DUMONT D'URVILLE 207 
rigging in twelve hours than in the previous six months. 
The ships went north to nearly 64° S. to clear the ice, and 
then, on the 28th, once more turned southwestward, and 
on the 29th, nearly in 65° S., a solid pack was again seen 
to the south. The weather was still bad, the wind blew 
strong from the east, and frequent fogs made navigation 
amongst the ice very difficult. 
In the afternoon when in about 65° S. and 135° E. just 
as the Astrolabe was going to set more sail to clear a berg, 
which loomed up out of the fog, a strange sail was sighted 
running towards the French vessels. She was a brig flying 
the American colours and D’Urville immediately realised 
that she was one of Wilkes’s squadron, bound on a similar 
service to his own. The tricolour was hoisted at once, 
the order to make more sail delayed to allow the stranger 
to come up with the Astrolabe ; then as the American brig 
was moving so quickly through the water the delayed 
order was given and the Astrolabe shot forwaid in order 
says D’Urville, to keep up with her and have a longer 
time for speaking; but the American evidently thought 
the Frenchman was trying to run away, and turning 
sharply southward was lost in the fog without exchang- 
ing signals. D’Urville does not mention this episode in 
his official report, but in the account of the voyage he 
explains how the misunderstanding arose, declaring that 
he wished nothing so much as to compare notes with the 
other expedition and give it full information as to the 
discoveries of the French ships. But, nettled by the report 
of Wilkes’s comments on the encounter, he goes on to say 
that while his own conduct was always actuated by per- 
fect frankness towards other explorers, the Americans 
were always very reserved as to their doings and kept 
their discoveries a profound secret. 1 his, as we shall see, 
