REFRACTION. 
373 
passage, close into the land; and no commotion, no 
disturbance. On the contrary, from the mast-head 
abundant open water meets the eye ; and could we 
escape from our imprisoning, but — thankfully I say 
it — protecting floe, we might soon be moving in open 
seas. 
May 28, Wednesday. The fact of the day is the 
rotation of our floe. In spite of its irregular shape, it 
has rotated a complete circle within the past twenty- 
four hours. It is still turning at the same rate, wheel- 
ing us down along the in-shore fields. The Rescue, 
early this morning, was between us and the land: 
the evening before, the same land was astern of us. 
Strange that no rupture takes place ! 
"Mai/ 29, Thursday, I have just been witnessing 
one of the oddest of Arctic freaks. We were all of us 
engaged in tracing out the rugged indentations on 
Mount Raleigh, as the floe was rolling our vessels 
slowly along past Cape Walsingham, when, at five 
o'clock in the afternoon — the thermometer at 27°, the 
barometer at 80.31, and the atmosphere of the usual 
pearly opalescence — the captain, sweeping shoreward 
with his glass, saw a large pyramidal hummock, with 
a well-defined figure projecting in front of it, evident- 
ly animated and moving. Murdaugh, looking after- 
ward, declared it ' a man.' I saw it next, a large 
human figure, covered with a cloak, and motionless. 
Murdaugh took the glass again, and holding it to his 
eye, suddenly exclaimed, ' It moves :' ' it spreads out 
its arms :' ' it is a gigantic bird !' 
" The hummock was within a mile of us. The 
words were hardly uttered before the object had dis- 
appeared, and the white snow was without a speck. 
A discussion followed. The size made us at once re- 
