GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE. 



311 



an enormous mass of ice, which was so unex- 

 pected, that those of the crew who were in bed, 

 had scarcely time to escape on the ice, half naked 

 as they were. 



One ship now alone remained, to which the 

 crews of four, and the surviving part of the crew 

 of a fifth, (that was wrecked on the 30th Septem- 

 ber), repaired. In the beginning of October, 

 they had drifted to the latitude of 64'* ; and, on 

 the 11th, the last ship was overwhelmed by the 

 ice and sunk. Thus, between three and four hun- 

 dred men were driven to the ice, and exposed to 

 the inclemency of the weather^ ahnost destitute 

 of food and raiment. 



On the SOth of October, the miserable sufferers 

 divided : The greater part betook themselves to 

 the Continent, w^hilst the rest remained on a field 

 of ice, until they drifted near to Staten Hook, and 

 then followed the example of their comrades. 

 About 140 of the men reached the Danish settle- 

 ments on the West Coast of Greenland ; the re- 

 mainder, consisting of about 200, perished. 



Thus, it appears, that the ship which survived 

 to the latest period, drifted with the ice in a 

 south-westerly direction from the usual fishing- 

 stations, (probably in 78*^ to 80° of north lati- 

 tude), to the latitude of about 6)2** ; at the same 

 time, from longitude a few degrees easterly, to 

 that of more than 30° westj and, that the ice 



