

 Two sailors, complaining of sickness, were landed at Disco 

 Island, thence to make the best of their way home. 



Thus far the weather had been favorable, and they passed 

 the seventy-fourth degree without meeting ice. On the 7th of 



